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,  SHOWING  THE  NEW  WEST  FRONT, 


UNITED  STATES 


HISTORY 


THE  MOST  COMPLETE  AND  MOST  POPULAR  HISTORY 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 
FROM  THE  ABORIGINAL  TIMES  TO  THE  PRESENT  DAY 


Embracing  an  Account  of  the  Aborigines;  The  Norsemen  in  the  New  World; 

The  Discoveries  bv  the  Spaniards,  English,  and  French;  The  Planting  of  Settlements  ; 

The  Growth  of  the  Colonies;  The  Struggle  for  Liberty  in  the  Revolution;  The  Establishment 
of  the  Union;  The  Development  of  the  Nation;  The  Civil  War;  The  Centennial 
of  Independence;  and  the  Recent  Annals  of  the  Republic 


BY  ✓f  , 

JOHN  CLARK  RIDPATH,  LL.  D. 


AUTHOR  OF  RIDPATH’S  SCHOOL  HISTORIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  AND  A  CYCLOPEDIA  OF 

UNIVERSAL  HISTORY 


(Remscb  anb 


THE  COMPLETE  CENSUS  OF  1890  AND  OTHER  VALUABLE  STATISTICS, 
MAGNIFICENTLY  ILLUSTRATED  WITH  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS  DESCRIBING 


THE  GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  NATION 


NEW  YORK 

INTERNATIONAL  BOOK  AND  PUBLISHING  CO. 

1899 


SOSTO* 


,STO* 


Copyright,  1876, 

By  JOHN  T.  JONES. 

Copyright,  1886, 

By  PHILLIPS  AND  HUNT. 

Copyright,  1889,  1891, 

By  HUNT  AND  EATON. 

Copyright,  1891,  1892,  1894, 

By  THE  UNITED  STATES  HISTORY  CO. 


Press  of  Charles  E.  Brown  &  Co.,  Publishers,  Boston. 


PREFACE. 


Dear  People  of  the  United  States: — 

By  this,  my  Preface,  I  offer  to  you  a  New  History  of  your  coun¬ 
try — and  mine.  The  work  is  presented  in  the  form  of  an  abridged 
narrative.  My  reasons  for  such  a  venture  are  brief,  but,  I  trust,  sat¬ 
isfactory  : 

First ,  to  every  American  citizen  some  knowledge  of  the  history  of 
his  country  is  indispensable.  The  attainment  of  that  knowledge  ought 
to  be  made  easy  and  delightful. 

Second,  the  Centennial  of  the  Republic  furnishes  an  auspicious  oc¬ 
casion  for  the  study  of  those  great  events  which  compose  the  warp 
and  woof  of  the  new  civilization  in  the  West. 

This  book  is  intended  for  the  average  American;  for  the  man 
of  business  who  has  neither  time  nor  disposition  to  plod  through  ten 
or  twenty  volumes  of  elaborate  historical  dissertation;  for  the  prac¬ 
tical  man  of  the  shop,  the  counter,  and  the  plow.  The  work  is 
dedicated  to  the  household  and  the  library  of  the  working  man.  It  is  in¬ 
scribed  to  the  father,  the  mother,  the  son,  and  the  daughter  of  the 
American  family.  If  father,  mother,  son,  and  daughter  shall  love 
their  country  better — if  they  shall  understand  more  clearly  and  ap¬ 
preciate  more  fully  the  founding,  progress,  and  growth  of  liberty  in 

the  New  World — the  author  will  be  abundantly  repaid. 

1  '  r  n  fl  (iii) 

A  «l>  U  f.i  v 


IV 


PREFACE. 


In  the  preparation  of  the  work  the  following  objects  have  been 
kept  in  view: 

I.  To  give  an  accurate  and  spirited  Narrative  of  the  principal 
events  in  our  National  history  from  the  aboriginal  times  to  the  pres¬ 
ent  day. 

II.  To  discuss  the  Philosophy  of  that  history  as  fully  as  possible 
within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  work. 

III.  To  avoid  all  Partiality,  Partisanship,  and  Prejudice,  as 
things  dangerous,  baneful,  and  wicked. 

IV.  To  preserve  a  clear  and  systematic  Arrangement  of  the  sev¬ 
eral  subjects,  giving  to  every  fact,  whether  of  peace  or  war,  its  true 
place  and  importance  in  the  narrative. 

V  .  To  secure  a  Style  and  Method  in  the  book  itself  which 
shall  be  in  seeping  with  the  spirit  and  refinement  of  the  times. 

Whether  these  important  ends  have  been  attained,  dear  People, 
it  is  not  my  province  but  yours  to  decide.  I  have  labored  earnestly 
to  reach  the  ideal  of  such  a  work,  and  if  success  has  not  rewarded 
the  effort,  the  failure  has  been  in  the  execution  rather  than  in  the 
plan  and  purpose. 

I  surrender  the  book,  thus  undertaken  and  completed,  to  You — 
for  whom  it  was  intended.  With  diffidence  I  ask  a  considerate  judg¬ 
ment  and  just  recognition  of  whatever  worth  the  work  may  be  found 
to  possess. 


J.  C.  P. 


PREFACE  TO  COLUMBIAN  EDITION. 

#  % 


The  issuance  of  the  present  edition  of  the  History  of  the 
United  States  falls  fittingly  on  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  discovery  of  our  country.  The  author  has  availed  himself  of 
the  occasion  to  revise  and  enlarge  the  work,  bringing  the  narrative 
down  to  the  present  day.  He  has  expanded  those  parts  which  cover 
the  last  two  decades  of  our  history,  so  as  to  give  to  current  events 
as  much  space  as  the  limitations  of  the  volume  will  permit.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  reader  may  thus  find  not  only  an  adequate  account 
of  the  earlier  epochs,  but  also  a  satisfactory  narration  of  the  recent 
—  even  the  most  recent  —  parts  of  our  national  development. 

Little  apology  should  be  made  for  the  publication  of  a  work 
of  this  kind.  Whatever  may  be  the  defects  of  composition  and 
arrangement,  the  essential  merits  of  the  subject  must  prove  to  be 
not  only  the  explanation,  but  in  some  measure  the  justification  of 
the  enterprise.  The  history  of  our  country  is  a  theme  which  can 
never  be  exhausted  by  repetition.  It  increases  in  interest  with  its 
diffusion ;  familiarity,  in  this  case  at  least,  instead  of  breeding 
contempt,  adds  rather  an  increasing  charm  to  the  story. 

I  have  attempted  in  this  work  to  give  within  the  moderate 
limits  of  a  single  volume  a  succinct  account  of  the  principal  events 
in  the  history  of  the  United  States.  Beginning  with  the  earliest 
voyages  and  discoveries,  I  have  spoken  of  the  first  foothold  and 
plantings  of  civilization  on  our  continent.  I  have  attempted  to 
narrate,  not  in  minute  details  but  in  general  outline  of  sufficient 
amplitude,  the  adventures  and  tentative  movements  by  which  the 
better  parts  of  the  New  World  were  reclaimed  and  brought  at 
length  under  the  dominion  of  the  English-speaking  race.  The  same 
method  has  been  pursued  in  the  so-called  Colonial  period  of  our 
history,  and  through  the  epoch  of  the  intercolonial  wars. 

Two  reasons  may  be  assigned  for  dwelling  with  tolerable  ful¬ 
ness  upon  this  part  of  our  career  as  a  people.  The  first  is  the 
inherent  interest  which  the  early  ages  of  our  history  possess;,  and 
the  second  is  the  dependency  of  our  larger  development  upon  the 
Colonial  planting.  He  who  dwells  with  care  on  the  matters  pre¬ 
sented  in  our  age  of  discovery  can  hardly  fail  to  find  in  the  same 
such  interest  as  the  drama  furnishes  to  the  eager  and  curious  mind. 
He  who  studies  with  attention  the  facts  present  in  our  Colonial 
epoch  will  discover  in  the  same  the  fundamental  conditions  of  the 
larger  national  life  which  has  arisen  therefrom. 

The  formative  period  of  that  life  includes  the  great  event  by 
which  our  independence  of  the  Mother  Country  was  achieved, 
namely,  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  In  this  struggle  of  our  heroic 
age  the  movements  of  the  new  American  societies  towards  unity, 
freedom  and  greatness  can  be  easily  discerned.  The  virtues  of 


PREFACE  TO  COLUMBIAN  EDITION. 


that  important  period  —  its  patriotism,  singleness  of  purpose,  high 
motives  of  conduct  and  devotion  to  principle  —  must  plainly  appear 
to  every  thoughtful  reader.  The  example  of  the  patriot  fathers 
may  well  furnish  to  their  descendants  the  motives  and  inspiration 
requisite  to  right  citizenship  in  the  greatest  of  republics. 

In  history  not  everything  is  accomplished  at  one  stroke.  Our 
War  of  Independence  did  not  suffice  for  the  nationality  of  the 
United  States.  That  came  afterwards,  by  trial  stages,  by  attraction 
and  repulsion,  by  the  growth  of  many  things  and  the  decay  of  some, 
and  finally  by  the  ordeal  of  the  greatest  war  of  modern  history. 

It  was  needed  that  a  considerable  period  should  elapse  between 
the  founding  and  the  completion  of  our  national  structure,  Room 
must  be  afforded  for  the  abatement  of  old  antagonisms  and  the 
death  of  hurtful  prejudices.  Opportunity  must  be  given  for  the 
birth  and  development  of  new  sentiments  to  which  our  fathers  were 
strangers.  Space  must  be  had  for  the  spread  of  this  strong  Anglo- 
American  race,  and  for  the  obliteration  of  that  localism  with  which 
it  had  been  hampered  in  the  beginning. 

Our  War  for  the  Union  carries  still  in  the  memories  of  men 
the  bruises  of  the  battlefield.  That  struggle  made  for  itself  a  great 
memory  in  the  world,  and  marked  the  limitation  which  the  civilized 
life  of  man  drew  at  last  around  some  of  the  most  grievious  abuses 
of  ancient  times.  It  was  in  this  furnace  that  African  slavery  per¬ 
ished  ;  out  of  it  came  new  concepts  of  the  rights  of  man  and  the 
blessings  possible  under  a  purified  and  enlarged  democracy. 

Nor  should  we  fail  to  reflect  upon  the  great  period  which  has 
now  elapsed  since  the  close  of  our  civil  conflict.  More  than  one- 
fourth  of  our  whole  national  career,  measured  from  the  foundation 
of  the  Republic,  lies  this  side  of  Appomattox !  During  this  period 
an  increment  of  twenty-seven  millions  of  souls,  or  forty  per  cent, 
of  the  whole,  has  been  added  to  our  population.  A  continent  has 
been  reclaimed  and  organized  into  great  States;  the  foundations 
have  been  laid  with  seeming  security  for  the  greatest  nationality 
in  the  world.  We  have  made  a  way  for  posterity,  as  our  fathers 
made  a  way  for  us. 

It  is  fitting  that  all  this  should  come  vividly  to  the  recollection 
in  the  Columbian  year.  The  occasion  of  the  international  celebra¬ 
tion  in  the  most  American  and  most  marvellous  of  all  cities  may 
well  invite  all  classes  of  readers  to  a  review  of  the  history  of  their 
country.  I  have  endeavored  in  the  following  pages  to  recite  the 
story  in  a  manner  befitting  the  year.  It  has  been  my  aim  to  include 
all  the  essentials  of  the  narrative,  omitting  only  so  much  as  may 
be  spared  without  marring  the  outline  of  the  whole.  I  do  not 
flatter  myself  that  the  work  has  been  perfectly  done,  but  may  claim 
to  have  spared  no  effort  to  make  this  one-volume  history  of  our 
country  worthy  of  the  theme  and  of  the  great  public,  into  whose 
hands  I  cordially  deliver  the  result  of  my  labor. 

J.  C.  R. 

Greencastle,  Ind.,  August  27,  1893. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

What  constitutes  a  period  in  history. — The  period  of  the  Aborigines. — The  second 
period  in  the  history  of  the  United  States. — Extends  from  the  discovery  of  the  conti¬ 
nent  to  the  establishment  of  permanent  settlements. — The  third  period. — Reaches  from 
the  first  colonies  to  the  war  of  the  Revolution. — The  fourth  period. — Embraces  the 
Revolution  and  the  consolidation  of  the  government. — The  fifth  period  is  most  im¬ 
portant. — Extends  from  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  to  the  present  time. — The 
names  and  dates  of  the  several  periods .  39,  40. 


PART  I. 

ABORIGINAL  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  RED  MEN — ORIGIN,  DISTRIBUTION,  CHARACTER. 

The  Indians. — Their  name  accounted  for. — Differences  between  them  and  th® 
Asiatics. — The  origin  of  the  Indian  races  unknown. — Theories  controverted. — The 
question  likely  to  remain  unsolved. — Language  may  give  us  light. — The  Red  men  Gan- 
owanians. — Habits  of  that  race. — Divisions  of  the  aboriginal  nations. — The  Esqui¬ 
maux. — Their  manner  of  life. — The  race  of  Algonquins. — Their  distribution. — And 
character. — The  Huron-Iroquois. — Their  domain. — Nature  of  their  confederation. — 
Their  influence  and  character. — The  Southern  races. — Cherokees. — Mobilians. — Man¬ 
ners  and  characteristics. — The  Dakotas. — Their  limits. — The  Comanches. — The  na¬ 
tions  beyond  the  Mountains. — Shoshonees. — Selish. — Klamaths. — Californians. — Aztecs 
and  Toltecs  of  old. — The  Indian  character  in  general. — Sense  of  personal  inde¬ 
pendence. — Passion  for  war. — Principles  of  war. — And  of  peace. — The  Indian  unsocial 
and  solitary. — His  family  organization. — The  European  family. — Diagram  thereof. — 
Indian  method. — And  diagram. — Aboriginal  government. — Powers  and  limitations. — • 
Native  religion. — Beliefs  of  the  Red  men. — Their  arts. — Rudeness  of  the  same. — The 
Indian  house. — Utensils. — Weapons. — Clothing. — Decorations. — Paint. — And  writing. — 
The  savage  tongues. — Peculiarities  of  Indian  speech. — Personal  appearance  of  the 
aborigines. — Stature. — Features. — Bodily  habit. — Indian  amusements. — The  dance. — 
Other  sports. — Gaming. — The  use  of  tobacco. — Strong  drinks. — Indian  prospects. — • 

Reflections.  . . .  41-50, 

(▼) 


vi 


CONTENTS. 


PART  II. 

VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 

A.  I>.  986—1607. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  ICELANDERS  AND  NORWEGIANS  IN  AMERICA. 

Heijulfson  is  driven  by  a  storm  to  the  American  coast. — Lief  Erickson  discovers 
America. — Thorwald  and  Thorstein  Erickson  make  voyages. — Thorfinn  Karlsefne  ex¬ 
plores  the  shores  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts. — Other  voyages  are  made  by  the  Norse¬ 
men. — The  name  of  Vinland. — Character  of  the  sea-kings. — Voyages  in  the  following 
centuries. — No  practical  results  from  the  Icelandic  discoveries. — Their  authenticity. — 
Note . 51-54. 

CHAPTER  III. 

SPANISH  DISCOVERIES. 

Spain  makes  the  New  World  known  to  Europe. — Old  ideas  about  the  figure  of  the 
earth. — Columbus. — Sketch  of  his  life. — The  favor  of  Isabella. — Columbus  departs  on 
his  first  voyage. — Discovers*  San  Salvador,  Cuba,  and  Hayti. — Second  voyage  of  Co¬ 
lumbus. — Third. — He  discovers  South  America. — Fourth  voyage. — Columbus’s  misfort¬ 
unes  and  death. — Wrong  done  to  his  memory. — Vespucci  makes  two  voyages  to  South 
America. — Excitement  in  Europe  on  account  of  discoveries. — Colony  planted  on  the 
Isthmus. — Balboa  discovers  the  Pacific. — Ponce  de  Leon  makes  explorations  in  Flor¬ 
ida. — Is  killed  in  a  fight  with  the  Indians.  .  .  54-58. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SPANISH  DISCOVERIES — CONTINUED. 

Cordova  discovers  Yucatan. — Grijalva  explores  Mexico. — Cortez  lands  at  Tabasco. — 
Terror  pervades  the  country. — The  natives  are  beaten  back. — Cortez  proceeds  to  Vera 
Cruz. — Montezuma  sends  embassies  and  presents. — The  Spaniards  march  towards  the 
capital. — And  are  forbidden  to  approach. — The  Mexican  tribes  revolt. — Cortez  reaches 
the  city. — And  enters. — His  critical  situation. — He  seizes  Montezuma. — Who  acknowl¬ 
edges  the  king  of  Spain. — The  governor  of  Cuba  sends  forces  against  Cortez.— He  over¬ 
powers  them. — Returns  to  the  capital. — The  struggle  for  possession  of  the  city. — Mon¬ 
tezuma  is  wounded. — And  dies. — The  Spaniards  are  victorious. — Mexico  becomes  a 
Spanish  province. — Magellan  sails  around  South  America. — Crosses  the  Pacific.— Is 
killed  at  the  Philippines. — His  crew  reach  the  East  Indies. — Double  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope. — Return  to  Europe. — De  Narvaez  is  appointed  governor  of  Florida. — Ex¬ 
plores  the  country  around  the  Gulf. — The  company  embark  in  boats,  and  are  wrecked. — 
Four  men  reach  San  Miguel. — De  Soto  sets  out  on  an  expedition  to  explore  and  con¬ 
quer  Florida. — Arrives  at  Tampa  Bay. — Marches  into  the  interior, — Spends  the  winter 
on  Flint  River. — The  company  march  into  South  Carolina. — Cross  into  Georgia. — Capt¬ 
ure  Manville. — Spend  the  next  winter  on  the  Yazoo. — Discover  the  Mississippi. — Ex¬ 
plore  Arkansas  and  return  to  the  Mississippi. — De  Soto  dies. — His  men  again  march 
westward  to  the  mountains. — Return  to  the  mouth  of  Red  River. — Build  boats  and 
descend  the  Mississippi. — Reach  the  Spanish  settlements  in  Mexico. — Melendez  comes 


CONTENTS. 


Vll 


to  Florida,  and  founds  St.  Augustine— Murders  the  Huguenots  on  the  St.  John’s.— 
Massacres  the  crews  of  the  French  vessels. — Extent  of  the  Spanish  explorations.  Tho 
Portuguese  voyage  of  Gaspar  Cortereal. — He  sells  a  cargo  of  Indian  slaves  in  Portu¬ 
gal.  .  61-69. 

CHAPTER  V. 


THE  FRENCH  IN  AMERICA. 

First  acquaintance  of  the  French  with  America. — Verrazzani  is  sent  out  to  make  ex¬ 
plorations. — Arrives  on  the  coast  of  North  Carolina.— Explores  the  shores  of  the  country 
as  far  north  as  Newfoundland. — Cartier  is  sent  on  a  voyage  to  America.— Reaches 
Newfoundland  and  enters  the  Gulf  and  River  of  St.  Lawrence.— Returns  to  Europe.— 
Sails  on  a  second  expedition. — Ascends  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Montreal. — Llis  crew  are 
attacked  with  scurvy. — He  passes  the  winter  near  the  site  of  Quebec. — And  returns  to 
France. — Roberval  undertakes  to  colonize  the  country. — Cartier  joined  to  the  under¬ 
taking. — Prisons  of  France  are  opened  to  furnish  emigrants. — Expedition  reaches  the 
St.  Lawrence. — The  leaders  quarrel,  and  Cartier  goes  back  to  France. — The  whole 
colony  returns. — Roberval  sails  with  another  fleet. — And  is  lost  at  sea. — Ribault  con¬ 
ducts  a  band  of  Huguenots  to  Port  Royal. — Builds  Fort  Carolina. — The  settlement  is 
abandoned. — The  enterprise  renewed  by  Laudonniere. — A  Huguenot  colony  estab¬ 
lished  on  the  St.  John’s  River. — But  destroyed  by  Melendez. — De  Gourges  takes  venge¬ 
ance  on  the  Spaniards. — La  Roche  is  commissioned  to  plant  colonies  in  America. — 
French  prisons  again  opened. — A  settlement  is  made  on  Sable  Island. — The  company 
rescued  and  carried  to  France. — De  Monts  made  viceroy  of  New  France. — Departs  with 
a  colony. — Reaches  the  Bay  of  Fundy.— Port  Royal  founded  by  Poutrincourt,  and  the 
St.  Croix  settlement  by  De  Monts. — The  country  named  Acadia. — Champlain  receives 
a  commission. — Sails  with  a  colony  to  the  St.  Lawrence. — Goes  against  the  Iroquois. — 
Returns  and  founds  Quebec .  70-76. 

CHAPTER  VI. 


ENGLISH  DISCOVERIES  AND  SETTLEMENTS. 

Henry  VII.  commissions  John  Cabot. — Who  discovers  North  America. — Is  re¬ 
commissioned. — Sebastian  takes  charge  of  the  expedition. — Explores  the  American 
coast  from  Labrador  to  Cape  Hatteras. — Leaves  England  to  become  pilot  of  Spain. — 
The  notable  year  1498. — Causes  which  impeded  English  discovery. — Maritime  enter¬ 
prise  revives  under  Elizabeth. — Frobisher  sails  to  America  and  discovers  Meta  Incog¬ 
nita. — Takes  spurious  ore  to  London. — A  new  voyage  is  planned. — Frobisher  conducts 
a  fleet  to  Meta  Incognita. — The  expedition  proves  a  failure. — Sir  Francis  Drake  cap¬ 
tures  Spanish  merchantmen. — Goes  to  the  Pacific  coast. — Attempts  the  discovery  of  a 
north-west  passage. — Gilbert  forms  a  plan  of  colonization. — Is  assisted  by  Raleigh. — 
Conducts  a  fleet  to  Newfoundland- -The  crews  find  spurious  minerals. — The  voyage  is 
continued  to  Massachusetts. — Gilbert  loses  his  best  ship  and  a  hundred  men. — Starts 
home,  and  is  lost  at  sea  — Raleigh  sends  Amidas  and  Barlow  with  a  colony. — They 
reach  Roanoke  Island  and  begin  a  settlement. — The  place  is  abandoned. — Raleigh 
Bends  a  second  colony  under  Lane. — The  colonists  reach  Roanoke  and  begin  to  build. — • 
Difficulties  arise  with,  the  Indians. — The  settlement  is  broken  up. — The  colony  taken 
home  by  Drake. — A  new  charter  granted  by  Raleigh,  and  White  chosen  governor. — 
The  new  emigrants  arrive  at  Roanoke.— The  foundations  of  a  town  laid  on  the  Island. — • 
Troubles  with  the  Indians. — Manteo  is  made  a  peer. — White  returns  to  England. — Birth 
of  Virginia  Dare. — The  fate  of  the  colony  never  ascertained. — Condition  of  affairs  in 
England. — White  returns,  and  finds  Roanoke  deserted. — Raleigh  assigns  his  patent  to 


VU1 


CONTENTS. 


London  merchants. — Gosnold  makes  a  voyage  directly  across  the  Atlantic. — Attempts 
to  form  a  settlement  on  Elizabeth  Island. — The  place  is  abandoned. — Gosnold  trades 
with  the  natives. — The  crew  demand  to  return. — Flattering  accounts  are  given  of  the 
country. — An  expedition  is  sent  out  under  Pring. — He  explores  a  part  of  the  New 
England  coast,  and  returns  to  Bristol. — Waymouth  sails  on  a  voyage. — Trades  with 
the  Indians  of  Maine.— Returns  to  England .  76-85. 

CHAPTER  YII. 

ENGLISH  DISCOVERIES  AND  SETTLEMENTS. — CONTINUED. 

King  James  issues  patents  to  the  London  and  Plymouth  Companies. — The  London 
'Company  to  plant  colonies  between  the  34th  and  the  38th  parallels. — The  Plymouth  Com¬ 
pany  to  make  settlements  from  the  41st  to  the  45th  degree. — Gosnold,  Smith,  Hakluyt 
and  Wingfield  lead  the  affairs  of  the  Southern  Company. — No  democratic  principles 
are  recognized  in  the  charter. — A  ship  is  sent  out  by  the  Plymouth  Company. — A 
second  vessel  is  dispatched  to  America. — A  settlement  is  attempted  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kennebec. — Is  abandoned  in  the  summer  of  1608. — A  fleet  with  a  colony  is  sent  out  by 
the  London  Company. — Newport  commands. — They  arrive  in  the  Chesapeake. — Enter 
James  River. — Make  a  landing  and  lay  the  foundations  of  Jamestown.— The  affairs  of 
the  Plymouth  Company  are  revived  by  Smith. — He  explores  and  maps  the  coast  of 
Maine  and  Massachusetts. — Several  attempts  are  made  to  form  a  colony  in  New  Eng¬ 
land. — The  Plymouth  Company  is  superseded  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth. — A  new 
plan  of  colonization  is  made,  and  Smith  appointed  admiral. — The  Puritans  arise  in  the 
North  of  England. — They  remove  to  Amsterdam  and  Leyden. — Determine  to  remove  to 
America. — Ask  permission  of  the  king  and  the  Council  of  Plymouth. — Meet  with  dis¬ 
couragements. — Procure  two  vessels  at  their  own  expense. — Sail  from  Leyden,  and  after¬ 
ward  from  Southampton. — The  Speedwell  is  found  unfit  for  the  voyage,  and  the  Pilgrims 
depart  in  the  Mayflower.— The  Pilgrims  have  a  stormy  voyage. — Come  in  sight  of  Cape 
Cod. — They  make  a  frame  of  government. — Carver  is  elected  governor. — The  landing 
is  delayed  by  bad  weather. — The  ship  is  driven  by  storms. — Enters  Plymouth  harbor.— 
The  Puritans  go  ashore  on  the  11th  of  December. — Begin  to  build. — Are  attacked  with 
diseases. — Many  of  the  colony  die. — An  early  spring  brings  them  relief.  .  85-91. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

VOYAGES  AND  SETTLEMENTS  OF  THE  DUTCH. 

Dutch  settlements  in  America  result  from  the  voyages  of  Hudson. — He  is  employed 
by  London  merchants  to  reach  the  Indies.— Sails  into  the  North  Atlantic. — Fails  in  his 
effort. — Is  sent  on  a  second  voyage. — And  fails. — Goes  into  the  service  of  the  Dutch  East 
India  Company. — Sails  on  a  third  voyage. — Is  driven  back  by  the  icebergs. — Turns  to 
America. — Reaches  Newfoundland. — Sails  southward  to  the  Chesapeake. — Then  north¬ 
ward  to  New  York  harbor. — Discovers  the  Hudson  River. — Explores  that  stream  as  far 
as  Albany. — Returns  to  Dartmouth. — Is  detained  by  the  English  government. — Is  sent  on 
a  fourth  expedition. — Discovers  Hudson  Strait  and  Bay. — Is  overtaken  by  winter. — The 
crew  mutiny. — Hudson  is  cast  off  among  the  icebergs. — Dutch  vessels  begin  to  trade  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Hudson. — The  states-general  grant  a  right  to  trade. — A  settlement  is 
made  on  Manhattan  Island. — Block  explores  Long  Island  Sound. — Christianson  builds 
Fort  Nassau.— May  explores  the  coast  of  New  Jersey. — Holland  claims  the  country 
from  Delaware  Bay  to  Cape  Cod . „  92-94 


CONTENTS. 


ix 


PART  III. 

COLONIAL  HISTORY. 

A.  I>.  1607—1775. 


PARENT  COLONIES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

VIRGINIA. — THE  FIRST  CHARTER. 

The  progress  of  Virginia  is  hindered. — First  settlers  are  of  bad  character. — Necessity 
drives  them  to  labor. — The  king  gives  sealed  instructions. — Smith  is  arrested. — And  ex¬ 
cluded  from  the  council. — He  and  Newport  explore  the  James. — Return  to  Jamestown. 
— Newport  goes  to  England. — The  colonists  are  discouraged. — Disease  ravages  the  settle¬ 
ment. — Gosnold  dies. — Wingfield  embezzles  the  funds. — And  is  removed  from  office. — 
Ratcliffe  succeeds. — And  is  also  impeached. — Smith  takes  control  of  the  colony. — Sketch 
of  his  life. — The  settlement  flourishes  under  his  care. — He  explores  the  country,  and  pro¬ 
cures  supplies. — The  Indians  furnish  provisions. — Smith  explores  the  Chickahominy. — 
Is  captured  by  the  Indians. — Saves  his  life  by  stratagem. — Is  carried  to  Orapax.- — Thence 
to  Pamunkey. — Is  condemned  to  death. — And  saved  by  Pocahontas. — He  remains  in 
Powhatan’s  household. — Is  liberated. — Returns  to  Jamestown. — Terrifies  the  savages. — 
Deplorable  condition  of  the  settlement. — Plot  to  abandon  the  place. — Newport  arrives 
with  new  immigrants. — Who  are  as  bad  as  the  others. — The  gold-hunters  go  abroad. — 
And  find  mica  in  the  sand  of  James  River. — A  ship  is  loaded  with  dirt  and  sent  to  Eng¬ 
land. — The  planting  season  goes  by. — Smith  makes  his  great  exploration  of  the  Chesa¬ 
peake. — And  maps  the  country. — Returns. — Is  elected  president. — Newport  arrives  with 
more  immigrants  and  supplies. — Progress  of  the  colony .  95-104. 

CHAPTER  X. 

VIRGINIA. — THE  SECOND  CHARTER. 

King  James  grants  a  new  charter. — Changes  are  made  in  the  form  of  government. — A 
new  council  is  organized. — Delaware  is  chosen  governor. — The  other  officers. — A  fleet 
with  five  hundred  emigrants  sails  for  America. — Encounters  a  storm. — Two  vessels  are 
wrecked. — Seven  ships  reach  Jamestown. — The  commissioners  are  left-on  the  Bermuda 
Islands. — Smith  retains  the  presidency. — New  settlements  are  projected. — Smith  is 
wounded. — Delegates  his  authority  to  Percy. — Returns  to  England. — Colony  suffers  after 
his  departure. — The  starving  time. — Gates  and  his  companions  reach  Virginia. — The 
settlement  is  abandoned. — Delaware  meets  the  colony. — And  persuades  them  to  return. — 
Prosperity  begins. — But  Delaware  falls  sick. — And  returns  to  England. — Percy  is  deputy. 
— Dale  arrives  as  governor. — Brings  immigrants. — Writes  for  supplies  and  new  colo¬ 
nists. — Who  arrive. — The  colony  improves. — Gates  is  made  governor. — The  right  of 
private  property  is  recognized. — And  the  settlements  enlarged.  .  .  ,  104-107 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

VIRGINIA. — THE  THIRD  CHARTER. 

The  London  Company  receive  a  third  patent. — The  colony  had  proved  unprofitable. 
— Argali  kidnaps  Pocahontas. — Who  is  married  to  Rolfe. — They  visit  England. — And 
leave  descendants  in  Virginia. — Argali  destroys  the  French  settlements  in  Acadia.  - 
And  reduces  the  Dutch  colony  of  Manhattan. — Dale  becomes  governor  of  Virginia  - 
Tobacco  is  the  staple  of  Jamestown. — And  is  used  for  money. — Argali  is  chosen  gov¬ 
ernor. — Delaware  sails  for  America. — And  dies. — Yeard  ley  supersedes  Argali. — Abolishes 
martial  law. — Establishes  the  House  of  Burgesses. — Slavery  is  introduced. — Society  is 
low. — Women  are  sent  over. — And  married  to  the  colonists. — A  constitution  is  granted. 
— Wyatt  becomes  governor. — Settlements  spread  abroad. — The  Indians  become  jealous, 
— And  massacre  the  people. — But  are  defeated. — The  company  is  opposed  by  the  king.— 
A  commission  is  appointed. — Who  report  against  the  company. — And  its  charter  is  re¬ 
voked. — But  liberty  is  planted  in  Virginia . 108-113 

CHAPTER  XII. 

VIRGINIA. — THE  ROYAL  GOVERNMENT. 

Royal  government  is  established. — But  the  administration  is  unchanged. — Charles  I. 
becomes  king. — Recognizes  the  Virginia  Assembly. — Yeardley  is  re-elected  governor. — 
Dies. — West  is  chosen  by  the  council. — Harvey  arrives  from  England. — Land-grants  vex 
the  people. — Harvey  is  impeached. — But  is  sustained  by  the  king. — Wyatt  succeeds.— 
English  Revolution  breaks  out. — King  Charles  is  beheaded. — Monarchy  is. abolished. — • 
Cromwell  becomes  Protector. — Virginia  inclines  to  royalty. — Berkeley  becomes  gov¬ 
ernor. — The  Puritans  are  persecuted. — An  Indian  war  arises. — The  savages  are  beaten. 
— Virginia  refuses  to  acknowledge  Parliament. — Cromwell  restricts  her  commerce. — 
Sends  a  fleet  to  America. — And  the  Virginians  submit. — Favorable  terms  are  granted 
— Peace  continues  during  the  commonwealth. — The  Burgesses  elect  three  governors.— 
Berkeley  is  thus  chosen. — Accepts. — But  at  the  Restoration  renounces  his  acceptance. 
— And  issues  Avrits  in  the  king’s  name. — Tyranny  follows. — Commerce  is  restricted. — > 
The  Virginians  complain. — In  vain. — Charles  II.  gives  away  Virginia  lands. — And 
finally  the  whole  State  to  Arlington  and  Culpepper. — The  Quakers  and  the  Baptists  are 
persecuted. — Taxes  are  odious. — The  people  rebel. — An  Indian  war  is  the  excuse. — 
And  Berkeley’s  tyranny  the  cause. — Bacon  heads  the  insurrection. — The  Indians  are 
punished. — Berkeley  abdicates. — Returns. — Captures  Jamestown. — Bacon  takes  the 
place,  and  burns  it. — Dies. — The  patriots  are  dispersed. — And  the  leaders  hanged. — 
A  worse  despotism  is  established. — Culpepper  becomes  governor. — Treats  Virginia  as 
an  estate. — Arlington  surrenders  his  claim. — The  king  recalls  the  grant. —  And  Vir¬ 
ginia  becomes  a  royal  province. — Howard  and  Nicholson  administer  the  government. — 
William  and  Mary  College  founded. — Andro3  becomes  governor. — Future  history  of  Vir¬ 
ginia.  ....  . 114-123 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — SETTLEMENT. 

The  Pilgrims  are  saved  by  the  coming  of  spring. — Health  is  restored. — Miles  Stan- 
dish  is  sent  out  to  reconnoitre. — Samoset  and  Squanto  come  to  Plymouth. — A  treaty  is 
made  with  Massasoit. — Other  tribes  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  England. — Canon- 
icus  is  overawed. — An  unfruitful  summer. — Immigrants  arive. — Are  quartered  on  the 
colony. — The  Pilgrims  are  destitute. — The  new-comers  found  Weymouth. — The  Indi- 


CONTENTS. 


xi 


ans  plan  a  massacre. — And  are  punished  by  Standish. — Weymouth  is  abandoned. — A 
plentiful  harvest. — Robinson  remains  at  Leyden. — The  colonial  enterprise  proves  un¬ 
profitable. — The  managers  sell  out  to  the  colonists. — The  Established  Church  is  fa¬ 
vored. — Salem  is  founded. — The  Company  of  Massachusetts  Bay  is  chartered  by  the 
•king  and  the  council. — Boston  is  founded. — The  government  is  transferred  to  America. 
— A  large  immigration  in  1630. — Winthrop  is  governor. — Cambridge  is  founded. — 
Watertown. — Roxbury. — Dorchester. — The  colony  suffers  greatly. — Suffrage  is  restricted. 
— Williams  protests. — And  is  banished/ — Goes  among  the  Indians. — Is  kindly  received. 
— Tarries  at  Seekonk. — Removes.— And  founds  Providence. — A  representative  govern¬ 
ment  is  established. — The  ballot-box  is  introduced. — Three  thousand  immigrants  ar¬ 
rive. — Vane  and  Peters  are  the  leaders. — Concord  is  founded. — Colonies  remove  to  the 
Connecticut. — Religious  controversies. — Mrs.  Hutchinson  is  banished. — She  and  her 
friends  establish  a  republic  on  Rhode  Island. — Harvard  College  is  founded  at  Cam¬ 
bridge. — A  printing-press  is  set  up. — Eliot,  Welde,  and  Mather  translate  the  Psalms.-— 
Liberty  flourishes  in  Massachusetts. — Emigration  is  hindered  by  England.  123-133 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — THE  UNION. 

Progress  of  New  England. — Circumstances  favor  a  union  of  the  colonies. — Massa¬ 
chusetts,  Plymouth,  Connecticut  and  New  Haven  are  confederated. — No  other  colonies 
are  admitted. — A  Body  of  Liberties  is  formed. — The  two  legislative  branches  are  sepa¬ 
rated. — The  English  Revolution  is  favorable  to  New  England. — Vane  and  others  de¬ 
fend  the  rights  of  the  colonies. — The  Parliament  demands  the  charter  of  Massachusetts. 
— Which  is  refused. — Cromwell  the  friend  of  Massachusetts. — Maine  is  annexed.-  • 
Early  settlements  in  Maine. — The  Quakers  arrive  at  Boston. — Are  persecuted  and  ban¬ 
ished. — The  death  penalty  is  passed  against  them. — Four  persons  are  executed. — Reac¬ 
tion  against  the  law. — And  the  law  is  abolished. — News  of  the  Restoration  reaches 
Boston. — Whalley  and  Goffe  arrive. — And  escape  to  Connecticut. — Vane  and  Peters  arc 
executed. — The  Navigation  Act  is  passed. — Its  bearing  on  the  commerce  of  New  Eng¬ 
land. — War  between  England  and  Holland. — Charles  II.  attempts  to  subvert  the  colo¬ 
nial  charters, — Commissioners  are  sent  to  Massachusetts. — Are  met  with  resistance. — 
And  defeated  in  their  objects. — The  colony  prospers.  ....  133-139. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

MASSACHUSETTS. - KING  PHILIP’S  WAR. 

Philip  becomes  king  of  the  Wampanoags. — Causes  of  jealousy  and  war. — Alexan¬ 
der’s  imprisonment. — Outrages  are  committed. — The  war  begins. — Swanzey  is  attacked. 
— Philip  is  pursued  to  Mount  Hope. — Escapes  to  Tiverton. — Is  driven  from  the  Narra- 
gansett  country. — Goes  to  the  Nipmucks. — A  general  war  ensues. — The  Narragansetts 
are  obliged  to  remain  neutral. — English  ambassadors  are  massacred  at  Brookfield. — The 
town  is  attacked.* — Rescued. — Abandoned. — Burned. — Deerfield  is  partly  destroyed. — ■ 
Lathrop  attempts  to  bring  off  the  harvests. — Is  ambushed  at  Bloody  Brook. — The  battle. 
— Hadley  is  attacked. — Rescued  by  Goffe. — Springfield  is  assaulted. — And  destroyed. 
— Hadley  is  burned. — The  savages  are  defeated  at  Hatfield. — Philip  repairs  to  the  Nar¬ 
ragansetts. — The  English  declare  war. — And  invade  the  country. — Philip  and  his  forces 
take  refuge  in  a  swamp. — Are  surrounded. — Attacked. — And  utterly  routed.— Ruin  of 
the  Narragansett  nation. — The  war  continues  on  the  frontiers. — Towns  and  villages  are 
destroyed. — The  savages  grow  feeble. — Canonchet  is  taken. — And  put  to  death. — Philip’s 
family  are  captured. — And  sold  as  slaves. — Himself  hunted  down. — And  shot. — Sub- 


xu 


CONTENTS. 


mission  of  the  tribes. — Losses  of  New  England. — The  English  government  refuses  help. 
— Randolph  comes  to  abridge  the  liberties  of  Massachusetts. — And  is  defeated. — Mas¬ 
sachusetts  purchases  Maine  of  the  heirs  of  Gorges. — Difficulties  concerning  New  Hamp¬ 
shire. — A  royal  government  is  established  in  the  province. — Cranfield’s  administration. 
— The  king’s  hostility. — The  charter  of  Massachusetts  is  annulled. — King  Charles  dies. 
— James  II.  appoints  Dudley  governor. — And  then  Andros.— The  liberties  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  are  destroyed. — The  government  of  Andros  is  extended  over  New  England. — But 
the  charter  of  Connecticut  is  saved. — The  Revolution  of  1688. — Andros  is  seized,  and 
imprisoned. — And  the  colonies  restore  their  liberties.  ....  139-147. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — WAR  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 

King  William’s  War  begins. — The  causes. — Dover  is\  attacked  and  burned. — Pema- 
quid  is  destroyed. — And  then  Schenectady. — And  Salmon  Falls. — An  expedition  is 
planned  against  Canada. — Phipps  takes  Port  Royal. — But  fails  at  Quebec. — And  re¬ 
turns. — Paper  money  is  issued. — Failure  of  the  expedition  against  Montreal. — Phipps 
goes  to  England. — And  returns  as  royal  governor. — Oyster  River  is  destroyed. — Haver¬ 
hill  is  attacked  and  burned. — Mrs.  Dustin’s  captivity. — The  treaty  of  Ryswick. — The 
witchcraft  excitement  begins  at  Salem. — The  causes. — Parris  and  Mather. — The  trials. 
— Convictions. — Executions. — The  reaction. — Mather’s  book. — Reflections.  147-153. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — WARS  OF  ANNE  AND  GEORGE. 

Causes  of  Queen  Anne’s  War. — Field  of  operations  in  America. — A  treaty  is  made 
with  the  Five  Nations. — The  conflict  begins. — Deerfield  is  burned. — And  the  inhab¬ 
itants  carried  captive  to  Canada. — Barbarities  of  the  Indians. — An  expedition  is  sent 
against  Port  Royal. — The  attempt  fails. — Is  renewed  in  1710. — Port  Royal  is  taken. — 
And  named  Annapolis. — Preparations  are  made  for  invading  Canada. — Nicholson  com¬ 
mands  the  land  forces. — And  Walker  the  fleet. — The  squadron  is  delayed. — Stops  at 
Gaspe  Bay. — Is  shattered  by  a  storm  in  the  St.  Lawrence. — Returns  in  disgrace. — The 
expedition  by  land  is  abandoned. — A  treaty  is  made  at  Utrecht. — A  separate  peace  is 
concluded  with  the  Indians. — The  people  of  Massachusetts  resist  the  royal  governor. 
— Causes  of  King  George’s  War. — The  conflict  begins. — Importance  of  Louisburg. — Its 
conquest  is  planned  by  Shirley. — The  colonies  contribute  men  and  means. — The  expe¬ 
dition  leaves  Boston. — Is  detained  at  Canseau. — Joined  by  Warren’s  fleet. — Reaches 
Gabarus  Bay.— Invests  Louisburg. — The  siege. — The  surrender. — Cape  Breton  submits. 
— France  attempts  to  reconquer  Louisburg. — Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. — Character  of 
the  Puritans. .  153-160. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

NEW  YORK. — SETTLEMENT. 

Character  of  Sir  Henry  Hudson. — The  East  India  Company  govern  Manhattan. — A 
colony  is  sent  from  Holland. — A  charter  is  granted  to  the  West  India  Company. — The 
Walloons  arrive  at  New  Amsterdam. — May  builds  Fort  Nassau. — And  Joris,  Fort 
Orange. — Civil  government  begins  in  New  Netherlands — May  is  governor. — And  then 
Verhulst. — And  Minuit. — Manhattan  is  purchased. — And  fortified. — Friendly  relations 
are  established  between  the  Walloons  and  the  Puritans. — The  Dutch  devote  themselves 
to  the  fur-trade. — Growth  of  the  colony. — A  charter  is  granted. — The  patroons. — Five 
manors  are  laid  out. — Delaware  is  colonized. — And  then  abandoned. — Van  Twiller  sue- 


CONTENTS. 


xiii 

ceeds  Minuit. — A  fort  is  built  at  Hartford. — The  English  claim  the  Connecticut. — Swe¬ 
den  purposes  to  plant  an  American  colony. — The  project  is  delayed. — But  renewed  by 
Minuit. — A  Swedish  colony  reaches  the  Delaware. — Settles  at  Christiana. — Is  prosper¬ 
ous. — And  New  Netherland  is  jealous. — Fort  Nassau  is  rebuilt. — Printz  removes  to  Tin- 
icum. — The  Indians  are  provoked  by  the  Dutch. — War  breaks  out. — A  desultory  contest. 
— The  Mohawks  come. — Kieft  massacres  the  Algonquins. — The  Avar  continues. — Fate  ol 
Mrs.  Hutchinson. — Underhill  conquers  the  Indians. — Kieft  the  author  of  the  war. — 
De  Vries  succeeds  him. . .  .  160-167. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

NEW  YORK. — ADMINISTRATION  OF  STUYVESANT. 

Stuy  vesant  is  appointed  governor. — Peace  established  Avith  the  Indians. — Free  trade 
succeeds  monopoly. — Growth  of  the  colony. — A  boundary  is  established  between  New 
England  and  NeAv  Netherland. — The  Dutch  again  claim  New  Sweden. — Build  Fort 
Casimir. — The  place  is  captured  by  the  Swedes. — Stuyvesant  conquers  and  annexes  New 
SAveden. — The  Algonquins  rebel. — And  are  subdued. — The  Indians  of  Ulster  rise. — 
Burn  Esopus. — Are  punished.— Stuyvesant  is  troubled  about  his  boundaries. — Domes¬ 
tic  difficulties. — New  Netherland  lags. — The  Dutch  prefer  English  laws. — The  province 
is  granted  to  the  Duke  of  York. — The  duke  makes  good  his  claim. — Sends  out  Nicolls. 
— And  conquers  New  Netherland. . 167-171. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGEISH. 

Nicolls  settles  the  boundaries  of  NeAv  York. — New  Jersey  is  granted  to  Berkeley 
and  Carteret. — Is  claimed  by  Nicolls. — But  the  claim  is  set  aside. — The  Territories. — 
The  Dutch  claim  liberty. — Are  disappointed. — New  land-titles  are  issued. — Lovelace 
succeeds  Nicolls.— And  is  resisted  by  the  people. — His  tyranny. — Friendship  of  the 
English  and  the  Dutch. — War  Avith  Holland. — Evertsen  reconquers  NeAv  York. — But 
the  province  is  restored  to  England. — Andros  begins  his  government. — Proves  himself 
a  despot. — Claims  the  country  from  the  Connecticut  to  Maryland. — Goes  to  Saybrook. 
— Is  baffled  by  Captain  Bull. — Attempts  to  overawe  New  Jersey. — And  fails. — Delaware 
is  separated  from  New  York. — And  joined  to  Pennsylvania. — Dongan  becomes  gov¬ 
ernor. — The  right  of  representation  is  conceded. — Character  of  the  Constitution. — A 
treaty  is  made  with  the  Iroquois. — The  Duke  of  York  becomes  king. — And  overthrow* 
colonial  liberties. — Andros  is  sent  out  as  governor  of  NeAv  England. — Usurps  the  gov¬ 
ernments  of  all  the  colonies  north  of  the  Delaware. — Leisler’s  insurrection. — The  prov¬ 
ince  yields  to  his  authority. — Schenectady  is  burned. — Ingoldsby  arrives  as  governor. 
— Leisler  and  Milborne  are  arrested. — Tried. — And  hanged. — The  Iroquois  treaty  is 
renewed. — The  Indians  make  Avar  on  the  French. — The  assembly  declares  against  ar¬ 
bitrary  authority. — Fletcher  becomes  governor. — Attempts  to  usurp  the  government 
of  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey. —Is  defeated. — Effort  to  establish  the  Episcopal 
Church. — The  project  fails. — The  French  invade  New  York. — Are  repelled. — Bello- 
mont  becomes  governor. — The  career  of  Captain  Kidd. — Cornbury  succeeds  Bellomont. 
— New  Jersey  is  annexed  to  NeAv  York. — Cornbury’s  fraudulent  administration. — He 
is  overthrown. — And  succeeded  by  Lovelace. — An  unsuccessful  expedition  is  made 
against  Montreal. — The  fleet  also  fails. — New  York  is  in  debt. — The  treaty  of  Utrecht. 

■ — The  Tuscarora  migration. — A  fort  is  built  at  Oswego. — The  French  fortify  Niagara 
and  Crown  Point.— Crosby  is  sent  out  as  governor. — Assails  the  freedom  of  the  press. 
— The  trial  of  Zenger. — The  negro  plot. — French  invasions  of  New  York. — Treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle. — Slow  growth  of  the  province. — Prospects. — Reflections.  .  172-183. 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


COLONIAL  HISTORY. — Continued. 


MINOR  EASTERN  COLONIES. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Connecticut  is  granted  to  Warwick. — And  transferred  to  Say-and-Seal. — The  Dutch 
fortify  Hartford.— The  Puritans  claim  the  country. — Send  an  expedition  up  the  Con¬ 
necticut. — Found  Windsor. — A  colony  leaves  Boston. — Settles  on  the  Connecticut. — 
Winthrop  founds  Saybrook. — The  English  control  the  river. — The  Pequod  War. — The 
Narragansetts  make  a  treaty  with  the  English. — The  Pequods  do  likewise. — Violate  the 
compact. — Attempt  an  alliance  with  the  Narragansetts. — Williams  defeats  the  project. 
— The  Mohegans  join  the  English. — A  massacre  at  Wethersfield. — Mason  is  chosen  to 
command. — A  force  is  organized. — Proceeds  against  the  Pequods. — And  destroys  the 
nation. — The  coast  of  Long  Island  Sound  is  explored. — New  Haven  is  founded. — The 
Bible  for  a  constitution. — Civil  government  begins  in  Connecticut. — Character  of  the 
laws. — Connecticut  joins  the  Union. — Saybrook  is  annexed. — A  treaty  is  made  with 
Stuyvesant. — War  with  New  Netherland  is  threatened. — King  Charles  is  recognized. 
— Winthrop  is  sent  to  England. — Obtains  a  charter. — Returns. — Is  chosen  governor. — 
Growth  of  the  colony. — Andros  attempts  to  assume  the  government. — Is  thwarted  at  Say¬ 
brook. — Returns  after  twelve  years.— Invades  the  assembly  at  Hartford. — Subverts  the 
government. — The  charter  is  saved. — Fletcher  enters  the  colony. — Is  batlled  by  Wads¬ 
worth. — Yale  College  is  founded. — Development  of  the  province. — Reflections.  184-192. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

.  '  /  .  \ 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

Williams  founds  Rhode  Island. — Sketch  of  his  life. — The  Baptist  Church  is  or¬ 
ganized. — Civil  government  begins. — Character  of  the  institutions. — Massachusetts  re¬ 
fuses  to  recall  Williams  from  exile. — A  colony  at  Portsmouth. — The  Jewish  common¬ 
wealth. — Newport  is  founded. — The  Norse  tower. — A  democracy  is  established. — Rhode 
Island  is  rejected  by  the  Union. — Williams  procures  a  charter. — The  island  of  Rhode 
Island  secedes. — Is  reannexed. — Patriotism  of  Williams. — Charles  II.  reissues  the 
charter. — Prosperity  of  Rhode  Island. — Andros  overturns  the  government. — Is  over¬ 
thrown. — Henry  Bull  is  governor. — Reflections. .  193-198. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

New  Hampshire  is  granted  to  Gorges  and  Mason. — And  colonized. — Settlements 
on  the  Piscataqua. — The  province  is  divided. — Wheelwright  purchases  the  Indian 
title. — Mason’s  patent  is  confirmed. — He  dies. — Difficulties  ensue. — Exeter  is  founded. 
— New  Hampshire  is  united  with  Massachusetts. — The  Masonian  claim  is  revived. — 
The  question  is  decided. — The  two  provinces  are  separated. — Cranfield  is  appointed 
governor. — A  general  assembly  is  convened. — Character  of  the  laws. — The  royal  officers 


CONTENTS. 


xv 


are  resisted. — Andros  assumes  the  government. — New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts 
are  united. — Governed  by  Bellomont. — Finally  separated. — The  Masonian  claim  again. 
— How  decided. — Suffering  of  the  colony  in  the  Indian  wars. — Character  of  the  people. 
— Reflections  on  the  New  England  colonists.  ......  198-202. 


COLONIAL  HISTORY.— Continued. 


MINOR  MIDDLE  COLONIES. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

Early  settlements  in  New  Jersey. — At  Bergen. — And  Fort  Nassau. — Grants  and 
purchases. — The  province  is  given  to  Berkeley  and  Carteret. — Nicolls  makes  a  grant  to 
Puritans. — Elizabethtown  is  founded. — Nicolls  contends  with  the  Carterets. — The  pro¬ 
prietors  frame  a  constitution. — Character  of  the  laws. — The  quit-rents. — The  colonists 
resist  payment. — Philip  Carteret  is  deposed. — And  James  Carteret  becomes  governor. — 
New  Jersey  is  retaken  by  Holland. — And  again  ceded  to  England. — The  Duke  of  York 
has  his  charter  renewed. — Andros  comes  as  governor. — Carteret  resists. — Berkeley  sells 
West  Jersey  to  Fenwick. — Philip  Carteret  and  Andros  dispute  about  the  Eastern  prov¬ 
ince. — Laurie,  Lucas,  and  Penn  buy  West  Jersey. — Object  of  the  purchase.—  New  Jersey 
is  divided. — Line  of  division.  The  proprietors  of  West  Jersey  issue  the  Concessions. — • 
The  Quakers  colonize  West  Jersey. — The  Duke  of  York  claims  the  country. — Sir  Wil¬ 
liam  Jones  decides  against  him. — Andros’s  claim  to  East  Jersey  is  annulled. — The  Qua¬ 
kers  convene  an  assembly. — And  frame  a  constitution. — East  Jersey  is  purchased  by  the 
Friends. — Barclay  is  governor. — The  two  Jerseys  submit  to  Andros. — And  afterward 
regain  their  liberties. — Conflicting  claims  to  the  country. — Discord. — The  proprietors 
surrender  their  rights  of  government  to  the  Crown. — New  Jersey  becomes  a  royal 
province. — Is  attached  to  New  York  under  Cornbury. — The  people  petition  for  a  sepa¬ 
ration. — Which  is  granted. — Morris  becomes  governor. — New  Jersey  not  injured  by 
Indian  wars. — Reflections .  203-208. 

CHAPTER  XXY. 

PENNS  YEV  ANI  A. 

The  Friends  are  persecuted  in  Europe. — Penn  designs  to  plant  a  Quaker  State  in 
America. — Charles  II.  grants  the  charter  of  Pennsylvania. — Penn  relinquishes  his 
claims  on  the  British  government. — Declares  his  purposes. — Writes  a  letter  to  the 
Swedes. — Invites  emigration. — A  colony  departs  under  Markham. — The  Indians  are 
assured  of  friendship. — Penn  frames  a  constitution. — The  Duke  of  York  surrenders 
Delaware. — Extent  of  Penn’s  dominion. — He  leaves  England  with  a  second  colony. — 
Sketch  of  his  life. — He  addresses  the  people  at  New  Castle. — Passes  through  the 
Jerseys  to  New  York. — Returns. — Makes  the  great  treaty  with  the  Indians. — Which  is 
kept  inviolate. — A  convention  is  held  at  Chester. — A  provisional  constitution  is 
adopted. — Penn  visits  Lord  Baltimore. — Philadelphia  is  founded. — Growth  of  the 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


city. — Penn  sails  for  England. — Lloyd  remains  as  governor. — Delaware  secedes. — Penn 
adheres  to  the  Stuarts. — Is  imprisoned. — His  province  is  taken  away. — But  afterward 
restored. — Penn  revisits  America. — The  constitution  is  modified. — Delaware  is  finally 
separated. — Penn  returns  to  England. — Condition  of  his  province. — Hamilton  and  Evans 
deputy  governors. — Conduct  of  the  latter. — He  is  removed  from  office. — Succeeded  by 
Gookin. — Penn’s  trials  in  England. — He  dies. — His  sons  become  proprietors  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania. — The  province  is  purchased  by  the  colonial  assembly. — Reflections.  209-215. 


COLONIAL  HISTORY — Continued. 


MINOR  SOUTHERN  COLONIES. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

MARYLAND. 

Clayborne  is  commissioned  by  the  London  Company. — Explores  the  Chesapeake. — 
Establishes  trading-posts. — Sketch  of  Sir  George  Calvert’s  life. — He  plans  a  Catholic 
colony. — Sends  a  company  to  Newfoundland. — Goes  to  Virginia. — Refuses  the  oath. — 
Returns  to  England. — Obtains  a  charter. — Character  and  extent  of  the  patent. — Calvert 
dies. — Sir  Cecil  succeeds  him. — The  name  of  Maryland. — A  colony  is  sent  out  under 
Leonard  Calvert. — Reaches  the  Chesapeake. — Ascends  the  Potomac. — Returns. — And 
founds  St.  Mary’s. — Friendly  relations  are  established  with  the  Indians. — Growth  of 
the  colony. — An  assembly  is  convened. — Clayborne  incites  an  insurrection. — Is  beaten. 
— Escapes  into  Virginia. — Is  sent  to  England. — Representative  government  is  estab¬ 
lished. — An  Indian  war  breaks  out. — Clayborne  returns  to  America. — Leads  a  second 
insurrection. — Overthrows  the  government.— The  rebellion  is  suppressed.— Tolerant 
character  of  the  laws. — Division  of  the  legislature. — Commissioners  are  appointed  by 
Parliament. — Dissensions  of  Stone  and  Clayborne.— The  civil  war  between  the  Catholics 
and  Protestants. — Fendall’s  rebellion. — Maryland  declares  independence. — Fendall  is 
condemned. — Charles  Calvert  is  governor. — The  Protestants  gain  control  of  the  State. 
— Maryland  becomes  a  royal  province. — The  heir  of  Lord  Baltimore  is  restored  to  his 
rights. — The  Calverts  rule  the  colony  until  the  Revolution. — Reflections.  .  216-224. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  name  of  Carolina. — Early  explorations. — The  country  is  granted  to  Clarendon 
and  others. — Albemarle  and  Clarendon  colonies  are  founded.  Cooper  and  Locke 
frame  the  grand  model. — Its  establishment  impossible. — Clarendon  county  is  aban¬ 
doned. — The  proprietors  oppress  the  colonists. — A  rebellion  ensues.  Governor  Cul¬ 
pepper  goes  to  England. — And  defends  the  people. — Clarendon  sells  his  rights.  Sothel 
is  sent  out  as  governor. — His  tyranny. — He  is  overthrown. — Ludwell  succeeds.  And 
then  Walker. — The  colony  prospers. — Decline  of  the  Indian  tribes. — A  war  breaks  out. 
— Barnwell’s  expedition. — Peace. — And  war  again. — Moore  invades  the  country  of  th« 
Tuscaroras. — The  savages  are  beaten. — The  nation  is  divided. — The  Tuscarora  migra¬ 
tion. — Division  of  the  Carolinas. — Character  of  the  people.  .  .  -  224-229- 


CONTENTS. 


xvii 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

A  colony  is  sent  out  under  West  and  Sayle. — Reaches  Beaufort. — But  settles  on 
Ashley  River. — Locke’s  constitution  is  rejected. — And  a  simple  government  adopted. — 
West  becomes  governor. — And  then  Yeamans. — Slavery  is  introduced. — Rapid  immi¬ 
gration. — Charleston  is  founded. — An  Indian  war  arises. — Immigrants  arrive  from 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. — The  Edict  of  Nantes  is  revoked. — The  Huguenots 
flock  to  South  Carolina. — Colleton  becomes  governor. — Declares  martial  law. — Is  over¬ 
thrown. — Sothel  takes  the  office. — Is  banished. — Ludwell  next. — Who  retires  to  Vir¬ 
ginia. — The  proprietors  abrogate  the  grand  model. — The  Quaker  Archdale. — His  wise 
administration. — Moore  succeeds. — Tlie  war  with  Florida. — Moore  and  Daniel  attempt 
to  take  St.  Augustine. — And  fail. — Moore  makes  a  successful  campaign  against  the  In¬ 
dians. — The  Church  of  England  is  established. — The  dissenters  are  disfranchised. — But 
the  act  is  revoked  by  Parliament. — The  Spaniards  besiege  Charleston. — And  are  re¬ 
pelled. — War  with  the  Yamassees. — The  savages  are  conquered. — Popular  revolution 
in  South  Carolina. — Nicholson  is  governor. — The  proprietors  sell  Carolina  to  the 
king. — A  royal  government  is  established. — Character  of  the  people.  .  230-237. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

GEORGIA. 

Georgia  founded  in  benevolence. — Oglethorpe  the  founder. — Sketch  of  his  life. — 
He  leads  forth  a  colony. — And  founds  Savannah. — The  friendly  natives. — A  treaty  is 
made  with  the  Muskhogees. — Immigrants  arrive  from  various  parts  of  Europe. — Ogle¬ 
thorpe  goes  to  England. — Returns. — The  Moravians. — The  Wesleys. — And  Whitefield. — 
Conflicting  claims  of  Georgia  and  Florida. — Oglethorpe  builds  forts. — Is  commissioned 
as  general. — War  breaks  out. — The  governor  besieges  St.  Augustine. — And  fails. — The 
Spaniards  invade  Georgia. — Oglethorpe’s  stratagem. — The  battle  of  Bloody  Marsh. — 
The  Spaniards  are  defeated. — And-  retreat  to  Florida. — The  governor  returns  to  Eng¬ 
land. — Slavery  is  introduced. — The  prohibitory  law  is  repealed.—  Growth  of  Georgia. — 
Reflections  on  the  thirteen  colonies .  238-244. 


COLONIAL  HISTORY.— Continued. 


FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

CAUSES. 

The  colonies  begin  to  act  together. — A  sense  of  common  danger  unites  them. — The 
French  and  Indian  War  arises. — Causes  considered. — Conflicting  territorial  claims. — • 
English  colonies  on  the  sea-board. — French  colonies  in  the  interior. — France  purposes 
to  confine  the  English  to  the  Atlantic  slope. — French  settlements  result  from  the  efforts 
2 


XV111 


CONTENTS. 


of  the  Jesuits. — Missions  are  established  on  the  lakes. — Joliet  and  Marquette  discover  the 
Mississippi. — Descend  the  river. — Return  to  Michigan. — La  Salle  passes  through  the 
lakes. — Descends  the  Illinois. — Goes  to  Canada. — Returns. — And  explores  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  to  the  gulf. — Sails  ior  France. — Returns  with  a  colony. — Reaches  Texas. — Sets 
out  for  Canada. — Is  murdered. — French  posts  are  established. — The  Ohio  valley  to  be 
occupied. — The  animosity  of  France  and  England  leads  to  war. — The  frontiersmen  of 
the  two  nations  come  in  conflict. — The  Ohio  Company  is  organized. — Obtains  a  grant 
of  land. — Bienville  explores  and  claims  the  Ohio  valley. — Gist  traverses  the  country  to 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio. — The  French  fortify  Le  Boeuf  and  Venango. — Attack  a  British 
post. — Gist  makes  a  second  exploration. — An  English  colony  on  the  Youghiogheny. — 
The  Indians  favor  the  English. — The  Half-King  goes  to  Erie. — The  chiefs  confer  with 
Franklin. — Dinwiddie  sends  a  despatch  to  St.  Pierre. — Washington  is  chosen  for  the 
mission. — Sets  out  by  way  of  Will’s  Creek  to  the  site  of  Pittsburg. — And  thence  to  Le 
Boeuf. — Washington  confers  with  St.  Pierre. — And  returns  to  Virginia. — Hardships 
of  the  journey. — Trent  begins  a  fort  at  the  fork  of  the  Ohio. — The  French  capture  the 
place. — And  build  Du  Quesne. — Washington  is  sent  to  retake  the  fort.  .  245-255. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

CAMPAIGNS  OF  WASHINGTON  AND  BRADDOCK. 

Washington  marches  to  Great  Meadows. — Builds  Fort  Necessity. — Attacks  and 
defeats  Jumonville. — Extends  the  road  toward  Du  Quesne. — De  Villiers  approaches. — 
Attacks  Fort  Necessity. — And  compels  a  surrender. — An  American  congress  assembles 
at  Albany. — Franklin  plans  a  union. — The  colonies  reject  the  constitution. — France 
sends  soldiers  to  America. — Braddock  is  sent  by  England. — He  confers  with  the  gov¬ 
ernors. — Plans  four  compaigns. — Marches  his  army  to  Fort  Cumberland. — Proceeds 
against  Du  Quesne. — Approaches  the  fort. — Meets  the  French  and  Indians. — And  is 
terribly  defeated- — Washington  saves  the  remnant  of  the  army. — Death  of.  Braddock. 
— Dunbar  retreats. — Destroys  the  stores. — Evacuates  Fort  Cumberland. — Retires  to 
Philadelphia. . .  255-261. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

RUIN  OF  ACADIA. 

Nova  Scotia  under  English  rule. — Lawrence  fears  an  insurrection. — Is  authorized 
to  subdue  the  French  inhabitants. — The  English  fleet  leaves  Boston. — The  French 
forts  on  the  Bay  of  Fundy. — The  fleet  arrives  at  Beau-Sejour. — The  place  is  besieged. 

- — And  obliged  to  surrender. — The  other  forts  capitulate. — The  British  officers  deter¬ 
mine  to  exile  the  inhabitants. — The  country  is  laid  waste. — And  the  people  carried  into 
banishment.  . .  261-264. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

EXPEDITIONS  OF  SHIRLEY  AND  JOHNSON. 

A  campaign  is  planned  against  Niagara. — Shirley  commands. — Proceeds  to  Os¬ 
wego. — Wastes  the  time. — Marches  homeward. — Oswego  is  rebuilt. — Johnson  and  Ly¬ 
man  go  against  the  French  on  Lake  Champlain. — Build  Fort  Edward. — Form  a  camp 
on  Lake  George. — Dieskau  approaches. — Proceeds  by  way  of  Wood  Creek  against  Fort 
Edward. — Meets  the  English. — And  drives  them  to  the  camp. — The  battle. — -Tha 
French  are  defeated. — Dieskau  is  killed. — The  English  lose  heavily. — Johnson  builds 
Fort  William  Henry. — The  French  reinforce  their  forts.  ....  264-266. 


CONTENTS . 


xix 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

TWO  YEARS  OF  DISASTER. 

Shirley  becomes  commander-in-chief. — Washington  repels  the  Indians. — Franklin 
defends  Pennsylvania. — The  campaigns  of  1756  are  planned. — The  military  forces  of 
America  are  consolidated. — Loudoun  is  commander-in-chief. — He  and  Abercrombie 
arrive  in  New  York  with  soldiers  and  supplies. — England  declares  war. — Abercrombie 
goes  to  Albany. — And  stays  there. — Montcalm  besieges  and  captures  Oswego. — The 
Delawares  revolt. — And  are  punished. — Loudoun  burrows  at  Albany. — The  French 
strengthen  their  forts. — The  conquest  of  Louisburg  is  planned. — Loudoun  proceeds  to 
Halifax. — Ilolbourn  joins  him. — They  muster  and  do  nothing. — Loudoun  returns  to 
New  York. — Montcalm  and  the  Iroquois  besiege  and  capture  Fort  William  Henry.' — 
The  Indians  massacre  the  prisoners. — Review  of  the  situation.  267-270. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

TWO  YEARS  OF  SUCCESSES. 

Pitt  becomes  prime  minister. — Loudoun  is  deposed. — Abercrombie  succeeds. — An 
able  corps  of  generals  sent  to  America. — Three  campaigns  are  planned. — Amherst  and 
Wolfe  proceed  against  Louisburg. — Besiege  and  take  the  fortress. — Abercrombie  attacks 
Ticonderoga. — And  is  repulsed  with  great  loss. — Bradstreet  takes  Fort  Frontenac. — 
Montcalm  advises  peace. — Forbe3  marches  against  Du  Quesne. — Grant  is  defeated. — 
Washington  leads  the  advance. — The  French  abandon  and  burn  Du  Quesne. — The 
place  named  Pittsburg. — Amherst  commander-in-chief. — Relative  strength  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  and  the  French. — Pitt  plans  the  conquest  of  Canada. — Prideaux  defeats  the  French 
before  Niagara. — And  captures  the  fortress. — Amherst  takes  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point. — Wolfe  proceeds  against  Quebec. — Reaches  the  Island  of  Orleans. — Besieges  the 
city. — The  Lower  Town  is  destroyed. — Montcalm’s  position. — The  battle  of  Montmor- 
enci. — Wolfe’s  fever. — He  ascends  the  river. — Plans  an  assault. — Discover’s  Wolfe’s 
Cove. — Gains  the  Plains  of  Abraham. — Fights  a  decisive  battle. — Defeats  the  French. — 
Is  slain. — Quebec  capitulates. — And  then  Montreal. — The  Cherokee  revolt  is  quelled. — 
The  effect  of  the  conquest  of  Canada.  The  French  outposts  are  included  in  the  sur¬ 
render  of  Montreal. — Rogers  is  sent  to  take  possession  of  the  forts. — He  reaches  De¬ 
troit. — Receives  the  surrender  of  Forts  Miami  and  Ouatanow. — Mackinaw,  Green  Bay 
and  St.  Marie  afteiward  capitulate. — The  English  treat  the  Red  men  badly. — The  lat¬ 
ter  become  revengeful. — They  make  an  attempt  against  Detroit. — And  are  baffled. — 
Conspiracies  grow  rife. — Pontiac  organizes  a  confederacy. — Makes  a  plot  for  the  cap¬ 
ture  of  Detroit. — And  fails. — An  unsuccessful  siege  ensues. — The  savages  are  victorious 
in  other  quarters. — They  capture  most  of  the  western  forts. — The  confederacy  breaks 
up. — Pontiac  is  abandoned. — And  killed. — The  war  continues  on  the  ocean. — England 
is  victorious. — A  treaty  of  peace. — The  terms .  270-279. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 

The  thirteen  colonies. — Institutions. — Population. — Distribution  of  the  same. — 
Growth  of  a  national  character  and  sentiment. — Education. — Character  of  the  same  in 
New  England. — In  the  South. — Colleges. — Newspapers.— Books  and  men. — Absence  ol 
roads. — Agriculture  the  predominating  pursuit. — Ship-building  and  manufactures. — 
What  the  British  Board  of  Trade  was  good  for. — Reflections  on  the  character  of  the 
Anglo-American  colonists .  280-284. 


XX 


CONTENTS. 


PART  IV. 

REVOLUTION  AND  CONFEDERATION. 

A.  I>.  1775—1789. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

•  CAUSES. 

Importance  of  the  revolution. — The  question  decided  by  it. — Character  of  the  con¬ 
test. — The  causes. — Great  Britain  claims  the  right  of  arbitrary  government. — France 
incites  the  rebellion. — The  disposition  of  the  Americans  encourages  independence. — 
Publio  opinion  leads  to  the  same  result. — The  king  provokes  a  conflict. — Parliament 
passes  oppressive  acts. — The  question  of  taxation. — Nature  of  the  dispute. — Tbe  Im¬ 
portation  Act. — Its  provisions. — Writs  of  Assistance  are  issued. — And  resisted. — The 
sugar  and  wine  duties. — The  colonists  refuse  to  pay  them. — A  Stamp  Act  is  proposed. — 
Indignation  in  the  colonies. — The  question  of  the  Indian  war-debt  arises. — The  Stamp 
Act  is  passed. — Its  provisions. — The  news  is  received  in  America. — The  wrath  of  the 
people. — Scene  in  the  House  of  Burgesses. — Patrick  Henry’s  speech. — Passage  of  the 
resolutions. — Other  assemblies  pursue  a  similar  course. — Tbe  first  Colonial  Congress. — 
A  declaration  of  Rights  is  adopted. — Memorials  to  tbe  king  and  Parliament. — The 
Stamp  Act  is  resisted. — And  the  stamps  destroyed. — Suspension  of  business. — Tbe  Sons 
of  Liberty. — A  non-importation  agreement  is  made. — The  wrath  of  England. — Camden 
and  Pitt  defend  the  colonists. — Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. — Joy  follows. — Townshend  re¬ 
news  the  scheme. — Secures  the  passage  of  a  glass  and  tea-tax. — The  Americans  resist 
the  act. — Circular  of  Massachusetts. — Seizure  of  a  sloop  at  Boston. — Insurrection  of  the 
people. — Gage  takes  possession  of  Boston. — Is  ordered  to  arrest  the  patriots. — Rebellion 
of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. — Conflict  at  New  York. — Tbe  Boston  massacre. — Re¬ 
peal  of  the  duties. — Passage  of  the  Salary  Act. — Burning  of  the  Gaspee. — Stratagem 
© f  the  ministry. — Tea  is  shipped  to  America. — Is  spoiled  at  Charleston. — Refused  at 
New  York  and  Philadelphia. — And  poured  overboard  at  Boston. — Passage  of  the  Port 
Bill. — Opposition  of  the  Burgesses. — The  charter  of  Massachusetts  is  annulled. — The 
people  declared  rebels. — The  second  Congress  assembles. — Resolutions  and  addresses. 
— A  British  army  is  ordered  to  America. — Boston  Neck  fortified. — Military  stores  re¬ 
moved. — The  assembly  refuses  to  disband. — War  becomes  inevitable,  .  285-296. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE  BEGINNING. 

The  patriots  remove  their  stores. — Gage  plans  to  destroy  them. — Pitcairn  is  sent  for 
that  purpose. — Dawes  and  Revere  arouse  the  people. — The’ British  reach  Lexington. — 
Fire  on  the  patriots. — Proceed  to  Concord. — Ransack  the  village. — Are  attacked. — And 
Jriven  back  to  Boston. — The  country  is  fired. — The  patriots  gather  at  Cambridge. — 
Allen  and  Arnold  march  against  Ticonderoga. — And  capture  the  fortress. — The  British 
*re  reinforced. — Proclamation  of  Gage. — His  plans. — The  Americans  fortify  Breed’s 
Hill. — Amazement  of  the  British. — The  battle. — Excitement  of  the  people. — The  North 
Carolinians  declare  independence. — The  Colonial  Congress  assembles. — An  appeal  to 
She  king. — Washington  commander-in-chief. — Sketch  of  his  life. — TTis  duties  and  ern- 


CONTENTS. 


xxi 


barrassments. — Organization  of  the  army. — Royal  rule  is  overthrown. — Struggle  with 
Dunmore. — Expedition  against  Quebec. — Led  by  Schuyler,  Montgomery  and  Arnold.— 
Schuyler  falls  sick. — Montgomery  takes  Montreal. — Hardships  of  Arnold’s  march. — He 
and  Montgomery  unite  against  Quebec. — The  town  is  invested. — The  assault  and  defeat. — - 
Fall  of  Montgomery. — The  expedition  is  abandoned. — Sketch  of  Montgomery.  297-305. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  WORK  OF  ’76. 

The  king  answers  the  colonies. — Howe  succeeds  Gage. — Siege  of  Boston. — The  Brit¬ 
ish  evacuate  the  city. — The  Americans  enter. — Public  rejoicings. — Washington  goes  to 
New  York. — Clinton  threatens  the  city. — Cornwallis  and  Parker  proceed  against 
Charleston. — Rising  of  the  Carolinians. — The  attack  on  Moultrie. — Repulse  of  the  Brit¬ 
ish. — Distresses  of  the  army. — Great  Britain  hires  the  Hessians. — And  makes  new  lev¬ 
ies. — Exasperation  of  the  patriots. — The  question  of  independence. — Lee’s  resolutions. 
— Debates. — A  committee  is  appointed. — The  Declaration  of  Independence  adopted. — 
And  received  with  enthusiasm. — Its  leading  principles. — Howe  returns. — Lands  an 
army. — Attempts  to  open  negotiations. — And  fails. — The  British  advance  on  Long  Is¬ 
land. — Fight  a  battle. — And  defeat  the  patriots. — Washington  saves  the  army. — Dis¬ 
couragement  of  the  people. — The  British  take  New  York. — Negotiations  are  again  at¬ 
tempted. — But  fail. — Movements  of  the  two  armies. — Battle  of  White  Plains. — Dispo¬ 
sition  of  the  American  forces. — Notice  of  Hamilton. — The  capture  of  Fort  Washington 
— Fort  Lee  is  taken. — The  Americans  retreat  across  New  Jersey. — The  pursuit  ends. — 
Enlargement  of  Washington’s  powers. — British  successes  in  Rhode  Island. — Lee’s  cap¬ 
ture. — Washington  recruits  his  army. — Recrosses  the  Delaware. — Defeats  the  British  at 

Trenton. — Effect  of  the  battle. — Alarm  of  the  British. — Robert  Morris  to  the  rescue. — • 
* 

Washington  threatens  the  British  posts .  305-317. 

CHAPTER  XL. 

OPERATIONS  OF  ’77. 

The  British  advance  against  Trenton. — Washington  withdraws  his  forces. — Attacks 
Princeton. — And  wins  a  victory. — Takes  post  at  Morristown. — The  British  at  New 
Brunswick. — Cornwallis  on  the  defensive. — Destruction  of  stores  at  Peekskill. — Lincoln 
attacked  at  Boundbrook. — Tryon  burns  Danbury. — Is  attacked  and  driven  away. — 
Meigs  takes  Sag  Harbor. — Washington  advances  into  New  Jersey. — The  British 
threaten  Philadelphia. — Retire  to  Amboy. — Leave  the  State. — Barton  captures  Prescott. 
— Congress  returns  to  Philadelphia. — Help  from  France. — Coming  of  La  Fayette  and 
De  Kalb. — Plan  of  Burgoyne’s  campaign. — The  invasion  begins. — Fall  of  Crown  Point 
and  Ticonderoga. — The  battle  of  Hubbardton. — Capture  of  Whitehall. — Fort  Edward 
is  taken. — Schuyler  retreats  to  the  Mohawk. — The  British  advance  is  impeded. — The 
battle  of  Bennington. — St.  Leger  besieges  Schuyler. — Herkimer  brings  relief. — And  is 
defeated. — Arnold  advances.— The  Indians  desert  the  British. — St.  Leger  retreats. — Dis¬ 
couragement  of  Burgoyne. — Gathering  of  the  Americans. — Burgoyne  at  Saratoga. — The 
first  battle. — Critical  condition  of  the  British. — A  diversion  is  attempted  by  Clinton. — 
But  fails. — The  second  battle. — The  Americans  victorious. — Burgoyne  is  surrounded. — 
And  driven  to  surrender. — The  army  of  the  North  relieves  Washington.— The  move¬ 
ment  of  Howe  against  Philadelphia. — He  enters  the  Chesapeake. — The  battle  of  Brandy¬ 
wine. — Retreat  of  the  Americans. — Washington  advances  to  Warren’s  Tavern. — A 
storm  prevents  the  battle. — Countermarching  of  the  armies. — The  British  capture  Phil¬ 
adelphia. — Congress  adjourns  to  Lancaster. — Washington  on  Skippack  Creek. — The 


xxn 


CONTENTS. 


battle  of  Germantown. — Capture  of  Forts  Mercer  and  Mifflin. — The  Americans  at 
Whitemarsh. — Adventure  of  Lydia  Darrah. — The  British  winter  at  Philadelphia. — The 
Americans  at  Valley  Forge. — Sorrows  of  Washington .  317-328. 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

FRANCE  TO  THE  RESCUE. 

Silas  Deane  is  sent  to  France. — His  mission. — France  favors  the  Americans. — Sup¬ 
plies  are  sent  to  the  patriots. — Steuben  arrives. — Lee  and  Franklin  are  appointed  to 
negotiate  a  treaty. — Franklin’s  influence  at  the  French  court. — A  treaty  is  concluded. — 
Sketch  of  Franklin. — Arrival  of  D’Estaing’s  fleet. — War  threatened  between  France  and 
England. — Effort  of  Great  Britain  for  peace. — The  British  fleet  at  Philadelphia. — With¬ 
drawal  of  the  squadron. — The  city  evacuated. — Washington  pursues. — The  battle  of 
Monmouth. — Lee  disobeys  orders. — Is  court-martialed  and  dismissed. — British  concen¬ 
trate  at  New  York. — The  city  threatened  by  D’Estaing. — He  sails  against  Rhode  Island. 
— Sullivan  co-operates  against  Newport. — Howe  follows  D’Estaing. — Both  squadrons 
shattered  by  a  storm. — The  siege  of  Newport. — Abandonment  of  the  enterprise.— De¬ 
struction  of  American  shipping. — Byron  succeeds  Howe. — Marauding  of  the  British. — 
The  Wyoming  massacre. — Ruin  of  Cherry  Valley. — The  expedition  of  Major  Clarke. — 
The  French  and  British  fleets  sail  away. — A  force  is  sent  against  Savannah. — Capture  of 
the  city. — The  situation .  328-333. 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

MOVEMENTS  OF  ’79. 

Hardships  of  the  soldiers. — T-yon’s  expedition. — Is  attacked  by  the  militia. — Put¬ 
nam’s  explait. — Fall  of  Stony  Point  and  Verplank’s. — Insurrection  in  Virginia. — Tryon 
invades  Connecticut. — Destruction  of  East  Haven,  Fairfield,  and  Norwalk. — Stony 
Point  is  retaken  by  Wayne. — Lee  captures  Jersey  City. — An  American  flotilla  sails  to 
the  Penobscot. — Is  ruined. — Sullivan  ravages  the  Indian  country. — The  British  evacuate 
Rhode  Island. — War  in  the  South. — Fort  Sunbury  is  taken. — Fall  of  Augusta. — Ander¬ 
son  defeats  the  tories. — Pickens  gains  a  victory. — Augusta  is  evacuated. — Defeat  of 
Lincoln’s  army. — The  militia  rally. — Lincoln  takes  the  field. — Threatens  Augusta. — 
Retums  to  Charleston. — Is  beaten  at  Stono  Ferry. — Suspension  of  activity. — D’Estaing 
arrives. — Siege  of  Savannah. — The  unsuccessful  assault. — Paul  Jones’s  victory. — Re¬ 
flections.  .  .  .  334-339. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

REVERSES  AND  TREASON. 

.  Operations  in  the  North  suspended. — Ternay’s  fleet  arrives. — Campaigns  are  planned. 
— Arbuthnot  and  Clinton  besiege  Charleston. — The  city  is  taken. — Ravages  of  Tarleton. 
— Plan  of  the  British  to  conquer  South  Carolina. — Capture  of  Ninety-Six. — Cornwallis’s 
success. — Tarleton’s  massacre. — South  Carolina  is  subjugated. — Clinton  returns  to  New 
York  . — Marion  and  Sumter’s  bands. — They  scour  the  countrv. — Their  victories. — Gates 
takes  command. — The  British  at  Camden. — Gates  advances  against  them. — Is  met  and 
defeated. — Is  superseded  by  Greene. — Sumter’s  corps  is  broken  up. — Cruelty  of  the 
British. — Rawdon  advances  into  North  Carolina. — Ferguson’s  tories  are  defeated. — 
Financial  distresses. — Sacrifices  of  Morris. — The  treason  of  Arnold. — Sketch  of  his 
career. — Andre  is  sent  to  a  conference. — The  interview. — Andr6  attempts  to  return  to 
New  York. — Is  captured,  condemned,  and  executed. — Treaty  with  Holland.  339-345. 


CONTENTS. 


xxm 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

THE  END. 

Desperate  condition  of  the  army. — The  Pennsylvania  line  revolt. — Mutiny  of  the 
Jersey  brigade. — Robert  Morris  secretary  of  finance. — Champe  attempts  to  capture 
Arnold. — Fails. — Arnold’s  expedition  to  Virginia. — Second  plan  to  capture  him. — 
He  becomes  commander-in-chief  in  Virginia. — Is  superseded. — And  ordered  out  of  the 
State. — Leads  a  band  into  Connecticut. — Captures  Fort  Griswold. — Greene  in  the 
South. — Advances  into  South  Carolina. — Morgan  at  the  Cowpens.— Is  attacked  by 
Tarleton. — But  defeats  him. — Cornwallis  attempts  to  cut  off  Morgan’s  retreat. — Greene 
takes  command. — Crosses  the  Catawba. — Race  for  the  Yadkin. — Greene  wins  it. — - 
Race  for  the  Dan. — Greene  wins  it. — Chagrin  of  the  British. — Greene  turns  upon 
the  enemy. — Lee  disperses  the  tories. — Greene  moves  forward  to  Guilford. — Cornwallis 
attacks  him. — An  indecisive  battle. — The  British  retreat  to  Wilmington. — Cornwallis 
goes  to  Virginia. — The  Americans  advance  into  South  Carolina. — The  battle  of  Hob- 
kirk’s  Hill. — The  British  retire  to  Eutaw  Springs. — The  siege  of  Ninety-Six. — The 
place  is  abandoned  by  the  enemy. — Greene  in  the  Highlands. — Sumter,  Lee,  and 
Marion  overrun  the  country. — Execution  of  Ilnyne. — Greene  advances  against  Eutaw 
Springs. — The  battle. — The  British  retreat  to  Charleston. — The  situation. — The  cam¬ 
paign  in  Virginia. — Cornwallis  ravages  the  State. — Marches  down  the  James. — Is 
attacked  by  Wayne. — Proceeds  to  Portsmouth. — And  thence  to  Yorktown. — The  Army 
of  the  North  comes  down  upon  him. — The  French  fleet  co-operates. — Yorktown  is 
besieged. — And  Cornwallis’s  army  taken. — Rejoicings. — Fall  of  the  king’s  party  in  Par¬ 
liament. — Negotiations  for  peace. — A  treaty  is  concluded. — Its  terms. — Carleton  super¬ 
sedes  Clinton. — Evacuation  of  New  York. — Washington  bids  farewell  to  his  officers. — 
Retires  to  private  life.  . .  345-356. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

CONFEDERATION  AND  UNION. 

Bad  condition  of  the  government. — Its  defects. — Franklin  pleads  for  union. — 
A  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  Constitution. — The  Articles  of  Confederation 
are  adopted. — The  colonies  are  slow  to  ratify. — The  Confederation. — Defects  of  the 
same. — Chaotic  condition  of  affairs. — A  firmer  Constitution  is  projected. — The  con¬ 
vention  at  Annapolis. — Adjournment  to  Philadelphia. — The  Constitution  is  re¬ 
ported  to  the  convention. — And  adopted. — The  last  colonial  Congress. — Its  final  work. 
—The  North-western  Territory  is  organized. — The  several  States  cede  their  rights 
away. — St.  Clair  appointed  governor. — Plan  of  organization. — Slavery  is  restricted. — 
— The  people  divide  on  the  question  of  adopting  the  Constitution. — Sketch  of  Ham¬ 
ilton. — Character  of  the  Constitution. — Amendments  thereto. — The  struggle  in  the 
colonial  conventions. — Ratification  by  eleven  States. — Washington  is  chosen  Pres¬ 
ident. — John  Adams  for  the  vice-presidency. — Washington’s  journey  to  New  York. — 
Conclusion.  356-362. 


XXIV 


CONTENTS. 


PART  Y. 


NATIONAL  PERIOD. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

Washington’s  administration. 

Washington  is  inaugurated  President. — And  the  new  government  organized. — The 
country  is  beset  with  difficulties. —  A  cabinet  is  formed. — The  Supreme  Court  is  organ¬ 
ized. — Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina  ratify  the  Constitution. — Washington  makes  a 
tour  through  New  England. — Presidential  etiquette. — Hamilton’s  financial  measures. 
— The  seat  of  government  is  fixed. — An  Indian  war  breaks  out. — Harmar  marches 
against  the  Miamis. — Is  defeated  on  the  Maumee. — The  Bank  of  the  United  States  is 
established.— Vermont  is  admitted  into  the  Union. — The  first  census. — St.  Clair  is  sent 
against  the  Indians. — His  army  is  defeated. — The  wrath  of  Washington. — St.  Clair  is 
superseded  by  Wayne. — Kentucky  is  admitted. — Washington  re-elected. — The  foreign 
relations  of  the  government  are  troubled. — Genet’s  conduct. — Fouchet  supersedes 
him.- — Troubles  in  the  President’s  cabinet. — Antagonism  of  Jefferson  and  Hamilton. — 
The  whisky  insurrection  breaks  out. — Is  suppressed  by  Lee. — Wayne  invades  the 
Indian  country. — Defeats  the  Red  men  at  Waynesfield. — Compels  a  cession  of  ter¬ 
ritory. — Dies. — Great  Britain  orders  the  seizure  of  American  vessels. — Jay  procures 
reparation  and  a  treaty. — Popular  opposition  thereto. — The  compact  with  Spain. — 
Peace  is  purchased  of  Algiers. — Tennessee  is  admitted. — Washington  issues  his  Fare¬ 
well  address. — The  candidates  for  the  Presidency. — Adams  is  elected. — Jefferson  for 
Vice-President .  363-371. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

ADAMS’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Sketch  of  John  Adams. — Opposition  to  the  new  administration. — France  demands 
an  alliance.— Orders  the  destruction  of  American  commerce. — Pinckney  is  dismissed. — 
The  extra  session  of  Congress. — Gerry,  Marshall,  and  Pinckney  are  sent  to  France. — 
The  Directory  want  money. — Pinckney’s  answer. — An  American  army  is  organized. — 
Washington  comander-in-chief. — The  work  of  the  navy. — Truxtun’s  victories.— -Doings 
of  Talleyrand. — Napoleon  seeks  peace. — The  successful  embassy  of  Murray,  Ellsworth, 
and  Davie. — Death  of  Washington. — Close  of  the  administration. — Growth  of  the 
country. — The  Alien  and  Sedition  laws. — Overthrow  of  the  Federal  party. — Jefferson 
is  elected  President. — And  Burr  Vice-President. .  372-376. 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

Jefferson’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  Jefferson. — He  puts  Democrats  in  office. — Ohio  is  admitted. — Indiana 
and  Mississippi  organized. — Louisiana  is  purchased  from  France. — Boundaries. — The 
territory  of  Orleans  is  set  off. — John  Marshall  in  the  chief-justiceship. — The  Mediter- 


CONTENTS. 


XXV 


ranean  pirates. — Preble  is  sent  against  them. — The  Philadelphia  is  captured.— Retaker 
and  burned. — The  siege  of  Tripoli. — Expedition  of  Eaton. — Yusef  signs  a  treaty. — The 
duel  of  Burr  and  Hamilton. — Jefferson  is  re-elected. — Michigan  is  organized. — Lewis 
and  Clarke  explore  Oregon. — Burr  makes  a  conspiracy. — Is  tried  for  treason. — Brit¬ 
ish  aggressions  on  American  commerce. — England  blockades  the  coast  of  France. — 
Napoleon  retaliates. — Great  Britain  forbids  the  coasting  trade. — An  old  abuse  revived, 
r— The  rule  of  1756  again  asserted. — The  effect  on  American  commerce. — The  English 
theory  of  citizenship. — The  object  of  that  theory. — The  attack  of  the  Leopard  on  the 
Chesapeake. — Passage  of  the  Embargo  Act. — The  Orders  in  Council  and  Milan  Decree. — 
Fulton  and  his  steamboat. — Invention  of  the  torpedo. — Summary  of  events.  376-388. 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

madison’s  administration  and  the  war  of  ’12. 

Sketch  of  the  life  and  previous  services  of  Madison. — His  politics. — The  Non¬ 
intercourse  Act  takes  the  place  of  the  Embargo. — Erskine  promises  the  repeal  of  the 
Orders  in  Council. — The  promise  not  fulfilled. — Bonaparte  makes  a  decree. — And  then 
revokes  it. — Obstinacy  of  Great  Britain. — A  crisis  is  reached. — Third  census. — Tecumtha 
and  the  Prophet. — Harrison  purchases  lands. — Tecumtha  refuses  to  ratify. — Harrison 
marches  up  the  Wabash  Valley. — Approaches  the  Prophet’s  town. — Is  attacked  by 
night. — And  routs  the  savages. — Fight  of  the  President  and  Little  Belt. — The  twelfth 
Congress. — War  inevitable. — The  President’s  timid  disposition. — Henry’s  conspiracy  is 
discovered. — Nature  of  the  plot. — Effect  of  the  disclosure. — British  vessels  are  embar¬ 
goed. — Louisiana  is  admitted. — War  declared  against  England. — Preparations. — Relative 
strength  of  the  belligerents. — Hull’s  campaign. — He  marches  to  the  head  of  Lake  Erie. 
— Reaches  Detroit. — Invades  Canada. — Retreats. — Van  Horne’s  defeat. — Miller’s  vic¬ 
tory. — Siege  of  Detroit. — Hull’s  disgraceful  surrender. — He  is  convicted  of  cowardice. 
— Capture  and  burning  of  Fort  Dearborn. — Character  assumed  by  the  war. —  Sketch  of 
the  American  defences. — The  Constitution  captures  the  Guernere. — The  Wasp  the  Frolic. 
— The  Poictiers  the  Wasp. — The  United  States  the  Macedonian. — The  Essex  the  Noclon. — 
And  the  Constitution  the  Java. — Effect  of  these  victories. — Comment  of  the  English 
newspapers. — Van  Rensselaer  moves  against  Queenstown. — Carries  the  batteries. — • 
Death  of  Brock. — The  Americans  entrench. — But  are  forced  to  surrender. — Smyth  suc¬ 
ceeds  Van  Rensselaer. — And  makes  a  fool  of  himself. — The  Americans  at  Black  Rock 
cross  and  recross  the  river. — Madison  re-elected. .  388-399. 

CHAPTER  L. 

WAR  OF  ’12. — CONTINUED. 

Plan  of  the  campaigns  of  ’13. — The  Americans  capture  Frenchtown. — Are  as¬ 
sailed  by  Proctor. — Surrender. — And  are  butchered. — Harrison  at  Fort  Meigs. — He 
is  besieged. — Clay  raises  the  siege. — Proctor  and  Tecumtha  return. — Attack  Fort 
Stephenson. — And  are  defeated  by  Croghan. — Affairs  on  Lake  Erie. — Perry  buildg 
a  fleet. — Attacks  the  British  squadron. — And  gains  a  signal  victory. — Harrison  em¬ 
barks  his  forces  to  Malden. — Follows  the  British  and  Indians  to  the  Thames. — And 
routs  them  in  battle. — The  Creeks  massacre  the  garrison  at  Fort  Mims. — Jackson 
and  Coffee  with  the  Tennesseeans. — They  burn  Tallushatchie. — Battles  of  Talladega 
vnd  Autosse. — Winter  and  starvation. — Battle  of  Emucfau. — And  Horse  Shoe  Bend.— 
Dearborn  proceeds  against  Toronto. — Battle  at  the  water’s  edge. — The  Americans 
capture  the  town. — The  British  attack  Sackett’s  Harbor. — The  Americans  on  the 
Niagara. — They  storm  Fort  George. — Suspension  of  operations. — Wilkinson  is  made 


XXVI 


CONTENTS. 


commander-in-chief. — Expedition  against  Montreal.  The  battle  of  Chrysler  s  Field. 
—The  expedition  is  abandoned.— Winter  quarters  at  Fort  Covington— McClure 
evacuates  Fort  George. — Turns  Newark. — The  British  retaliate.  The  Hornet  captures 
the  Peacock. — The  Chesapeake  is  taken  by  the  Shannon. — Death  of  Lawrence— Cap¬ 
ture  of  the  Argus. — The  Enterprise  takes  the  Boxer.  The  Essex  is  captuied  by  the 
Phoebe  and  Cherub— A  British  fleet  bombards  Lewiston.— Marauding  in  the  Chesa¬ 
peake .  .  400-407 


CHAPTER  LI. 

CAMPAIGNS  OP  ’14. 

Scott  and  Ripley  capture  Erie.— Battles  of  Chippewa  and  Niagara.— The  Amer¬ 
icans  retreat  to  Erie. — Siege  of  that  place  by  the  British.  They  are  driven  off.  Winter 
quarters  at  Black  Rock. — Wilkinson  again  invades  Canada. — Is  defeated  at  La  Colle. 
And  retreats  to  Plattsburg. — McDonough’s  squadron  on  the  lake.  I  lie  Biitish  ad¬ 
vance —Attack  by  land  and  water.— And  are  defeated— Cochrane  and  Ross  in  the 
Chesapeake. — Barney  destroys  his  vessels. — Battle  of  Bladensbuig.  Washington  is 
captured  by  the  British— Public  buildings  burned.— Alexandria  pays  a  ransom  — 
Siege  of  Baltimore. — Ravages  in  New  England. —  The  Federal  peace  paity.  The  Hart¬ 
ford  Convention. — Jackson  captures  Pensacola. — Takes  command  at  New  Orleans. 
Approach  of  the  British. — Skirmishing  and  fighting. — The  decisive  battle.  Ruin  of 
Packenham’s  army. — The  news  of  peace. — Sea-fights  afterward. —  The  treaty  of  Ghent. 
— Great  rejoicings. — Terms  of  the  treaty. — Condition  of  the  country.  Rechaiteiing  of 
the  United  States  Bank. — The  Mediterranean  pirates  again. — Decatur  sent  out  against 
them. — He  captures  a  Moorish  ship. — And  then  another.  Enters  the  Bay  of  Algiers. 
And  dictates  the  terms  of  peace. — Indiana  is  admitted. — Liberia  founded. — Monroe  is 
elected  President.  .  . .  407-416. 


CHAPTER  LII. 
monroe’s  administration. 

The  new  President  and  his  policy. — The  cabinet.— Revival  of  the  country.— De¬ 
mand  for  the  recognition  of  Hayti— Treaty  with  the  Northwestern  Indians.— Missis¬ 
sippi  is  admitted. — The  pirates  of  Amelia  Island  dispersed— The  question  of  internal 
improvements  arises. — The  canal  from  Buffalo  to  Albany.  The  Seminole  wai  bieaks 
out. — Jackson  invades  the  hostile  country. — Captures  St.  Marks. — Hangs  Arbuthnot  and 
Ambrister. — Takes  Pensacola. — An  excitement  follows. — Which  leads  to  the  cession  of 
Florida.— Great  financial  crisis  of  1819.— Illinois  is  admitted.— And  Alabama.— Ar¬ 
kansas  is  organized. — And  Maine  admitted. — And  Missouri. — The  slavery  agitation. 
And  Missouri  Compromise— Its  terms— Monroe  and  Tompkins  are  re-elected.— Com¬ 
modore  Porter  suppresses  piracy  in  the  AVest  Indies. — Sympathy  of  the  United  States 
for  the  South  American  republics. — The  Monroe  Doctrine.  The  visit  of  La  Fayette. 
Excitement  attending  the  presidential  election. — John  Quincy  Adams  chosen.  416-423. 

CHAPTER  LIII. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Sketch  of  the  President.— Partisan  opposition  in  Congress. — Internal  improve¬ 
ments  favored  by  the  executive.— Trouble  with  Georgia  about  the  lands  of  the  Creeks. 

Settled  by  a  treaty. — Death  of  Adams  and  Jefferson. — The  Masonic  excitement  in 


CONTENTS. 


XXV11 


New  York. — Discussion  of  the  tariff  in  Congress. — A  protective  duty  laid  on  fabrics. — 
A  new  departure  in  American  history. — Adams  renominated  for  the  Presidency. — Gen¬ 
eral  Jackson  put  forward  by  the  Democrats. — And  elected.  .  .  .  423-426. 

CHAPTER  LIV. 
jackson’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  Jackson’s  life  and  character. — He  fills  the  offices  with  his  political 
friends —Opposes  the  rechartering  of  the  United  States  Bank. — And  vetoes  the  bill. — 
The  new  political  organization. — Sketch  of  parties. — The  tariff  question  again. — South 
Carolina  attempts  nullification. — Debate  of  Webster  and  Hayne. — The  President’s  proc¬ 
lamation. — South  Carolina  recedes  from  her  position. — Mr.  Clay’s  tariff  compromise. — 
The  Black  Hawk  war  breaks  out. — Generals  Scott  and  Atkinson  are  sent  against  the 
Red  men. — Who  are  driven  to  submission. — The  difficulty  with  the  Cherokees. — Char¬ 
acter  of  that  race. — The  wrongs  done  to  them. — Scott  compels  their  removal  to  the 
West. — A  second  Seminole  war. — The  arrest  of  Osceola. — His  release  and  conspiracy. — 
Dade’s  massacre.— Murder  of  General  Thompson. — Clinch  fights  the  savages  and  re¬ 
treats. — Gaines  defeats  the  Indians  on  the  Withlacoochie. — Battle  of  the  Wahoo  Swamp. 
— A  second  fight. — Tbe  President  orders  the  distribution  of  the  funds. — A  panic  follows. 
— The  President  is  vituperated. — Is  censured  by  Congress. — But  re-elected. — He  brings 
France  and  Portugal  to  terms. — Death-list  of  eminent  men. — Fires  in  New  York  and 
Washington. — Arkansas  and  Michigan  admitted  into  the  Union. — Jackson’s  farewell 
address. — Van  Buren  elected  President.  . .  426-436. 

CHAPTER  LY. 
van  btjren’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  the  new  executive. — Another  monetary  disturbance. — Continuance  of  the 
Seminole  war. — Colonel  Taylor  hunts  the  savages  to  Lake  Okeechobee. — Defeats  them. 
— And  compels  submission. — The  financial  panic  of  ’37. — Causes  which  led  thereto  — 
Especially  the  Specie  Circular.— The  banks  suspend.— Tremendous  failures.— Treasury 
notes  are  issued. — The  Independent  Treasury  Bill  is  discussed. — And  finally  passed. — 
Partial  revival  of  business. — The  Canada  insurrection. — Affair  of  the  Caroline. — Wool  is 
sent  to  the  Niagara. — Order  is  restored. — An  early  presidential  canvass. — Uneventful 
character  of  Van  Buren’s  administration.— The  sixth  census. — General  Harrison  is 
elected  President.  . .  436-440 

CHAPTER  LYI. 

ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  HARRISON  AND  TYDER. 

Sketch  of  the  President’s  life.— He  enters  upon  his  duties.— Falls  sick. — And  dies. 
—Tyler  succeeds  to  the  Presidency.— Sketch.— Repeal  of  the  Independent  Treasury 
Bill.— A  bill  is  passed  to  recharter  the  United  States  Bank.— And  vetoed  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent.— The  bankrupt  law.— Rupture  between  the  executive  and  Congress.— Resignation 
of  the  cabinet— The  north-eastern  boundary  is  settled  by  the  Webster-Ashburton  treaty. 
— The  Rhode  Island  insurrection. — The  suffrage  party  elects  Dorr.  And  the  law-and- 
order  party,  King.— The  latter  is  supported  by  the  government.— Dorr’s  followers  are 
scattered— And  himself  convicted  of  treason— But  afterward  pardoned.— Building  and 
dedication  of  Bunker  Hill  monument.— The  Van  Rensselaer  land  troubles  in  New 
York— The  Mormons— They  are  driven  from  Missouri.— Found  Nauvoo.— Popular 
feeling  against  them.— Smith  and  his  brother  are  murdered.— And  the  Mormons  driven 


CONTENTS. 


xxviii 

into  exile. — They  journey  to  Salt  Lake. — The  Texas  excitement  begins. — Outline  of 
Texas  history. — The  people  rebel  against  Mexico. — Battle  of  Gonzales. — Capture  of  the 
Alamo. — And  massacre  of  the  garrison. — The  battle  of  San  Jacinto  decides  the  contest. 
— Texas  independent. — Seeks  admission  into  the  Union. — Is  refused  at  first. — The  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  United  States  divide  on  the  question  of  annexation. — On  that  issue  Polk 
is  elected  President. — Professor  Morse  and  the  telegraph. — Texas  admitted  into  the 
Union .  440-447. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

polk’s  administration  and  the  Mexican  war. 

Sketch  of  President  Polk. — Texas  ratifies  the  annexation. — General  Taylor  sent  to 
defend  the  country. — The  boundary  question. — Proposition  to  negotiate. — Mexico 
refuses. — Taylor  ordered  to  the  Neuees. — And  thence  to  the  Rio  Grande. — He  estab- 
lislies  a  post  at  Point  Isabel. — And  builds  Fort  Brown.— Beginning  of  hostilities  by  the 
Mexicans. — Taylor  retires  to  Point  Isabel. — Mexican  boasting. — Returns  toward  Mata- 
moras. — Meets  the  Mexicans. — Fights  and  gains  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de 
la  Palma. — Siege  of  Fort  Brown. — News  of  the  battles  in  the  United  States. — Declaration 
of  War. — Plan  of  the  campaigns. — General  Wool  musters  the  forces. — Taylor  captures 
Matamoras. — Advances  against  Monterey. — Besieges  and  storms  the  town. — An  armis¬ 
tice. — Santa  Anna  made  President  of  Mexico  and  general  of  the  army. — Saltillo  is  taken 
by  Worth. — Victoria  by  Patterson. — And  Tampico  by  Conner. — Wool  advances. — And 
Scott  assumes  command. — Kearney  captures  Santa  Fe. — Moves  westward. — Is  joined  by 
Carson. — And  marches  to  the  Pacific  coast. — The  deeds  of  Colonel  Fremont. — Rebellion 
of  the  Californians. — They  defeat  the  Mexicans. — Monterey,  San  Diego,  and  Los  Angelos 
taken. — Battle  of  San  Gabriel. — The  march  and  battles  of  Colonel  Doniphan. — Taylor’s 
and  Wool’s  forces  ordered  to  the  coast. — Critical  condition  of  Taylor’s  army. — Ap¬ 
proach  of  Santa  Anna. — Battle  of  Buena  Vista.- — Retirement  of  Taylor  from  the 
service. — Scott  besieges  and  captures  Vera  Cruz. — Marches  against  the  capital. — Battle 
of  Cerro  Gordo. — Jalapa,  Perote,  and  Puebla  are  taken. — Negotiations. — The  march 
renewed. — The  army  passes  the  Cordilleras. — Reaches  Ayotla. — Turns  to  the  left. — The 
approaches  and  fortifications  of  the  city. — Storming  of  Contreras  and  San  Antonio. — 
Churubusco  is  carried. — The  Mexicans  driven  back  to  Chapultepec. — More  foolish  nego¬ 
tiations. — Scott  rests  his  army. — And  then  advances. — Molino  del  Rey  and  Casa  de 
Mata  are  stormed. — Chapultepec  is  taken. — Flight  of  the  Mexican  government. — The 
American  army  enters  the  city. — Santa  Anna  attacks  the  hospitals  at  Puebla. — Is  driven 
off  by  General  Lane. — Downfall  of  the  Mexican  authority. — The  treaty  of  Gaudalupe 
Hidalgo. — Its  terms. — Settlement  of  the  Oregon  boundary. — The  international  line  es¬ 
tablished  on  the  forty-ninth  parallel. — The  discovery  of  gold  in  California. — The  excite¬ 
ment  which  ensued. —  Importance  of  the  mines. — Founding  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu¬ 
tion. — Death  of  Jackson  and  John  Quincy  Adams. — Wisconsin  is  admitted. — Establish¬ 
ment  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. — The  canvass  for  President. — Rise  of  the  Free 
Soil  party. — The  Wilmot  proviso. — Ejection  of  Taylor  to  the  presidency.  447-462, 

CHAPTER  LVItl. 

ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  TAYLOR  AND  FILLMORE. 

Sketch  of  the  chief  magistrate. — The  question  of  slavery  in  California  — A  terri* 
torial  government  is  organized. — A  petition  for  admission. — The  controversy  in  Con¬ 
gress. — Other  political  vexations. — Clay  as  a  peace-maker. — Passage  of  the  Omnibus 
Bill. — And  its  provisions. — Death  of  the  President. — The  slaverv  excitement  subsides. 


CONTENTS. 


XXIX 


— The  question  not  permanently  settled. — Retirement  of  Mr.  Clay. — Effects  of  the  Om¬ 
nibus  Bill  on  the  administration. — The  Cuban  expedition  is  organized. — Lopez  and  his 
associates  are  executed. — Important  measures  recommended  by  the  President. — A  diffi¬ 
culty  arises  about  the  coast-fisheries. — And  is  settled  by  a  treaty. — The  tour  of  Kossuth. 
— Arctic  expeditions  of  Franklin,  De  Haven,  and  Kane. — Death  of  Calhoun,  Clay,  and 
Webster. — The  Cuban  excitement  in  Europe. — The  Tripartite  Treaty  is  proposed. — 
And  rejected. — Everett’s  reply  to  France  and  Great  Britain.— The  candidates  for  the 
presidency. — Pierce  is  elected .  463-469. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

fierce’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  Franklin  Pierce. — A  route  for  a  Pacific  railroad  is  explored. — Settle¬ 
ment  of  the  boundary  of  New  Mexico. — The  Japanese  ports  are  opened  to  the  United 
States. — The  World’s  Fair. — Walker  organizes  a  filibustering  expedition  against  Central 
America. — Is  captured. — Makes  a  second  descent  on  Nicaraugua. — And  then  a  third. — 
Is  defeated,  captured,  and  executed. — The  Martin  Koszta  affair. — Cuban  difficulties. — 
The  Ostend  manifesto. — A  bill  to  organize  Kansas  and  Nebraska  is  passed. — Repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise. — Renewal  of  the  slavery  agitation. — The  troubles  in  Kan¬ 
sas. — Two  territorial  governments  are  organized. — Geary  sent  thither  as  military  gov¬ 
ernor. — Marshaling  of  parties  on  the  slavery  question. — Buchanan  is  elected  to  the  pres¬ 
idency .  469-474. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

buchanan’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  the  President. — The  Dred  Scott  decision. — The  Mormon  rebellion  in 
Utah. — Is  suppressed  by  the  army. — A  difficulty  arises  with  Paraguay. — But  is  settled 
by  treaty. — The  first  Atlantic  cable  is  laid. — Minnesota  is  admitted. — Retirement  and 
sketch  of  Houston. — Death  of  Washington  Irving. — His  work  in  American  literature. 
— The  Personal  Liberty  bills. — John  Brown’s  insurrection. — Continuance  of  the  troubles 
in  Kansas — The  political  parties  again  divide  on  the  slavery  question. — The  National 
conventions. — The  candidates  and  the  canvass. — Lincoln  is  elected  President. — Condi¬ 
tion  of  affairs  in  the  government. — Position  of  Buchanan. — The  drama  of  secession. — 
Seven  States  withdraw  from  the  Union. — The  secession  conventions. — Position  of  Steph¬ 
ens. — Organization  of  the  Provisional  Confederate  government. — Davis  for  President. — 
The  peace  movements  end  in  failure. — Paralysis  of  the  administration. — Seizure 
of  forts  and  arsenals  by  the  Confederates. — The  strife  in  Kansas  continues. — The 
Star  of  the  West  is  driven  off  from  Fort  Sumter. — The  President  elect  reaches  Wash¬ 
ington.  ,  .  . .  474-482. 


CHAPTER  LXI. 

Lincoln’s  administration  and  the  civil  war. 

Sketch  of  Abraham  Lincoln. — Organization  of  his  cabinet. — His  purpose  to  repos¬ 
sess  the  forts  of  the  United  States. — Preparations  to  reinforce  Fort  Sumter. — Confed¬ 
erate  movements  in  Charleston. — Bombardment  and  fall  of  Fort  Sumter. — The  event 
fires  the  nation. — The  call  for  troops. — Secession  of  Virginia,  Arkansas,  North  Carolina, 
and  Tennessee. — The  soldiers  attacked  in  Baltimore. — Capture  of  Harper’s  Ferry  and 
the  Norfolk  navy  yard. — Prodigious  activity  and  preparations. — Davis  and  his  cabinet 
at  Richmond.  .  . .  482-485, 


XXX 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  LXII. 

THE  CAUSES. 

The  causes.— First,  the  different  construction  of  the  Constitution  in  the  North  and 
the  South. — Fatal  character  of  this  dispute. — Second,  the  system  of  slavery.— The 
cotton  gin.— The  Missouri  agitation.— The  annexation  of  Texas,  and  the  Mexican 
War.— The  nullification  measures  of  South  Carolina.— The  Omnibus  Bill.— The  Kan 
sas-Nebraska  imbroglio. — Third,  the  want  of  intercourse  between  the  North  and 
the  South— Fourth,  the  publication  of  sectional  books. — Fifth,  the  influence  of  dema¬ 
gogues .  485-488, 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 

FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

Advance  of  the  Union  army. — Fight  at  Big  Bethel.— Morris  and  McClellan  move 
forward  in  West  Virginia. — Engagements  at  Philippi,  Rich  Mountain,  Carrick’s  Ford. 
Carnifex  Ferry,  Cheat  Mountain,  and  Romney— The  Confederates  concentrate  at 
Manassas. — The  national  forces  advance. — The  skirmish,  the  battle,  and  the  rout. — 
Effect  on  the  country. — The  Confederate  government  at  Richmond. — Sketch  of  Davis. 
— Affairs  in  Missouri. — Confederates  capture  Liberty. — Form  Camp  Jackson. — Lyon 
defends  St.  Louis. — Battles  of  Carthage  and  Springfield. — Price  captures  Lexington. — 
Fremont  pursues  him. — And  is  superseded.— Grant  captures  Belmont.— McClellan  is 
made  commander-in-chief. — The  disaster  at  Ball’s  Bluff. — Hatteras  inlet,  Port  Royal, 
and  Hilton  Head  secured  by  the  Federals. — Capture  of  Mason  and  Slidell. — They  are 
released  by  Mr.  Seward .  490-495. 


CHAPTER  LXIV. 

CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’62. 

Extent  and  position  of  the  Union  forces. — The  Confederates  defeated  on  the  Big 
Sandy  and  at  Mill  Spring. — Fort  Henry  is  taken. — Siege  and  capture  of  Fort  Donelson. 
— Battle  of  Shiloh. — Island  Number  Ten  is  taken.— The  battle  of  Pea  Ridge. — Fight 
of  the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac. — Burnside  captures  Roanoke  Island,  Newbern,  and 
Beaufort. — Savannah  is  blockaded. — Farragut  aud  Butler  ascend  the  Mississippi. — Pass 
Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip. — Capture  of  New  Orleans. — Fall  of  Jackson  and  St. 
Philip. — Kirby  Smith  invades  Kentucky. — Battle  of  Richmond. — Bragg  marches  on 
Louisville. — The  city  held  by  Buell. — Bragg  retreats. — Battle  of  Perry ville. —  Battles  of 
Iuka  and  Corinth. — Grant  moves  against  Vicksburg. — Retreats. — Battle  of  Chickasaw 
Bayou. — Battle  of  Murfreesborough. — Banks  and  Jackson  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley. — 
Fight  at  Front  Royal. — The  Federals  retreat  across  the  Potomac. — The  Confederates 
fall  back  in  turn.— Battles  of  Cross  Keys  and  Port  Republic. — McClellan  advances. — 
Beginning  of  the  Peninsular  campaign. — Yorktown  is  taken. — Then  Williamsburg  and 
West  Point. — Wool  captures  Norfolk. — The  Virginia  destroyed. — Battle  of  Fair  Oaks. — 
Lee  made  general-in-chief  of  the  Confederates. — McClellan  changes  base. — The  seven 
days’  battles. — The  Union  army  at  Harrison’s  Landing. — Lee  strikes  for  Washington. — ■ 
Is  opposed  by  Pope. — Flank  movement  of  Jackson. — Battles  of  Manassas,  Centreville, 
and  Chantilly. — Lee  invades  Maryland. — Harper’s  Ferry  is  taken. — Engagement  at 
South  Mountain. — Battle  of  Antietam. — Confederates  retreat. — Burnside  in  command. — 
Plans  a  campaign  against  Richmond. — Advances  against  Fredericksburg. — And  is  de¬ 
feated . .  495-510. 


CONTENTS. 


XXXI 


CHAPTER  LXY. 

THE  WORK  OP  ’63. 

Proportions  of  the  conflict. — New  calls  for  troops. — The  Emancipation  Proclama¬ 
tion — Capture  of  Arkansas  Post. — Movements  against  Vicksburg. — The  fleet  passes  the 
batteries. — Grant  at  Bruinsburg. — Battles  of  Port  Gibson,  Raymond,  Jackson,  and 
Champion  Hills. — The  siege  and  capture  of  Vicksburg. — Fall  of  Port  Hudson. — Cav¬ 
alry  raids  of  Jackson,  Stuart,  and  Grierson. — Rosecrans  drives  Bragg  across  the  Ten¬ 
nessee. — Battle  of  Chattanooga. — And  the  siege. — Storming  of  Lookout  and  Missionary 
Ridge. — Longstreet  in  Tennessee. — Siege  of  Knoxville. — Engagements  at  Springfield, 
Cape  Girardeau,  and  Helena. — The  sacking  of  Lawrence. — Capture  of  Little  Rock. — 
Morgan  invades  Indiana. — Passes  into  Ohio. — Is  hemmed  in  and  captured. — The  Con¬ 
federates  take  Galveston. — The  siege  of  Charleston. — Hooker  commands  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac. — Battle  of  Chancellorsville. — Death  of  Stonewall  Jackson. — Stoneman’s 
raid. — Siege  of  Suffolk. — Lee  invades  Pennsylvania. — The  battle  of  Gettysburg. — Re¬ 
treat  of  the  Confederates. — The  conscription. — Riot  in  New  York. — The  draft. — New 
calls  for  soldiers. — West  Virginia  a  State.  .  .  .  .  .  510-523. 

CHAPTER  LXVI. 

THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 

Sherman’s  campaign  to  Meridian. — Smith  fails  to  form  &  junction. — Sherman 
retires  to  Vicksburg. — Forrest’s  raid. — The  Red  River  expedition. — Plan  of  the  cam¬ 
paign. — Capture  of  Fort  de  Russy,  Alexandria,  and  Natchitoches. — Union  disaster  and 
retreat. — Steele  falls  hack  to  Little  Rock. — Grant  lieutenant-general. — Plan  of  the  cam¬ 
paigns  of  ’64. — Sherman  advances. — Battles  of  Dalton,  Resaca,  and  Dallas. — Attacks 
and  repulses  at  Kenesaw. — The  Confederates  fall  back  to  Atlanta. — Siege  and  capture  of 
the  stronghold. — Hood  invades  Tennessee. — Thomas  sent  to  confront  him. — Battle  of 
Franklin. — Siege  of  Nashville. — Rout  and  ruin  of  Hood’s  army. — Sherman’s  march  to 
the  sea. — Capture  of  Macon,  Milledgeville,  Gibson,  and  Waynesborough. — Storming 
of  Fort  McAllister. — Escape  of  Ilardee. — And  capture  of  the  city. — The  Union  army  in 
Savannah. — Renewal  of  the  march. — Columbia,  Charleston,  and  Fayetteville  are  taken. 
— Battle  of  Kilpatrick’s  and  Hampton’s  Cavalry. — Johnston  restored  to  command. — 
Battles  of‘ Averasborough  and  Bentonsville. — Capture  of  Goldsborough  and  Raleigh. — 
Great  raid  of  Stoneman. — Surrender  of  Johnston. — Farragut  enters  Mobile  Bay. — 
Defeats  the  Confederate  squadron. — Captures  Forts  Gaines  and  Morgan. — Fort  Fisher 
is  besieged  by  Porter  and  Butler. — The  first  effort  fails. — The  siege  is  renewed. — 
And  the  fort  taken  by  storm. — Cushing’s  exploit. — The  Confederate  cruisers. — Injury 
done  to  the  commerce  of  the  United  States. — The  Savannah. — Career  of  the  Sumter. — • 
Cruise  of  the  Nashville. — The  Confederates  use  the  British  ship-yards. — Building  of  the 
Florida. —  Her  fate. — The  Georgia,  the  Olustee,  the  Shenandoah,  and  the  Chickamauga  built 
at  Glasgow. — End  of  the  Chickamauga  and  the  Tallahassee. — Career  of  the  Georgia  and 
the  Shenandoah. — The  Alabama. — Her  character. — She  scours  the  ocean. — Runs  into 
Cherbourg. — Is  caught  by  the  Kearsarge. — And  destroyed. — The  Army  of  the  Potomac 
moves  from  Culpepper. — Reaches  the  Wilderness. — The  battles. — Grant  advances  to 
Spottsylvania. — Terrible  fighting  there. — The  Union  army  moves  to  Cold  Harbor. — 
Is  repulsed  in  two  battles. — Losses. — Grant  changes  base. — Butler  captures  Bermuda 
and  City  Point. — Is  driven  back  by  Beauregard. — Junction  of  the  armies. — Advance  on 
Petersburg. — The  assaults. — The  siege  begins. — Sigel  on  the  Shenandoah. — Battle  of 
New  Market. — Hunter  in  command. — Engagement  at  Piedmont. — Retreat  of  Hunter. — - 
Early  enters  the  valley. — Crosses  the  Potomac. — Defeats  Wallace. — Threatens  Wash- 
3 


CONTENTS. 


xxxii 

ington  and  Baltimore. — Retreats  into  Virginia. — Fight  at  Winchester. — The  Confed¬ 
erates  burn  Chambersburg. — Sheridan  is  sent  into  the  valley. — Battles  of  Winchester 
and  Fisher’s  Hill. — Sheridan  ravages  the  country. — Early  comes. — Routs  the  Federals 
at  Cedar  Creek. — Sheridan  returns,  and  destroys  Early’s  army. — The  siege  of  Peters¬ 
burg  continues. — Battles  of  Boydtown  and  Five  Forks. — Flight  of  the  Confederate 
government. — Fall  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond. — Surrender  of  Lee. — Collapse  of  the 
Confederacy. — The  Federal  authority  is  re-established. — Capture,  imprisonment,  and 
trial  of  Davis. — Lincoln  re-elected. — Financial  condition  of  the  country. — Treasury 
notes. — Internal  Revenue. — Legal  Tenders. — Bonds. — Banks. — The  debt. — Lincoln  is 
reinaugurated. — Visits  Richmond. — Is  assassinated. — Punishment  of  his  murderers. — 
Character  of  Lincoln.  ..........  523-543. 


CHAPTER  LXVII. 

Johnson’s  administration. 

Johnson  in  the  presidency. — Sketch  of  his  life  and  character. — Slavery  is  formally 
abolished. — The  Amnesty  Proclamation. — A  struggle  with  the  war-debt. — Napoleon’s 
empire  in  Mexico. — Maximilian  is  captured  and  shot. — Final  success  of  the  Atlantic 
telegraph. — The  Postal  Money-Order  system  is  established. — The  Territories  assume 
their  final  form. — Alaska  is  purchased  from  Russia. — The  difficulty  between  the  Presi¬ 
dent  and  Congress. — The  reconstruction  imbroglio. — Second  amnesty. — The  Civil  Rights 
Bill  is  passed. — The  Southern  States  are  re-admitted. — A  national  convention  at  Phila¬ 
delphia. — The  President  makes  a  tour  of  the  country. — Congressional  measures  of 
reconstruction. — The  breach  is  widened  between  the  executive  and  Congress. — The  ve¬ 
toing  business. — The  President  removes  Stanton. — Is  impeached. — And  acquitted. — Gen¬ 
eral  Grant  is  elected  President.  ........  544-55L 


CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

grant’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  President  Grant. — The  Pacific  Railroad  is  completed. — The  Fourteenth 
and  Fifteenth  Amendments  to  the  Constitution  are  adopted. — The  story  of  Black 
Friday. — The  Southern  States  are  restored  to  their  place  in  the  Union. — The  ninth 
census  and  its  lesson. — The  Santo  Domingo  business. — The  Alabama  claims  are  ad¬ 
justed  by  the  treaty  of  Washington  and  the  Geneva  court. — Railroad  development 
of  the  United  States. — The  burning  of  Chicago. — The  North-western  boundary  la 
settled  by  arbitration. — The  presidential  election. — The  candidates. — Grant  is  re¬ 
elected. — Character  of  Greeley.— His  death. — Great  fire  in  Boston. — The  Modoc  war. — 
Murder  of  the  peace  commissioners. — The  savages  are  subdued. — The  Louisiana  im¬ 
broglio. — The  Credit  Mobilier  investigation. — The  financial  crisis  of  1873-’74. — The 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  enterprise. — Admission  of  Colorado. — Death-roll  of  emi¬ 
nent  men. — Sketches  of  Sumner  and  Wilson. — The  great  Centennial. — Origination  of 
the  enterprise. — Opposition. — General  plan  of  the  Exposition. — Organization. — The 
monetary  management. — :Lukewarmness  of  the  Government. — The  Centennial  Grounds. 
— Dedication. — The  General  Regulations. — Nations  participating. — Classification  of 
products. — The  Centennial  Buildings. — Descriptions  of  the  same. — Main  Building. — 
Memorial  Hall. — Machinery  Hall. — Agricultural  Hall. — Horticultural  Hall. — United 
States  Government  Building. — Woman’s  Pavilion. — Foreign  and  State  Buildings. — Re¬ 
ception  of  materials. — Scheme  of  Awards. — Opening  ceremonies. — The  Exposition 
itself. — Description  of  exhibits  in  Main  Building. — In  Machinery  HalL — In  the  Gov- 


CONTENTS. 


xxxiii 


ernment  Building. — In  Agricultural  Hall. — In  Horticultural  Hall. — In  the  Woman’s 
Pavilion. — In  Memorial  Hall  — The  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  in  Philadel¬ 
phia. — Attendance  at  the  Exposition. — The  closing  ceremonies. — The  Sioux  War. 
—The  great  election  of  1876. — A  disputed  presidency. — The  result.  .  553-633 

CHAPTER  LXIX. 
hayes’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  President  Hayes. ^-His  inaugural  address. — The  policy  indicated. — 
Effect  of  the  same  upon  the  country. — The  new  cabinet  is  organized. — The  great 
Railroad  Strike  breaks  out. — And  is  suppressed. — Beginning  of  the  Nez  Perce 
War. — The  tribe  is  subdued  by  General  Howard. — Silver  is  remonetized. — The 
Yellow  Fever  epidemic  in  the  South. — The  Halifax  Fishery  Commission. — How 
constituted. — The  award. — A  Chinese  Embassy  established  in  the  United  States. — 
A  Life  Saving  Service  is  instituted  by  Congress. — Resumption  of  Specie  Payments 
bv  the  Government. — Issues  of  1880.— Garfield  elected  President. — Refunding 
legislation. — Tour  of  Ex-President  Grant. — Results  of  the  Census  of  1880. — Death 
of  Senator  Morton,  William  Cullen  Bryant,  Bayard  Taylor,  and  Senators  Chandler 
and  Carpenter .  633-646 


CHAPTER  LXX. 

ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR. 

Sketch  of  President  Garfield. — His  inaugural. — The  new  cabinet. — Question 
of  Civil  Service  Reform. — Break  in  the  Republican  Party. — Assassination  of  the 
President. — Accession  of  Arthur. — Sketch  cf  the  new  executive. — Cabinet  changes. 
— Star-Route  conspiracy. — Applications  of  science. — The  telephone. — The  phono¬ 
graph. — The  electric  light. — The  Brooklyn  bridge. — Party  questions  of  1884. — 
The  tariff  issue. — Doctrine  of  free-trade. — Incidental  protection. — Limited  pro¬ 
tection. — High  protection. — Prohibitory  tariffs. — Presidential  contest  of  1884. — 
Election  of  Cleveland  and  Hendricks. — Transfer  of  the  command  of  the  army. — 
The  Washington  Monument . .  .  .  .  647-671 


CHAPTER  LXXI. 

Cleveland’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  President  Cleveland. — The  new  cabinet. — Question  of  Civil  Service 
Reform. — Struggle  for  office. — Revival  of  War  memories. — Literature  on  the  sub¬ 
ject. — Death  of  General  Grant. — Of  General  McClellan. — Of  General  Hancock.— 
Of  General  Logan. — Of  Vice-President  Hendricks. — Of  Horatio  Seymour. — Of 
Samuel  J.  Tilden. — Of  Henry  Ward  Beepher. — Of  Chief-Justice  Waite. — Historical 
sketch  of  the  Supreme  Court. — Appointment  of  Melville  W.  Fuller. — Death  of 
Roscoe  Colliding. — His  life  and  character. — The  labor  agitations  and  strikes  of 
1886-88. — The  Hay-market  riot  in  Chicago. — The  Charleston  earthquake. — The 
Forty-ninth  Congress.— Question  of  extending  the  Pension  list. — The  Interstate 
Commerce  Bill. — Political  excitements  of  1888. — Questions  at  issue. — Protection 
to  American  Industry. — Attitude  of  the  Parties. — Nominations  for  the  Presidency. 
— The  result. — Admission  of  South  and  North  Dakota,  Montana,  and  Washington. — 
Institution  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  ....  672-695 

3 


XXXIV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  LXXII. 
harrison’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  President  Harrison.  —  His  cabinet.  —  Centenary  of  the  American 
Government.  —  Crises  of  the  Revolutionary  Epoch.  —  Declaration  of  Independence. 

—  Formation  of  the  Constitution.  —  Its  adoption.  —  Institution  of  the  Government 
in  1789.  —  Sketch  of  the  ceremonies  of  Washington’s  Inauguration.  —  His  journey 
to  New  York.  —  His  reception.  —  Character  of  New  York  in  1 789.  —  Inaugural  pro¬ 
gramme  prepared  by  Congress. — The  Washingtonian  procession. — The  Inauguration 
proper.  —  First  policy  of  the  Government.  —  The  Centennial  commemoration  of 
1889.  —  Preparations  for  the  event.  —  The  throng  in  New  York.  —  Coming  of  Pres¬ 
ident  Harrison  and  his  company.  —  Decoration  of  the  city.  —  Receptions  of  the 
Presidential  Party,  Literary  Exercises.  —  Whittier’s  Poem  and  Depew’s  Oration.  — 
The  Military  Parade.  —  Features  of  the  great  Procession.  —  Sketch  of  the  various 
divisions.  —  Metropolitan  Banquets.  —  The  Civic  Parade.  —  Its  historical  features.  — 
Management  of  the  throngs.  —  Difficulty  with  Germany  relative  to  Samoa.  —  Causes 
of  the  controversy.  —  Wreck  of  the  American  and  German  fleets.  —  The  Embassy  to 
Berlin.  —  Meeting  of  Pan-American  Congress.  —  Representatives  thereto. —  Subjects 
discussed  and  results. —  Work  of  the  International  Maritime  Conference.  —  Resume 
of  discussions  and  Acts  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress.  —  The  McKinley  Bill.  —  New 
rules  for  the  government  of  the  House.  —  The  Elections  Bill.  —  Movement  for  the 
free  coinage  of  silver.  —  Questions  connected  therewith.  —  Statehood  for  Idaho  and 
Wyoming.  —  Census  of  1890.  —  Deaths  of  Sheridan,  Sherman  and  Johnston.  —  The 
Italian  embroglio  at  New  Orleans.  —  Serious  complication  with  Italy.  —  Difficulty 
between  the  United  States  and  Chili.  —  Affair  of  the  Itata.  —  Overthrow  of  Balrna- 
ceda. — The  mob  in  Valparaiso. —  Threatenings  of  war. —  Settlement  of  the  difficulty. 
Behring  Sea  controversy  with  Great  Britain.  —  Commission  appointed  to  arbitrate 
meet  at  Paris,  France.  —  Question  of  restoring  American  Influence  on  high  seas. — 
Great  war-ships  constructed. —  Methods  of  reducing  surplus  in  Treasury. —  Expenses 
of  Government  increased  to  more  than  a  billion  dollars.  —  Danger  of  National  deficit. 

—  James  G.  Blaine  resigns  his  office  as  Secretary  of  State.  —  Nominations  for  Presi¬ 

dency.  —  Result.  —  Democratic  control  of  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  for 
ensuing  quadrennium.  —  Death  of  James  G.  Blaine .  695-750 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  CLEVELAND. 

Re-election  of  President  Cleveland.  —  His  cabinet. — World’s  Columbian  Exposi¬ 
tion.  —  Officers  and  Commissioners  for  same.  —  Appropriations  of  nations  of  the 
world. — Contest  for  location.  —  Energy  of  citizens  of  Chicago.  —  Ground  broken  and 
work  continued  night  and  day  until  completion. —  Dedication. —  Great  procession.  — 
Distinguished  gathering  of  eminent  men.  —  Opening  of  Exposition  May  1,  1893. — 
Principal  Buildings. — Administration  Building. — Transportation  Building. — Agricul¬ 
tural  Building. —  Horticultural  Building.  —  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Building. 
Fisheries  Building. — Machinery  Hall. —  Woman’s  Building. — Electricity  Building. — 
Mines  and  Mining  Building.  —  United  States  Government  Building.  —  Buildings  of 
Foreign  Governments.  —  Wooded  Island.—  Peristyle.  —  State  Buildings.  —  Midway 
Plaisance. — Ferris  Wheel. —  Closing  of  Exposition. —  Assassination  of  Mayor  of  Chi¬ 
cago. —  Conclusion .  751-793 


CONTENTS. 


XXXV 


CHAPTER  LXXIY. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  outlook  for  the  Republic. — Byron’s  view  of  nations. — The  hopeful  side. — 
Present  achievements  of  the  United  States. — Natural  advantages. — How  the  Saxon 
has  improved  them. — Things  necessary  to  the  perpetuity  of  American  institutions: 
First,  National  Unity. — Second ,  Universal  Education. — Third,  Toleration. — Fourth, 
Tiie  Nobility  of  Labor. — Reflections.  .  .  .  794-797 


APPENDIXES. 


Appendix  A. — Mandeville’s  Argument . 798 

Appendix  B. — Franklin’s  Constitution  . . 802 

Appendix  C. — Declaration  of  Independence . 804 

Appendix  D. — Articles  of  Confederation . 807 

Appendix  E. — Constitution  of  the  United  States . 813 

Appendix  F. — Washington’s  Farewell  Address . 824 

Appendix  G. — The  Emancipation  Proclamation . 834 

Vocabulary . 836 

Census . 839 

Index . .  .  847 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PA6B 

Front  view  of  the  Capitoi . Frontispiece. 

Map  of  Aboriginal  America .  44 

Diagram  of  European  Kinship .  45 

Diagram  of  Indian  Kinship .  46 

Specimen  ot  Indian  Writing .  48 

A  North  American  Indian .  49 

Norse  Explorations .  52 

A  Norse  Sea  King  of  the  11th  Century . . .  53 

Christopher  Columbus .  55 

Chart  of  Voyage  and  Discovery .  56 

The  Night  of  October  11,  1492 .  56 

Fernando  Cortez . 59 

Burial  of  De  Soto .  66 

Dining  Hall  of  the  French  Colonists  at  Port  Royal .  73 

Map  of  Voyage  of  Discovery .  76 

Baptism  of  Virginia  Dare .  83 

Map  of  English  Grants . * .  86 

The  Mayflower  at  Sea .  90 

Captain  John  Smith .  96 

John  Smith  Among  the  Indians . „ .  99 

Jamestown  and  Vicinity .  103 

Wives  for  the  Settlers  at  Jamestown .  Ill 

Governor  Berkeley  and  the  Insurgents .  120 

Chart  of  the  Colonial  Period .  122 

The  Treaty  between  Governor  Carver  and  Massasoit . . .  124 

John  Winthrop .  127 

Roger  Williams’s  Reception  by  the  Indians .  129- 

Early  Settlements  in  New  England .  131 

First  Scene  of  King  Philip’s  War. . ,. .  140' 

Second  Scene  of  King  Philip’s  War .  141 

Third  Scene  of  King  Philip’s  War. .  143 

Death  of  King  Philip .  144 

Siege  of  Louisburg,  1745 .  158 

Sir  Henry  Hudson .  161 

De  Vries  Revisits  his  Ruined  Settlement . . .  164 

French,  English,  Dutch,  Swedish,  and  Spanish  Provinces,  1655 .  168 

Peter  Stuyvesant. .  171 

Roger  Williams  Opposing  the  Pequot  Emissaries .  185 

Scene  of  the.Pequod  War .  187 

The  Younger  Winthrop . 190 

The  Old  Stone  Tower  at  Newport.. . . . .  195 

East  and  West  Jersey,  1677 .  205 


XXXV 


xxxvi 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


'  PACK 

Penn’s  Colonists  on  the  Delaware .  209 

William  Penn .  211 

Philadelphia  and  Vicinity .  213 

Lord  Baltimore .  217 

James  Oglethorpe . .  . . . .  239 

Country  of  the  Savannah,  1740 .  242 

Scene  in  St.  Augustine .  242 

Marquette  and  Joliet  Discover  the  Mississippi .  247 

First  Scene  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  1750 .  253 

Scene  of  Braddock's  Defeat,  1755 . . . . .  260 

Fall  of  Braddock .  2C0 

The  Acadian  Isthmus,  1755 .  262 

The  Exile  of  the  Acadians .  263 

Vicinity  of  Lake  George,  1755 .  265 

Vicinity  of  Quebec,  1759 .  274 

General  James  Wolfe .  275 

The  Revelation  of  Pontiac’s  Conspiracy . 278 

The  Old  Thirteen  Colonies . ' .  281 

Patrick  Henry .  290 

Samuel  Adams . 295 

Scene  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  1775 .  300 

Siege  of  Boston,  1776 .  306 

Chart  of  the  Revolution  and  Confederation .  306 

Battle  of  Long  Island,  1776 .  311 

Scene  of  Operations  about  New  York,  1776 .  314 

Battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  1776-77 .  316 

Scene  of  Burgoyne’s  Invasion,  1777  . . .  323 

Encampment  at  Valley  Forge,  1777-78 .  327 

Benjamin  Franklin . . . . . . . .  330 

Siege  of  Charleston,  17 SO . . .  340 

Scene  of  Operations  in  the  South,  1780-81 .  342 

Scene  of  Arnold’s  Treason,  1780 .  344 

General  Greene .  351 

Siege  of  Yorktown,  October,  1781 .  353 

Map  of  the  United  States  at  the  Close  of  the  Revolution .  354 

Alexander  Hamilton .  359 

George  Washington .  363 

Chart  of  the  National  Period — First  Section .  364 

John  Adams . 372 

Thomas  Jefferson. . .  377 

Inauguration  of  the  Territorial  Government  at  Marietta,  Ohio .  378 

Chief-Justice  Marshall .  380 

Robert  Fulton .  386 

James  Madison .  389 

Scene  of  Hull’s  Campaign,  1812 .  394 

The  Niagara  Frontier,  1812 .  399 

Scene  of  the  Creek  War,  1813-14 .  403 

La  Fayette .  423 

Chart  of  the  National  Period — Second  Section .  424 

Andrew  Jackson . .. . T . 427 

Daniel  W  sbster . 429 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  xxxvii 

PAG£ 

Land  of  the  Seminoles . 431 

The  New  Patent-Office  at  Washington . 433 

Bunker  Hill  Monument . 443 

Professor  Morse . 446 

Texas  and  Coahuila,  1845 . . . 448 

Scene  of  Taylor’s  Campaign,  1846-47 . 449 

Fremont  on  the  Rocky  Mountains . 452 

Scene  of  Scott’s  Campaign,  1847 . 454 

General  Winfield  Scott . 457 

The  Smithsonian  Institution . 460 

Overland  to  California,  1849.  (Pass  of  the  Sierras)  . . 460 

President  Tayior . 463 

Henry  Clay . .  465 

John  C.  Calhoun . 468 

General  Sam  Houston . . . 477 

Alexander  Irving . . 478 

Alexander  H.  Stephens . 481 

Abraham  Lincoln . 483 

Scene  of  Operations  in  West  Virginia,  1861 . 490 

Vicinity  of  Manassas  Junction,  1861 . 491 

Jefferson  Davis . 492 

Scene  of  Operations  in  the  South-west,  1861 . 493 

William  H.  Seward . 495 

Battle  of  Murfreesborough,  December  31,  1862 . 500 

Battle  of  Murfreesborough,  January  2,  1863 . 501 

Scene  of  Campaign  in  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  1862  ......  503 

General  Robert  E.  Lee . 504 

Vicinity  of  Richmond,  1862 . 505 

The  Battle  of  Antietam,  September  17,  1862 . 507 

The  Proposed  Routes  from  Washington  to  Richmond,  1862 . 508 

Vicksburg  and  Vicinity,  1863 . 512 

Battle  of  Chickamauga,  September  19,  20,  1S63 . -514 

Lookout  Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge,  November  23-25,  1863 . 515 

Stonewall  Jackson . 519 

Battle  of  Gettysburg,  July  1-3,  1863 . 520 

Sherman’s  Campaign,  1864 . 525 

General  Thomas . 527 

General  Sherman . .  .  528 

Admiral  Farragut . 531 

Operations  in  Virginia,  1864-65 . 535 

Petersburg,  Richmond,  Appomattox,  1865 . 539 

Chief-Justice  Chase . 551 

President  Grant  . . 552 

Horace  Greeley . 558 

Charles  Sumner . 562 

Independence  Hall,  1876 . 563 

General  Joseph  R.  Hawley  . . . . •  •  •  .  .  566 


xxxviii 


ILLUSTRATIONS, 


PAGB 

Centennial  Medal — Reverse . 5G7 

The  Centennial  Grounds  aud  Buildings .  569 

Main  Exposition  Building,  Centennial  Exhibition .  576 

Memorial  Hall,  “  “  579 

Machinery  Hall,  “  H  5S1 

Agricultural  Hall,  “  “  583 

Horticultural  Hall,  “  .  585 

H.  S.  Government  Building,  “  “  587 

"Woman’s  Pavilion,  “  “  589 

Inaugural  Ceremonies  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition .  593 

ilfred  T.  Goshoru .  595 

(/lew  in  the  Main  Exhibition  Building .  597 

Interior  View  of  Machinery  Hall . C07 

Interior  View  of  the  United  States  Government  Building .  613 

Interior  View  of  Agricultural  Hall .  616 

Interior  View  of  Horticultural  Hall .  621 

Rotunda  of  Memorial  Hall .  623 

Scene  of  the  Sioux  War,  1876 .  629 

Sioux  Indians  in  Battle  with  Emigrants .  629 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes .  633 

James  A.  Garfield .  647 

Chester  A.  Arthur .  652 

The  Telephone  .  655 

Brooklyn  Bridge .  661 

Philip  H.  Sheridan .  671 

Grover  Cleveland .  672 

Thomas  F.  Bayard . 673 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks .  674 

George  B.  McClellan . ' . .  674 

Ambrose  E.  Burnside .  675 

Joseph  Hooker .  675 

Winfield  Scott  Hancock .  676 

George  G.  Meade .  677 

John  A.  Logan .  679 

Samuel  J.  Tilden .  680 

Henry  Ward  Beecher . 681 

Morrison  R.  Waite . 682 

Roscoe  Conkling .  685 

Benjamin  Harrison. . . .  696 

James  G.  Blaine .  697 

Old  Federal  Hall,  1789... .  702 

Inauguration  of  Washington .  707 

Old  St.  Paul’s  Chapel .  709 

Sub-Treasury  Building  in  Wall  Street . 714 

John  M.  Schofield .  718 

Memorial  Arch  in  Washington  Square .  719 

Administration  Building .  765 

Agricultural  Building .  767 

Horticultural  Building .  768 

Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Building .  770 

Fish  and  Fisheries  Building .  771 


ILL  US TRA  TIONS.  xli 

PAGE 

Machinery  Hall .  772 

Woman’s  Building .  773 

Electricity  Building .  774 

Mines  and  Mining  Building .  775 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts . 776 

United  States  Government  Building .  778 

Battle-ship .  779 

Illinois  Building . insert  after  784 

Maine  Buiiding .  “  “  784 

New  Hampshire  Building .  “  “  784 

Vermont  Building .  “  “  784 

Ehode  Island  Building .  “  “  784 

Connecticut  Building . "  “  784 

New  York  Building .  "  “  784 

Pennsylvania  Building .  “  "  784 

Liberty  Bell .  786 

New  Jersey  Building . insert  after  786 

Delaware  Building .  “  “  786 

Massachusetts  Building .  “  “  786 

Virginia  Building .  “  “  786 

West  Virginia  Building .  “  “  786 

Maryland  Building .  "  “  786 

Florida  Building .  “  “  786 

Louisiana  Building .  **  “  786 

Texas  Building .  “  “  788 

Kentucky  Building .  “  “  788 

Missouri  Building .  “  “  788 

Joint  Territorial  Building .  “  “  788 

Ohio  Building .  “  “  788 

Indiana  Building .  “  “  788 

Michigan  Building . “  “  788 

Wisconsin  Building .  “  “  788 

Minnesota  Building .  “  “  790 

Iowa  Building .  “  "  790 

Kansas  Building .  “  “  790 

Nebraska  Building .  **  “  790 

Montana  Building .  “  *  790 

Colorado  Building .  “  “  790 

Idaho  Building .  “  "  790 

Washington  Building .  *  “  790 

North  Dakota  Building .  **  “  792 

South  Dakota  Building .  “  “  792 

Utah  Building .  “  “  792 

California  Building .  “  “  792 


J 


J 


INTRODUCTION. 


1.  The  history  of  every  nation  is  divided  into  periods.  For 
a  while  the  genius  of  a  people  will  be  turned  to  some  particular  pur¬ 
suit.  Men  will  devote  themselves  to  certain  things  and  labor  to  ac¬ 
complish  certain  results.  Then  the  spirit  of  the  age  will  change,  and 
historical  facts  will  assume  a  different  character.  Thus  arises  what  is 
called  A  Period  in  History.  In  studying  the  history  of  the  United 

•  States  it  is  of  the  first  importance  to  understand  the  periods  into  which 
it  is  divided. 

2.  First  of  all,  there  was  a  time  when  the  New  World  was  under 
the  dominion  of  the  aborigines.  From  ocean  to  ocean  the  copper-col¬ 
ored  children  of  the  woods  ruled  with  undisputed  sway.  By  bow  and 
arrow,  by  flint  and  hatchet,  the  Red  man  supported  his  rude  civiliza¬ 
tion  and  waited  for  the  coming  of  the  pale-faced  races. 

3.  After  the  discovery  of  America,  the  people  of  Europe  were 

’  * 

hundreds  of  years  in  making  themselves  acquainted  with  the  shape  and 
character  of  the  New  World.  During  that  time  explorers  and  adven¬ 
turers  went  everywhere  and  settled  nowhere.  To  make  new  discov¬ 
eries  was  the  universal  passion ;  but  nobody  cared  to  plant  a  colony. 
As  long  as  this  spirit  prevailed,  historical  events  bore  a  common  char¬ 
acter,  being  produced  by  common  causes.  Hence  arose  the  second  pe¬ 
riod  in  our  history — the  Period  of  Voyage  and  Discovery. 

4.  As  soon  as  the  adventurers  had  satisfied  themselves  with  trac¬ 
ing  sea-coasts,  ascending  rivers  and  scaling  mountains,  they  began  to 
form  permanent  settlements.  And  each  settlement  was  a  new  State  in 
the  wilderness.  Every  voyager  now  became  ambitious  to  plant  a  col¬ 
ony.  Kings  and  queens  grew  anxious  to  confer  their  names  on  the 
towns  and  commonwealths  of  the  New  World.  Thus  arose  a  third  pe¬ 
riod — the  Period  of  Colonial  History. 


xl 


INTROD  UCTION. 


» 


5.  Then  the  colonies  grew  strong  and  multiplied.  There  were 
thirteen  little  sea-shore  republics.  The  people  began  to  consult  about 
their  privileges  and  to  talk  of  the  rights  of  freemen.  Oppression  on 
the  part  of  the  mother-country  was  met  with  resistance,  and  tyranny 
with  defiance.  There  was  a  revolt  against  the  king;  and  the  patriots 
of  the  different  colonies  fought  side  by  side,  and  won  their  freedom. 
Then  they  built  them  a  Union,  strong  and  great.  This  is  the  Period 
of  Revolution  and  Confederation. 

6.  Then  the  United  States  of  America  entered  upon  their  career 
as  a  nation.  Three  times  tried  by  war  and  maiy  times  vexed  with 
civil  dissensions,  the  Union  of  our  fathers  still  remains  for  us  and  for 
posterity.  Such  is  the  Period  of  Nationality. 

7.  Collecting  these  results,  we  find  five  distinctly  marked  peri¬ 
ods  in  the  history  of  our  country  : 

First.  The  Aboriginal  Period  ;  from  remote  antiquity  to  the 
coming  of  the  White  men. 

Second.  The  Period  of  Voyage  and  Discovery;  A.  D. 
986-1607. 

Third.  The  Colonial  Period;  A.  D.  1607-1775. 

Fourth.  The  Period  of  Revolution  and  Confederation; 
A.  D.  1775-1789. 

Fifth.  The  National  Period  ;  A.D.  1789  to  present  decade. 

In  this  order  the  History  of  the  United  States  will  be  presented 
in  the  following  pages. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


PART  I. 

ABORIGINAL  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  RED  MEN— ORIGIN,  DISTRIBUTION,  CHARACTER. 

THE  primitive  inhabitants  of  the  New  World  were  the  Red  men 
called  Indians.  The  name  Indian  was  conferred  upon  them  from 
their  real  or  fancied  resemblance  to  the  people  of  India.  But  without 
any  such  similarity  the  name  would  have  been  the  same;  for  Colum¬ 
bus  and  his  followers,  believing  that  they  had  only  rediscovered  the 
Indies,  would  of  course  call  the  inhabitants  Indians.  The  supposed 
similarity  between  the  two  races,  if  limited  to  mere  personal  appearance, 
had  some  foundation  in  fact;  but  in  manners,  customs,  institutions, 
and  character,  no  two  peoples  could  be  more  dissimilar  than  the  Amer¬ 
ican  aborigine^  and  the  sleepy  inhabitants  of  China  and  Japan. 

The  origin  of  the  North  American  Indians  is  involved  in  com¬ 
plete  obscurity.  That  they  are  one  of  the  older  races  of  mankind  can 
not  be  doubted.  But  at  what  date  or  by  what  route  they  came  to  the 
Western  continent  is  an  unsolved  problem.  Many  theories  have  been 
proposed  to  account  for  the  Red  man’s  presence  in  the  New  World, 
but  most  of  them  have  been  vague  and  unsatisfactory.  The  notion  that 
the  Indians  are  the  descendants  of  the  Israelites  is  absurd.  That  half 
civilized  tribes,  wandering  from  beyond  the  Euphrates,  should  reach 
North  America,  surpasses  human  credulity.  That  Europeans  or  Afri¬ 
cans,  at  some  remote  period,  crossed  the  Atlantic  by  voyaging  from  is¬ 
land  to  island,  seems  altogether  improbable.  That  the  Kamtchatkans, 
coming  by  way  of  Behring’s  Strait,  reached  the  frozen  North-west  and 

(41) 


42 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


became  the  progenitors  of  the  Red  men,  has  no  evidence  other  than 
conjecture  to  support  it.  Until  further  research  shall  throw  additional 
light  on  the  history  and  migrations  of  the  primitive  races  of  mankind, 
the  origin  of  the  Indians  will  remain  shrouded  in  mystery.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  North  American  lan¬ 
guages  may  furnish  a  clue  to  the  early  history  of  the  tribes  that  spoke 
them. 

The  Indians  belong  to  the  Ganowanian,  or  Bow-and- Arrow 
family  of  men.  Some  races  cultivate  the  soil;  others  have  herds  and 
flocks;  others  build  cities  and  ships.  To  the  Bed  man  of  the  Western 
continent  the  chase  was  every  thing.  Without  the  chase  he  pined  and 
languished  and  died.  To  smite  with  swift  arrow  the  deer  and  the  bear 
was  the  chief  delight  and  profit  of  the  primitive  Americans.  Such  a 
race  could  live  only  in  a  country  of  woods  and  wild  animals.  The  il¬ 
limitable  hunting-grounds — forest,  and  hill,  and  river — were  the  In¬ 
dian’s  earthly  paradise,  and  the  type  of  his  home  hereafter. 

The  American  aborigines  belonged  to  several  distinct  families  or 
nations.  Above  the  sixtieth  parallel  of  latitude  the  whole  continent 
from  Labrador  to  Alaska  was  inhabited  by  the  Esquimaux.  The  name 
means  the  eaters  of  raw  meat.  They  lived  in  snow  huts,  or  in  hovels, 
partly  or  wholly  underground.  Sometimes  their  houses  were  more  ar¬ 
tistically  constructed  out  of  the  bones  of  whales  and  walruses.  Their 
manner  of  life  was  that  of  fishermen  and  hunters.  They  clad  them¬ 
selves  in  winter  with  the  skins  of  seals,  and  in  summer  with  those  of 
reindeers.  Inured  to  cold  and  exposure,  they  made  long  journeys  in 
sledges  drawn  by  dogs,  or  risked  their  lives  in  open  boats  fighting 
with  whales  and  polar  bears  among  the  terrors  of  the  icebergs.  By 
eating  abundantly  of  oils  and  fat  meats  they  kept  the  fires  of  life 
a-burning,  even  amid  the  rigors  and  desolations  of  the  Arctic  winter. 

Lying  south  of  the  Esquimaux,  embracing  the  greater  part  of 
Canada  and  nearly  all  that  portion  of  the  United  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi  and  north  of  the  thirty-seventh  parallel  of  latitude, 
spread  the  great  family  of  the  Algonquins.  It  appears  that  their 
original  seat  was  on  the  Ottawa  Biver.  At  the  beginning  of  the  sev¬ 
enteenth  century  the  Algonquins  numbered  fully  a  quarter  of  a  million. 
The  tribes  of  this  great  family  were  nomadic  in  their  habits,  roaming 
from  one  hunting-ground  and  river  to  another,  according  to  the  exi¬ 
gencies  of  fishing  and  the  chase.  Agriculture  was  but  little  esteemed. 
They  were  divided  into  many  subordinate  tribes,  each  having  its  local 
name,  dialect,  and  traditions.  When  the  first  European  settlements 
were  planted  the  Algonquin  race  was  already  declining  in  numbers 


ABORIGINAL  AMERICA. 


43 


and  influence.  "Wasting  diseases  destroyed  whole  tribes.  Of  all  the 
Indian  nations  the  Algonquins  suffered  most  from  contact  with  the 
White  man.  Before  his  aggressive  spirit,  his  fiery  rum,  and  his  de¬ 
structive  weapons,  the  warriors  were  unable  to  stand.  The  race  has 
withered  to  a  shadow;  only  a  few  thousands  remain  to  rehearse  the 
story  of  their  ancestors. 

Within  the  wide  territory  occupied  by  the  Algonquins  lived  the 
powerful  nation  of  the  IIuron-Iroquois.  Their  domain  extended 
over  the  country  reaching  from  Georgian  Bay  and  Lake  Huron  to 
Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  south  of  those  lakes  to  the  valley  of  the  Up¬ 
per  Ohio,  and  eastward  to  the  River  Sorel.  Within  this  extensive  dis¬ 
trict  was  a  confederacy  of  vigorous  tribes,  having  a  common  ancestry, 
and  generally — though  not  always — acting  together  in  war.  At  the 
time  of  their  greatest  power  and  influence  the  Huron-Iroquois  em¬ 
braced  no  less  than  nine  allied  nations.  These  were  the  Hurons 
proper,  living  north  of  Lake  Erie;  the  Eries  and  Andastes,  south  of 
the  same  water;  the  Tuscaroras,  of  Carolina,  who  ultimately  joined 
their  kinsmen  in  the  North;  the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  Onei- 
das,  and  Mohawks,  constituting  the  famous  Five  Nations  of  New  York. 
The  warriors  of  this  great  confederation  presented  the  Indian  character 
in  its  most  favorable  aspect.  They  were  brave,  patriotic,  and  eloquent; 
not  wholly  averse  to  useful  industry;  living  in  respectable  villages; 
tilling  the  soil  with  considerable  success;  faithful  as  friends  but  terri¬ 
ble  as  enemies. 

South  of  the  country  of  the  Algonquins  were  the  Cherokees 
and  the  Mobieian  Nations;  the  former  occupying  Tennessee,  and 
the  latter  covering  the  domain  between  the  Lower  Mississippi  and  the 
Atlantic.  The  Cherokees  were  highly  civilized  for  a  primitive  peo¬ 
ple,  and  contact  with  the  whites  seemed  to  improve  rather  than 
degrade  them.  The  principal  tribes  of  the  Mobilians  were  the  Ya- 
massees  and  Creeks  of  Georgia,  the  Seminoles  of  Florida,  and  the 
Choctaws  and  Chickasaws  of  Mississippi.  These  displayed  the  usual 
characteristics  of  the  Red  men,  with  this  additional  circumstance,  that 
below  the  thirty-second  parallel  of  latitude  evidences  of  temple-build¬ 
ing,  not  practiced  among  the  Northern  tribes,  began  to  appear. 

West  of  the  Father  of  Waters  was  the  great  and  widely-spread 
race  of  the  Dakotas,  whose  territory  extended  from  the  Arkansas 
River  to  the  country  of  the  Esquimaux  and  westward  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Their  languages  and  institutions,  differing  much  among 
the  various  tribes,  are  not  so  well  understood  as  those  of  some  other 
nations.  South  of  the  land  of  the  Dakotas,  in  a  district  nearly  cor- 


44 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


responding  with  the  present  State  of  Texas,  lived  the  wild  Coman- 
ches,  whose  very  name  is  a  synonym  for  savage  ferocity.  Beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains  were  the  Indian  nations  of  the  Plains;  the  great 
family  of  the  Shoshonees,  the  Selish,  the  Klamatiis,  and  the 
Californians.  On  the  Pacific  slope  farther  southward  dwelt  in  for¬ 
mer  times  the  famous  races  of  Aztecs  and  Toltecs.  These  were  the 
most  civilized  of  the  primitive  Indian  nations,  but  at  the  same  time 
among  the  most  feeble ;  the  best  builders  in  wood  and  stone,  but  the 
least  warlike  of  any  of  the  aborigines.  Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
distribution  of  the  copper-colored  race  in  the  New  World.  The  ter¬ 
ritorial  position  of  the  various  nations  and  tribes  will  be  easily  under¬ 
stood  from  an  examination  of  the  accompanying  map. 

The  Indians  were  strongly  marked  with  national  peculiarities. 
The  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  race  was  a  certain  sense  of  per¬ 
sonal  independence — willfulness  of  action— freedom  from  restraint.  To 
the  Red  man’s  imagination  the  idea  of  a  civil  authority  which  should 
subordinate  his  passions,  curb  his  will,  and  thwart  his  purposes,  was 
intolerable.  Among  this  people  no  common  enterprise  was  possible 
unless  made  so  by  the  concurrence  of  free  wills.  If  the  chieftain 
entered  the  war-path,  his  kinsmen  and  the  braves  of  other  tribes  fol¬ 
lowed  him  only  because  they  chose  his  leadership.  His  authority  and 
right  of  command  extended  no  further  than  to  be  foremost  in  danger, 
most  cunning  in  savage  strategy,  bravest  in  battle.  So  of  all  the 
relations  of  Indian  life.  The  Medicine  Man  was  a  self-constituted 
physician  and  prophet.  No  man  gave  him  his  authority;  no  man  took 
it  away.  His  right  was  his  own ;  and  his  influence  depended  upon 
himself  and  the  voluntary  respect  of  the  nation.  In  the  solemn  de¬ 
bates  of  the  Council  House,  where  the  red  orators  pronounced  their 
wild  harangues  to  groups  of  motionless  listeners,  only  questions  of 
expediency  were  decided.  The  painted  sachems  never  thought  of 
imposing  on  the  unwilling  minority  the  decision  which  had  been 
reached  in  council. 

Next  among  the  propensities  of  the  Red  men  was  the  passion 
for  war.  Their  wars,  however,  were  always  undertaken  for  the  re¬ 
dress  of  grievances,  real  or  imaginary,  and  not  for  conquest.  But 
with  the  Indian,  a  redress  of  grievances  meant  a  personal,  vindictive, 
and*  bloody  vengeance  on  the  offender.  The  Indian’s  principles  of 
war  were  easily  understood,  but  irreconcilable  with  justice  and  hu¬ 
manity.  The  forgiveness  of  an  injury  was  reckoned  a  weakness  and 
a  shame.  Revenge  was  considered  among  the  nobler  virtues.  The 
open,  honorable  battle  of  the  field  was  an  event  unknown  in  Indian 


ABORIGINAL  AMERICA. 


45 


warfare.  Fighting  was  limited  to  the  surprise,  the  ambuscade,  the 
massacre ;  and  military  strategy  consisted  of  cunning  and  treachery. 
Quarter  was  rarely  asked,  and  never  granted ;  those  who  were  spared 
from  the  fight  were  only  reserved  for  a  barbarous  captivity,  ransom, 
or  the  stake.  In  the  torture  of  his  victims  all  the  diabolical  ferocity 
of  the  savage  warrior’s  nature  burst  forth  without  restraint. 

In  times  of  peace  the  Indian  character  shone  to  a  better  advan¬ 
tage.  But  the  Red  man  was,  at  his  best  estate,  an  unsocial,  solitary, 
and  gloomy  spirit. 

He  was  a  man  of 
the  woods.  He 
communed  only 
with  himself  and 
the  genius  of  sol¬ 
itude.  He  sat 
apart.  The  forest 
was  better  than 
his  wigwam,  and 
his  wigwam  bet¬ 
ter  than  the  vil¬ 
lage.  The  Indian 
woman  was  a  de¬ 
graded  creature,  a 
drudge,  a  beast 
of  burden ;  and 
the  social  prin¬ 
ciple  was  cor¬ 
respondingly  low. 

The  organization 
of  the  Indian  fam¬ 
ily  was  so  peculiar 
as  to  require  a  special  consideration.  Among  civilized  nations  tho 
family  is  so  constructed  that  the  lines  of  kinship  diverge  constantly 
from  the  line  of  descent,  so  that  collateral  kinsmen  with  each  gem> 
eration  stand  at  a  still  greater  remove  from  each  other.  The  above 
diagram  will  serve  to  show  how  in  a  European  family  the  lines  of 
.  consanguinity  diverge  until  the  kinship  becomes  so  feeble  as  to  be  no 
longer  recognized.  It  will  be  observed  that  this  fact  of  constant  di¬ 
vergence  is  traceable  to  the  establishment  of  a  male  line  of  descent. 

In  the  Indian  family  all  this  is  reversed.  The  descent  is  es- 
tablished  in  the  female  line ;  and  as  a  consequence  the  ties  of  kinship 


DIAGRAM  OF  EUROPEAN  KINSHIP. 


46 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


converge  upon  each  other  until  they  all  meet  in  the  granddaughter. 
That  is,  in  the  aboriginal  nations  of  North  America,  every  grandson 
and  granddaughter  was  the  grandson  and  granddaughter  of  the  whole 
tribe.  This  arose  from  the  fact  that  all  the  uncles  of  a  given  person 
were  reckoned  as  his  fathers  also;  all  the  mother’s  sisters  were  mothers; 
all  the  cousins  were  sisters  and  brothers;  all  the  nieces  were  daugh¬ 
ters  ;  all  the  nephews,  sons,  etc.  This  peculiarity  of  the  Indian  family 
organization  is  illustrated  in  the  annexed  diagram. 


Civil  government 
among  the  Indian  na¬ 
tions  was  in  its  primi¬ 
tive  stages  of  develop¬ 
ment.  Each  tribe  had 
its  own  sachem,  or 
chieftain,  to  whom  in 
matters  of  peace  and 
war  a  tolerable  degree 
of  obedience  was  ren¬ 
dered,  At  times  con¬ 
federations  were  form¬ 
ed,  based  either  on  ties 
of  kinship  or  the  exi¬ 
gencies  of  war.  But 
these  confederations 
were  seldom  enduring, 
and  were  likely  at  any 
time  to  be  broken  up 
by  the  barbarous  pas¬ 
sion  and  insubordina¬ 
tion  of  the  tribes  who 
composed  them.  Sometimes  a  sachem  would  arise  with  such  marked 
abilities,  warlike  prowess,  and  strength  of  will,  as  to  gain  an  influence, 
if  not  a  positive  leadership  over  many  nations.  But  with  the  death  of 
the  chieftain,  or  sooner,  each  tribe,  resuming  its  independence,  would 
return  to  its  own  ways.  No  general  Indian  Congress  was  known;  but 
national  and  tribal  councils  were  frequently  called  to  debate  questions 
of  policy  and  right. 

In  matters  of  religion  the  Indians  were  a  superstitious  race,  but 
seldom  idolaters.  They  believed  in  a  great  spirit,  everywhere  present, 
ruling  the  elements,  showing  favor  to  the  obedient,  and  punishing  the 
sinful.  Him  they  worshiped;  to  him  they  sacrificed.  But  not  in  tem- 


ABORIGINAL  AMERICA. 


47 


pies,  ior  the  Indians  built  none.  They  also  believed  in  many  subordi¬ 
nate  spirits — some  good,  some  bad.  Both  classes  frequented  the  earth. 
The  bad  spirits  brought  evil  dreams  to  the  Indian ;  diseases  also,  bad 
passions,  cruel  winters,  and  starvation.  The  good  spirits  brought  sun¬ 
shine,  peace,  plentiful  harvests,  all  the  creatures  of  the  chase.  The 
Medicine  Man,  or  Prophet,  obtained  a  knowledge  of  these  things  by 
fasting  and  prayer,  and  then  made  revelations  of  the  will  and  purposes 
of  the  spirit  world.  The  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Indians  were  per¬ 
formed  with  great  earnestness  and  solemn  formality. 

In  the  matter  of  the  arts  the  Indian  was  a  barbarian.  His  house 
was  a  wigwam  or  hovel.  Some  poles  set  up  in  a  circle,  converging  at 
the  top,  covered  with  skins  and  the  branches  of  trees,  lined  and  some¬ 
times  floored  with  mats,  a  fire  in  the  center,  a  low  opening  opposite 
the  point  from  which  the  wind  blew — such  was  the  aboriginal  abode 
of  North  America.  Indian  utensils  were  few,  rude,  and  primitive. 
Poorly-fashioned  earthen  pots,  bags  and  pouches  for  carrying  provis¬ 
ions,  and  stone  hammers  for  pounding  parched  corn,  were  the  stock 
and  store.  A  copper  kettle  was  a  priceless  treasure.  The  warrior’s 
chief  implement  was  his  hatchet  of  stone  or  copper.  This  he  always 
carried  with  him,  and  it  was  rarely  free  from  the  stain  of  blood.  His 
weapon  of  offence  and  defence  was  the  bow  and  arrow,  by  no  means 
an  insignificant  or  feeble  instrument.  The  arrow  pointed  with  stone 
or  iron  was  frequently  driven  entirely  through  the  ponderous  buffalo. 
The  range  of  the  winged  missile  was  two  hundred  yards  or  more,  and 
the  aim  was  one  of  fatal  accuracy  when  the  White  man  was  the  tar¬ 
get.  The  Indian’s  clothing  was  a  blanket,  thrown  over  his  shoulders, 
bound  around  him  perhaps  with  a  thong  of  leather.  The  material  for 
his  moccasins  *  and  leggins  was  stripped  from  the  red  buck,  elk,  or 
buffalo.  He  was  fond  of  hanging  about  his  person  an  infinity  of  non¬ 
sensical  trappings ;  fangs  of  rattlesnakes,  claws  of  hawks,  feathers  of 
eagles,  bones  of  animals,  scalps  of  enemies.  He  painted  his  face  and 
body,  specially  when  the  passion  of  war  was  on  him,  with  all  manner 
of  glaring  and  fantastic  colors.  So  the  Prophet  of  his  nation  taught 
him ;  so  he  would  be  terrible  to  his  enemies ;  so  he  would  exemplify 
the  peculiarities  of  his  nation  and  be  unlike  the  Pale  face.  All  the 
higher  arts  were  wanting.  Indian  writing  consisted  only  of  quaint 
and  half-intelligible  hieroglyphics  rudely  scratched  on  the  face  of 
rocks  or  cut  in  the  bark  of  trees.  The  artistic  sense  of  the  savage 
could  rise  no  higher  than  a  coarse  necessity  compelled  the  flight. 

The  language  spoken  by  a  people  is  always  a  matter  of  special 

*  The  Algonquin  word  is  makmn. 


4 


48 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


interest  and  importance.  The  dialects  of  the  North  American  races 
bear  many  and  evident  marks  of  resemblance  among  themselves ;  but 
little  or  no  analogy  to  the  languages  of  other  nations.  If  there  is  any 
similarity  at  all,  it  is  found  between  the.  Indian  tongues  and  those 

spoken  by  the 
nomadic  races 
of  Asia.  The 
vocabulary  of 
the  Red  men 
was  a  very 
limited  one. 
The  principal 
objects  of  na¬ 
ture  had  spec¬ 
ial  names,  and 
actions  were 
likewise  spe¬ 
cifically  ex¬ 
pressed.  Ab¬ 
stract  ideas  but 
rarely  f o  u  n  d 
expression  in 

any  of  the  Indian  languages ;  such  ideas  could  only  be  expressed  by 
a  long  and  labored  circumlocution.  Words  had  a  narrow  but  very 
intense  meaning.  There  was,  for  instance,  no  general  word  signify¬ 
ing  to  hunt  or  to  fish;  but  one  word  signified  “  to-kill-a-deer-with-an- 
arrow ;  ”  another,  “  to-take-fish-by-striking-the-ice.”  In  most  of  the 
dialects  there  was  no  word  for  brother;  but  “elder-brother”  and 
“  younger-brother  ”  could  be  expressed.  Among  many  of  the  tribes 
the  meanings  of  words  and  phrases  were  so  restricted  that  the  war¬ 
rior  would  use  one  set  of  terms  and  the  squaw  another  to  express 
the  same  ideas.  The  languages  were  monosyllabic;  but  many  of  the 
monosyllables  might  be  combined  to  form  compounds  resembling  the 
polysyllables  of  European  tongues.  These  compounds,  expressing  ab¬ 
stract  and  difficult  ideas,  were  sometimes  inordinately  long,*  the  whole 
forming  an  explanation  or  description  of  the  thing  rather  than  a  sin¬ 
gle  word.  Scholars  have  applied  the  term  agglutinative  to  those  lan¬ 
guages  in  which  such  labored  and  tedious  forms  of  expression  occur. 
Of  this  sort  are  the  tongues  spoken  by  the  nomadic  races  of  Asia. 

*  For  instance,  in  the  Massachusetts  dialect,  the  form  of  speech  meaning  “  our  ques¬ 
tion”  was  this:  Kum-mog-ko-don-at-toot-tum-moo-et-it-e-a-ong-an-nun-non'ash. 


Translation:  Eight  soldiers  (9),  with  muskets  (10),  commanded  by  a  cap¬ 
tain  (1),  and  accompanied  by  a  secretary  (2),  a  geologist  (3),  three  attend¬ 
ants  (4,  5,  6),  and  two  Indian  guides,  encamped  here.  They  had  three 
camp  fires  (13, 14, 15),  and  ate  a  turtle  and  a  prairie  hen  (11, 12),  for  supper. 


ABORIGINAL  AMERICA . 


49 


In  personal  appearance  the  Indians  were  strongly  marked.  In 
stature  they  were  nearly  all  below  the  average  of  Europeans.  The 
Esquimaux  are  rarely  five  feet  high,  but  are  generally  thick-set  and 
heavy.  The  Algonquins  are  taller  and  lighter  in  build ;  a  straight  and 
agile  race,  lean  and 
swift  of  foot.  Eyes 
jet-black  and  sunk¬ 
en  ;  hair  black  and 
straight  ;  beard  black 
and  scant;  skin 
copper-colored,  a  red- 
dish-black,  c i n - 
namon-hued,  brown ; 
high  cheek  bones ; 
forehead  and  skull 
variable  in  shape  and 
proportion;  hands 
and  feet  small ;  body 
lithe  but  not  strong; 
expression  sinister,  or 
rarely  dignified  and 
noble  : — these  are  the 
well-known  features 
and  person  of  the 
Indian. 

Though  gener¬ 
ally  sedate  in  man- 

J  A  NORTH  AMERICAN  I.1DIAN.  • 

ners  and  serious  in 

behavior,  the  Red  men  at  times  gave  themselves  up  to  merry-making 
and  hilarity.  The  dance  was  universal — not  the  social  dance  of  civ¬ 
ilized  nations,  but  the  dance  of  ceremony,  of  religion,  and  of  war. 
Sometimes  the  warriors  danced  alone,  but  frequently  the  women  joined 
in  the  wild  exercise,  circling  around  and  around,  chanting  the  weird, 
monotonous  songs  of  the  tribes.  Many  other  amusements  were  com¬ 
mon,  such  as  running,  leaping,  wrestling,  shooting  at  a  mark,  racing 
in  canoes  along  swift  rivers  or  placid  lakes,  playing  at  ball,  or  en¬ 
gaging  in  intricate  and  exciting  games,  performed  with  small  stones 
resembling  checkers  cr  dice.  To  this  latter  sport  was  not  unfre- 
quently  added  the  intoxication  of  gambling,  in  which  the  warriors, 
under  the  influence  of  their  fierce  passion,  would  often  hazard  and 


*  An  authentic  portrait  of  the  celebrated  Black  Hawk,  chief  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes. 


50 


ms  TORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


lose  their  entire  possessions.  In  soberer  moments,  the  Red  men, 
never  inclined  to  conversation,  would  sit  in  silence,  communing  each 
with  his  own  thoughts  or  lost  in  a  dream  under  the  fascination  of 
his  pipe.  The  use  of  tobacco  was  universal  and  excessive;  and  after 
the  introduction  of  intoxicating  liquors  by  the  Europeans  the  Indi¬ 
ans  fell  into  terrible  drunkenness,  only  limited  in  its  extent  by  the 
amount  of  spirits  which  they  could  procure.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
any  other  race  has  been  so  awfully  degraded  by  drink. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  Red  man — who  was  rather  than  is. 
The  only  hope  of  the  perpetuity  of  his  race  seems  now  to  center  in 
the  Choctaws,  Cherokees,  Creeks  and  Chickasaws  of  the  Indian  Ter¬ 
ritory.  These  nations,  numbering  in  the  aggregate  about  forty-eight 
thousand  souls,  have  attained  a  considerable  degree  of  civilization ; 
and  with  just  and  liberal  dealing  on  the  part  of  the  Government  the 
outlook  for  the  future  is  not  discouraging.  Most  of  the  other  Indian 
tribes  seem  to  be  rapidly  approaching  extinction.  Right  or  wrong, 
such  is  the  logic  of  events.  Whether  the  Red  man  has  been  justly 
deprived  of  the  ownership  of  the  New  World  will  remain  a  subject 
of  debate ;  that  he  has  been  deprived,  can  be  none.  The  Saxon  has 
come.  His  conquering  foot  has  trodden  the  vast  domain  from  shore  to 
shore.  The  weaker  race  has  withered  from  his  presence  and  sword. 
By  the  majestic  rivers  and  in  the  depths  of  the  solitary  woods  the 
feeble  sons  of  the  Bow  and  Arrow  will  be  seen  no  more.  Only  their 
names  remain  on  hill  and  stream  and  mountain.  The  Red  man  sinks 
and  fails.  His  eyes  are  to  the  West.  To  the  prairies  and  forests,  the 
hunting-grounds  of  his  ancestors,  he  says  farewell.  He  is  gone !  The 
cypress  and  the  hemlock  sing  his  requiem. 


PART  II. 

VOYAGE  AMD  DISCOVERY. 


A.  D.  986-1607. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  ICELANDERS  AND  NORWEGIANS  IN  AMERICA. 

THE  western  continent  was  first  seen  by  white  men  in  A.  D.  986. 

A  Norse  navigator  by  the  name  of  Herjulfson,  sailing  from 
Iceland  to  Greenland,  was  caught  in  a  storm  and  driven  westward  to 
Newfoundland  or  Labrador.  Two  or  three  times  the  shores  were 
seen,  but  no  landing  was  made  or  attempted.  The  coast  was  low, 
abounding  in  forests,  and  so  different  from  the  well-known  cliffs  of 
Greenland  as  to  make  it  certain  that  another  shore  hitherto  unknown 
was  in  sight.  On  reaching  Greenland,  Herjulfson  and  his  companions 
told  wonderful  stories  of  the  new  lands  seen  in  the  west. 

Fourteen  years  later,  the  actual  discovery  of  America  was  made 
by  Lief  Erickson.  This  noted  Icelandic  captain,  resolving  to  know 
the  truth  about  the  country  which  Herjulfson  had  seen,  sailed  west¬ 
ward  from  Greenland,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1001  reached 
Labrador.  Impelled  by  a  spirit  of  adventure,  he  landed  with  his 
companions,  and  made  explorations  for  a  considerable  distance  along 
the  coast.  The  country  was  milder  and  more  attractive  than  his  own, 
and  he  was  in  no  haste  to  return.  Southward  he  went  as  far  as 
Massachusetts,  where  the  daring  company  of  Norsemen  remained  for 
more  than  a  year.  Rhode  Island  was  also  visited ;  and  it  is  alleged 
that  the  hardy  adventurers  found  their  way  into  New  York  harbor. 

What  has  once  been  done,  whether  by  accident  or  design,  may 
easily  be  done  again.  In  the  years  that  followed  Lief  Erickson’s  dis¬ 
covery,  other  companies  of  Norsemen  came  to  the  shores  of  America. 
Thorwaed,  Lief ’s  brother,  made  a  voyage  to  Maine  and  Massachu¬ 
setts  in  1002,  and  is  said  to  have  died  at  Fall  River  in  the  latter  state. 

(51) 


52 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Then  another  brother,  Thorstein  by  name,  arrived  with  a  band  of 
followers  in  1005 ;  and  in  the  year  1007,  Thorfinn  Karlsefne,  the 
most  distinguished  mariner  of  his  day,  came  with  a  crew  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  and  made  explorations  along  the  coast  of  Massachusetts, 

Rhode  Island,  and  per¬ 
haps  as  far  south  as  the 
capes  of  Virginia.  Other 
companies  of  Icelanders 
and  Norwegians  visited 
the  countries  farther 
north,  and  planted  col¬ 
onies  in  Newfoundland 
and  Nova  Scotia.  Little, 
however,  was  known  or 
imagined  by  these  rude 
sailors  of  the  extent  of 
the  country  which  they 
had  discovered.  They 
supposed  that  it  was  only 
a  portion  of  Western 
Greenland,  which,  bend¬ 
ing  to  the  north  around 
an  arm  of  the  ocean,  had 
reappeared  in  the  west. 
The  settlements  which 
were  made,  were  feeble  and  soon  broken  up.  Commerce  was  an  im¬ 
possibility  in  a  country  where  there  were  only  a  few  wretched  savages 
with  no  disposition  to  buy  and  nothing  at  all  to  sell.  The  spirit  of 
adventure  was  soon  appeased,  and  the  restless  Northmen  returned  to 
their  own  country.  To  this  undefined  line  of  coast,  now  vague  1\ 
known  to  them,  the  Norse  sailors  gave  the  name  of  A^inland;  and 
the  old  Icelandic  chroniclers  insist  that  it  was  a  pleasant  and  beauti¬ 
ful  country.  As  compared  with  their  own  mountainous  and  frozen 
island  of  the  North,  the  coasts  of  New  England  may  well  have  seemed 
delightful. 

The  men  who  thus  first  visited  the  shores  of  the  New  World 
were  a  race  of  hardy  adventurers,  as  lawless  and  restless  as  any  that 
ever  sailed  the  deep.  Their  mariners  and  soldiers  penetrated  every 
clime.  The  better  parts  of  France  and  England  fell  under  their  do¬ 
minion.  All  the  monarchs  of  the  latter  country  after  William  the 
Conqueror — himself  the  grandson  of  a  sea-king  are  descendants  of 


I'AnCH  rVOrnDATTAMC 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


53 


the  Norsemen.  They  were  rovers  of  the  sea;  freebooters  and  pi¬ 
rates;  warriors  audacious  and  headstrong,  wearing  hoods  surmounted 
with  eagles’  wings  and  walruses’  tusks,  mailed  armor,  and  for  robes  the 
skins  of  polar  bears.  Woe  to  the  people  on  whose  defenceless  coasts 
the  sea-kings  landed  with  sword  and  torch !  Their  wayward  life  and 
ferocious  disposition  are  well  portrayed  in  one  of  their  own  old  bal¬ 
lads  :  TT  , 

He  scorns  to  rest  ’neath  the  smoky  rafter, 

He  plows  with  his  boat  the  roaring  deep; 

The  billows  boil  and  the  storm  howls  after — 

But  the  tempest  is  only  a  thing  of  laughter, — 

The  sea-king  loves  it  better  than  sleep  ! 


During  tiie  twelfth,  thirteenth,  and  fourteenth  centuries  occa¬ 
sional  voyages  continued  to  be  made;  and  it  is  said  that  as  late  as 
A.  D.  1347  a  Norwegian  ship  visited  Labrador  and  the  north-eastern 
parts  of  the  United  States.  The  Norse  remains  which  have  been 
found  at  Newport,  at  Garnet 
Point,  and  several  other 
j)laces  seem  to  point  clearly 
to  some  such  events  as  are 
here  described;  and  the  Ice¬ 
landic  historians  give  a  uni¬ 
form  and  tolerably  consistent 
account  of  these  early  ex¬ 
ploits  of  their  countrymen. 

When  the  word  America  is 
mentioned  in  the  hearing  of 
the  Icelandic  schoolboys,  they 
will  at  once  answer,  with  en¬ 
thusiasm,  u  Oh,  yes ;  Lief  Er¬ 
ickson  discovered  that  country 
in  the  year  1001.” 

An  event  is  to  be 
weighed  by  its  consequences. 

From  the  discovery  of  Amer¬ 
ica  by  the  Norsemen,  nothing 
whatever  resulted.  The 
world  was  neither  wiser  nor  better.  Among  the  Icelanders  themselves 
the  place  and  the  very  name  of  Vinland  were  forgotten.  Europe 
never  heard  of  such  a  country  or  such  a  discovery.  Plistorians  have 
until  late  years  been  incredulous  on  the  subject,  and  the  fact  is  as 
though  it  had  never  been.  The  curtain  which  had  been  lifted  for  a 


A  NORSE  SEA-KING  OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


moment  was  stretched  again  from  sky  to  sea,  and  the  New  World 
still  lay  hidden  in  the  shadows.  * 


CHAPTER  III. 

SPANISH  DISCO  VERIES  IN  AMERICA. 

i 

IT  was  reserved  for  the  people  of  a  sunnier  clime  than  Iceland  first  to 
make  known  to  the  European  nations  the  existence  of  a  Western  con¬ 
tinent.  Spain  was  the  happy  country  under  whose  auspicious  patronage 
a  new  world  was  to  be  added  to  the  old ;  but  the  man  who  was  destined 
to  make  the  revelation  was  not  himself  a  Spaniard :  he  was  to  come  from 
genial  Italy,  the  land  of  olden  valor  and  the  home  of  so  much  greatness. 
Christopher  Columbus  was  the  name  of  that  man  whom  after  ages 
have  justly  rewarded  with  imperishable  fame. 

The  idea  that  tl  e  world  is  round  was  not  original  with  Columbus. 
Others  before  him  had  held  a  similar  belief ;  but  the  opinion  had  been  so 
feebly  and  uncertainly  entertained  as  to  lead  to  no  practical  results. 
Copernicus,  the  Prussian  astronomer,  had  not  yet  taught,  nor  had  Galileo, 
the  great  Italian,  yet  demonstrated,  the  true  system  of  the  universe.  The 
English  traveler,  Sir  John  Mandeville,  had  declared  in  the  very  first 
English  book  that  ever  was  written  (A.  D.  1356)  that  the  world  is  a 
sphere;  that  he  himself,  when  traveling  northward,  had  seen  the  polar 
star  approach  the  zenith,  and  that  on  going  southward  the  antarctic  con¬ 
stellations  had  risen  overhead ;  and  that  it  was  both  possible  and  practicable 
for  a  man  to  sail  around  the  world  and  return  to  the  place  of  starting : 
but  neither  Sir  John  himself  nor  any  other  seaman  of  his  times  was  bold 
enough  to  Undertake  so  hazardous  an  enterprise.!  Columbus  was, 
no  doubt,  the  first  practical  believer  in  the  theory  of  circumnaviga¬ 
tion  ;  and  although  he  never  sailed  around  the  world  himself,  he 
demonstrated  the  possibility  of  doing  so. 

*  As  to  the  reality  of  the  Norse  discoveries  in  America,  the  following  from  Hum¬ 
boldt’s  Cosmos,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  269-272,  may  be  cited  as  conclusive:  “We  are  here  on 
historical  ground.  Bv  the  critical  and  highly  praiseworthy  efforts  of  Professor  Rafn 
and  the  Royal  Society  of  Antiquaries  in  Copenhagen,  the  Sagas  and  documents  in 
regard  to  the  expeditions  of  the  Norsemen  to  Newfoundland,  Nova  Scotia,  and 
Vinland  have  been  published  and  satisfactorily  commented  upon.  ”  The  dis- 

covery  of  the  northern  part  of  America  by  the  Norsemen  can  not  be  disputed.  The  length 
of  the  voyage,  the  direction  in  which  they  sailed,  the  time  of  the  sun’s  rising  and 
setting,  are  accurately  given.  While  the  Caliphate  of  Bagdad  was  still  flourish¬ 
ing,  *  *  *  *  America  was  discovered  about  the  year  A.  D.  1000,  by  Lief,  the  son 
of  Eric  the  Red,  at  the  latitude  of  forty-one  and  a-half  degrees  north.” 
t  See  Appendix  A. 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


So 

The  great  mistake  with  Columbus  and  others  who  shared  his  opinions 
was  not  concerning  the  figure  of  the  earth,  but  in  regard  to  its  size.  He 
believed  the  world  to  be  no  more  than  ten  thousand  or  twelve  thousand 
miles  in  circumference.  He  therefore  confidently  expected  that  after  sail¬ 
ing  about  three  thousand  miles  to  the  westward  he  should  arrive  at  the 
East  Indies ;  and  to  do  that  was  the  one  great  purpose  of  his  life. 

Christopher  Columbus  was  born  at  Genoa,  a  seacoast  town  of  North¬ 
western  Italy,  in  A.  D.  1435.  He  was  carefully  educated,  and  then  devoted 

himself  to  the  sea.  His 
ancestors  had  been  sea¬ 
men  before  him.  His 
own  inclination  as  well 
as  his  early  training 
made  him  a  sailor. 
For  twenty  years  he 
traversed  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean  and  the  parts 
of  the  Atlantic  adjacent 
to  Europe;  he  visited 
Iceland ;  then  went  to 
Portugal,  and  finally 
to  Spain.  The  idea 
of  reaching  the  Indies 
by  crossing  the  Atlan¬ 
tic  had  already  pos¬ 
sessed  him.  For  more 
than  ten  years  the  poor 
enthusiast  was  a  beg¬ 
gar,  going  from  court 
to  court,  explaining  to  dull  monarchs  and  bigoted  monks  the  figure  of 
the  earth  and  the  ease  with  which  the  rich  islands  of  the  East  might  be 
reached  by  sailing  westward.  He  found  one  appreciative  listener,  after¬ 
ward  his  constant  and  faithful  friend — the  noble  and  sympathetic  Isa¬ 
bella,  queen  of  Castile.  Be  it  never  forgotten  that  to  the  faith,  and 
insight,  and  decision  of  a  woman  the  final  success  of  Columbus  must  be 
attributed. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d  day  of  August,  1492,  Columbus,  with 
his  three  ships,  left  the  harbor  of  Palos.  After  seventy-one  days  of 
sailing,  in  the  early  dawn  of  October  12,  ilodrigo  Triana,  who  chanced 
to  be  on  the  lookout  from  the  Pinta,  set  up  a  shout  of  “Land!’'  A  gun 
was  fired  as  the  signal.  The  ships  lay  to.  There  was  music  and  jubilee ; 


CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


56 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  just  at  sunrise  Columbus  himself  first  stepped  ashore,  shook  out  the 
royal  banner  of  Castile  in  the  presence  of  the  wondering  natives,  and 
named  the  island  San  Salvador.  During  the  three  remaining  months 
of  this  first  voyage  the  islands  of  Concepcion,  Cuba  and  Hayti  were 
added  to  the  list  of  discoveries;  and  on  the  bay  of  Caracola,  in  the  last-  > 
named  island,  was  erected  out  of  the  timbers  of  the  Santa  Maria  a  fort, 
the  first  structure  built  by  Europeans  in  the  New  World.  In  the  early 
part  of  January,  1493,  Columbus  sailed  for  Spain,  where  he  arrived 
in  March,  and  was  everywhere  greeted  with  rejoicings  and  applause. 

In  September  of  the  following  autumn  Columbus  sailed  on  his 
second,  voyage.  He  still  believed  that  by  this  route  westward  he  should 
reach,  if  indeed  he  had  not  already  reached,  the  Indies.  The  result  of  the 
second  voyage  was  the  discovery  of  the  Windward  group  and  the  islands 
of  Jamaica  and  Porto  Rico.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  first  colony  was 
established  in  Hayti  and  Columbus’s  brother  appointed  governor.  After 
an  absence  of  nearly  three  years,  Columbus  returned  to  Spain  in  the  sum¬ 
mer  of  1496 — returned  to  find  himself  the  victim  of  a  thousand  bitter 
jealousies  and  suspicions.  All  the  rest  of  his  life  was  clouded  with  perse¬ 
cutions  and  misfortunes.  He  made  a  third  voyage,  discovered  the  island 
of  Trinidad  and  the  mainland  of  South  America,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco.  Thence  he  sailed  back  to  Hayti,  where  he  found  his  colony 
disorganized ;  and  here,  while  attempting  to  restore  order,  he  was  seized 
by  Bobadilla,  an  agent  of  the  Spanish  government,  put  in  chains  and  car¬ 
ried  to  Spain.  After  a  disgraceful  imprisonment,  he  was  liberated  and 
sent  on  a  fourth  and  last  voyage  in  search  of  the  Indies ;  but  besides 
making  some  explorations  along  the  south  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
the  expedition  accomplished  nothing,  and  Columbus,  overwhelmed  with 
discouragements,  returned  once  more  to  his  ungrateful  country.  The 
good  Isabella  was  dead,  and  the  great  discoverer  found  himself  at  last  a 
friendless  and  despised  old  man  tottering  into  the  grave.  Death  came, 
and  fame  afterward. 

Of  all  the  wrongs  done  to  the  memory  of  Columbus,  perhaps 
the  greatest  was  that  which  robbed  him  of  the  name  of  the  new  conti¬ 
nent.  This  was  bestowed  upon  one  of  the  least  worthy  of  the  many 
adventurers  whom  the  genius  and  success  of*  Columbus  had  drawn  to  the 
West.  In  the  year  1499,  Amekigo  Vespucci,  a  Florentine  navigator 
of  some  daring  but  no  great  celebrity,  reached  the  eastern  coast  of  South 
America.  It  does  not  appear  that  his  explorations  there  were  of  any 
great  importance.  Two  years  later  he  made  a  second  voyage,  and  then 
hastened  home  to  give  to  Europe  the  first  published  account  of  the 
Western  World.  Vespucci’s  only  merit  consisted  in  his  recognition  of 


THE  NIGHT  OF  OCTOBER  U,  14&d. 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


57 


the  feet  that  the  recent  discoveries  were  not  a  portion  of  that  India  already 
known,  but  were  in  reality  another  continent.  In  his  published  narrative 
all  reference  to  Columbus  was  carefully  omitted ;  and  thus  through  his 
own  craft,  assisted  by  the  unappreciative  dullness  of  the  times,  the  name 
of  this  Vespucci  rather  than  that  of  the  true  discoverer  was  given  to  the 
New  World. 

The  discovery  of  America  produced  great  excitement  throughout 
the  states  of  Western  Europe.  In  Spain  especially  there  was  wonderful 
zeal  and  enthusiasm.  Within  ten  years  after  the  death  of  Columbus,  the 
principal  islands  of  the  West  Indies  were  explored  and  colonized.  In  the 
year  1510  the  Spaniards  planted  on  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  their  first  con¬ 
tinental  colony.  Three  years  later,  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  the 
governor  of  the  colony,  learning  from  the  natives  that  another  ocean  lay 
only  a  short  distance  to  the  westward,  crossed  the  isthmus  and  from  an 
eminence  looked  down  upon  the  Pacific.  Not  satisfied  with  merely  seeing 
the  great  water,  he  waded  in  a  short  distance,  and  drawing  his  sword 
after  the  pompous  Spanish  fashion,  took  possession  of  the  ocean  in  the 
name  of  the  king  of  Spain. 

Meanwhile,  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  who  had  been  a  companion 
of  Columbus  on  his  second  voyage,  fitted  out  a  private  expedition  of  dis¬ 
covery  and  adventure.  De  Leon  had  grown  rich  as  governor  of  Porto 
Rico,  and  while  growing  rich  had  also  grown  old.  But  there  was  a  foun¬ 
tain  of  perpetual  youth  somewhere  in  the  Bahamas — so  said  all  the  learn¬ 
ing  and  intelligence  of  Spain — and  in  that  fountain  the  wrinkled  old 
cavalier  would  bathe  and  be  young  again.  So  in  the  year  1512  he  set 
sail  from  Porto  Rico ;  and  stopping  first  at  San  Salvador  and  the  neighbor¬ 
ing  islands,  he  came,  on  Easter  Sunday,  the  27th  of  March,  in  sight  of  an 
unknown  shore.  He  supposed  that  another  island  more  beautiful  than 
the  rest  was  discovered.  There  were  waving  forests,  green  leaves,  birds 
of  song  and  the  fragrance  of  blossoms.  Partly  in  honor  of  the  day,  called 
in  the  ritual  of  the  Church  Pascua  Florida,  and  partly  to  describe  the 
delightful  landscape  that  opened  on  his  sight,  he  named  the  new  shore 
Florida — the  Land  of  Flowers. 

After  a  few  days  a  landing  was  effected  a  short  distance  north  of 
where,  a  half  century  later,  were  laid  the  foundations  of  St.  Augustine. 
The  country  was  claimed  for  the  king  of  Spain,  and  the  search  for  the 
youth-restoring  fountain  was  eagerly  prosecuted.  The  romantic  adven¬ 
turer  turned  southward,  explored  the  coast  for  many  leagues,  discovered 
and  named  the  Tortugas,  doubled  Cape  Florida,  and  then  sailed  back  to 
Porto  Rico,  not  perceptibly  younger  than  when  he  started. 

The  king  of  Spain  rewarded  Ponce  with  the  governorship  of  hi? 


5b 


HISTORY  OF  THE  VETTED  STATES. 


Land  of  Flowers,  and  sent  him  thither  again  to  establish  a  colony.  The 
aged  veteran  did  not,  however,  reach  his  province  until  the  year  1521, 
and  then  it  was  only  to  find  the  Indians  in  a  state  of  bitter  hostility. 
Scarcely  had  he  landed  when  they  fell  upon  him  in  a  furious  battle; 
many  of  the  Spaniards  were  killed  outright,  and  the  rest  had  to  betake 
themselves  to  the  ships  for  safety.  Ponce  de  Leon  himself  received  a 
mortal  wound  from  an  arrow,  and  'was  carried  back  to  Cuba  to  die. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

SPANISH  DISCOVERIES  IN  AMERICA.— CONTINUED. 

THE  year  1517  was  marked  by  the  discovery  of  Yucatan  and  the  Bay 
of  Campeachy  by  Fernandez  de  Cordova.  While  exploring  the 
northern  coast  of  the  country,  his  company  was  attacked  by  the  natives, 
and  he  himself  mortally  wounded.  During  the  next  year  the  coast  of 
Mexico  was  explored  for  a  great  distance  by  Grijalva,  assisted  by  Cl  r- 
dova’s  pilot;  and  in  the  year  1519,  Fernando  Cortez  landed  with  his 
fleet  at  Tabasco  and  began  his  famous  conquest  of  Mexico, 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  invasion  spread  abroad,  the  subjects 
f  the  Mexican  empire  were  thrown  into  consternation.  Armies  of 
lative  warriors  gathered  to  resist  the  progress  of  the  Spaniards,  but 
were  dispersed  by  the  invaders.  After  freeing  the  coast  of  his  oppo¬ 
nents,  Cortez  proceeded  westward  to  Vera  Cruz,  a  seaport  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighty  miles  south-east  of  the  Mexican  capital.  Here  he 
was  met  by  ambassadors  from  the  celebrated  Montezuma,  emperor 
of  the  country.  From  him  they  delivered  messages  and  exhibited 
great  anxiety  lest  Cortez  should  march  into  the  interior.  He  as¬ 
sured  them  that  such  was  indeed  his  purpose;  that  his  business  in 
the  country  was  urgent;  and  that  he  must  confer  with  Montezuma 
in  person. 

The  ambassadors  tried  in  vain  to  dissuade  the  terrible  Spaniard. 
They  made  him  costly  presents,  and  then  hastened  back  to  their 
alarmed  sovereign.  Montezuma  immediately  despatched  them  a  sec¬ 
ond  time  with  presents  still  more  valuable,  and  with  urgent  appeals 
to  Cortez  to  proceed  no  farther.  But  the  cupidity  of  the  Spaniards 
was  now  inflamed  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  burning  their  ships  behind 
them,  they  began  their  march  towards  the  capital.  The  Mexican  em 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


59 


peror  by  his  messengers  forbade  their  approach  to  his  city.  Still  they 
pressed  on.  The  nations  tributary  to  Montezuma  threw  off  their  al¬ 
legiance,  made  peace  with  the  conqueror,  and  even  joined  his  stand¬ 
ard.  The  irresolute  and  vacillating  Indian  monarch  knew  not  what 
to  do.  The  Span¬ 
iards  came  in  sight 
of  the  city — a  glit¬ 
tering  and  splen¬ 
did  vision  of  spires 
and  temples ;  and 
the  poor  Montezu¬ 
ma  came  forth  to 
receive  his  remorse¬ 
less  enemies.  On 
the  morning  of  the 
8th  of  November, 

1519,  the  Spanish 
army  marched  over 
the  causeway  lead¬ 
ing  into  the  Mexi¬ 
can  capital  and  was 
quartered  in  the 
great  central  square 
near  the  temple  of 
the  Aztec  god  of 

FERNANDO  CORTEZ. 

war. 


It  was  new  winter  time.  For  a  month  Cortez  remained  quietly 
in  the  city.  He  was  permitted  to  go  about  freely  with  his  soldiers, 
and  was  even  allowed  to  examine  the  sacred  altars  and  shrines  where 
human  sacrifices  were  daily  offered  up  to  the  deities  of  Mexico.  He 
made  himself  familiar  with  the  defences  of  the  capital  and  the  Mex¬ 
ican  mode  of  warfare.  On  every  side  he  found  inexhaustible  stores 
of  provisions,  treasures  of  gold  and  silver,  and  what  greatly  excited 
his  solicitude,  arsenals  filled  with  bows  and  javelins.  But  although 
surrounded  with  splendor  and  abundance,  his  own  situation  became 
extremely  critical.  The  millions  of  natives  who  swarmed  around  him 
were  becoming  familiar  with  his  troops  and  no  longer  believed  them 
immortal.  There  were  mutterings  of  an  outbreak  which  threatened  to 
overwhelm  him  in  an  hour.  In  this  emergency  the  Spanish  general 
adopted  the  bold  and  unscrupulous  expedient  of  seizing  Montezuma 
and  holding  him  as  a  hostage.  A  plausible  pretext  for  this  outrage 
was  found  in  the  fact  that  the  Mexican  governor  of  the  province 


60 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


adjacent  to  Vera  Cruz  had  attacked  the  Spanish  garrison  at  that  place, 
and  that  Montezuma  himself  had  acted  with  hostility  and  treachery 
towards  the  Spaniards  while  they  were  marching  on  the  city.  As  soon 
as  the  emperor  was  in  his  power,  Cortez  compelled  him  to  acknowledge 
himself  a  vassal  of  the  king  of  Spain  and  to  agree  to  the  payment  of 
a  sum  amounting  to  six  million  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  with 
an  annual  tribute  afterwards. 

In  the  mean  time,  Velasquez,  the  Spanish  governor  of  Cuba, 
jealous  of  the  fame  of  Cortez,  had  despatched  a  force  to  Mexico  to 
arrest  his  progress  and  to  supersede  him  in  the  command.  The  ex¬ 
pedition  was  led  by  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez,  the  same  who  was 
afterwards  governor  of  Florida.  His  forces  consisted  of  more  than 
twelve  hundred  well  armed  and  well  disciplined  soldiers,  besides  a 
thousand  Indian  servants  and  guides.  But  the  vigilant  Cortez  had 
meanwhile  been  informed  by  messengers  from  Vera  Cruz  of  the 
movement  which  his  enemies  at  home  had  set  on  foot  against  him, 
and  he  determined  to  sell  his  command  only  at  the  price  of  his  own 
life  and  the  lives  of  all  his  followers.  He  therefore  instructed  Al¬ 
varado,  one  of  his  subordinate  officers,  to  remain  in  the  capital  with 
a  small  force  of  a  hundred  and  forty  men ;  and  with  the  remainder, 
numbering  less  than  two  hundred,  he  himself  hastily  withdrew  from 
the  city  and  proceeded  by  a  forced  march  to  encounter  De  Narvaez 
on  the  sea-coast.  On  the  night  of  the  26th  of  May,  1520,  while  the 
soldiers  of  the  latter  were  quietly  asleep  in  their  camp  near  Vera 
Cruz,  Cortez  burst  upon  them  with  the  fury  of  despair,  and  before 
they  could  rally  or  well  understand  the  terrible  onset,  compelled  the 
whole  force  to  surrender.  Then,  adding  the  general’s  skill  to  the 
warrior’s  prowess,  he  succeeded  in  inducing  the  conquered  army  to 
join  his  own  standard ;  and  with  his  forces  thus  augmented  to  six 
times  their  original  numbers  he  began  a  second  time  his  march  to¬ 
wards  the  capital. 

While  Cortez  was  absent  on  this  expedition,  the  Mexicans  of 
the  capital  rose  in  arms,  and  the  possession  of  the  country  was  staked 
on  the  issue  of  war.  Alvarado,  either  fearing  a  revolt  or  from  a 
spirit  of  atrocious  cruelty,  had  attacked  the  Mexicans  while  they 
were  celebrating  one  of  their  festivals,  and  slain  five  hundred  of  the 
leaders  and  priests.  The  people  in  a  frenzy  of  astonishment  and  rage 
flew  to  their  arms  and  laid  siege  to  the  palace  where  Alvarado  and 
his  men  were  fortified.  The  Spaniards  were  already  hard  pressed 
when  Cortez  at  the  head  of  his  new  army  reached  the  city.  He  en¬ 
tered  without  opposition  and  joined  Alvarado’s  command;  but  the 
passions  of  the  Mexicans  were  now  thoroughly  aroused,  and  not  all 


VOYAGE  AXD  DISCOVERY. 


61 


the  diplomacy  of  the  Spanish  general  could  again  bring  them  into 
subjection.  In  a  few  days  the  conflict  began  in  earnest.  The  streets 
were  deluged  with  the  blood  of  tens  of  thousands;  and  not  a  few  of 
the  Spaniards  fell  befor§  the  vengeance  of  the  native  warriors.  For 
months  there  was  almost  incessant  fighting  in  and  around  the  city  ;  and 
it  became  evident  that  the  Spaniards  must  ultimately  be  overwhelmed 
and  destroyed. 

To  save  himself  from  his  peril,  Cortez  adopted  a  second  shame¬ 
less  expedient,  more  wicked  than  the  first.  Montezuma  was  compelled 
to  go  upon  the  top  of  the  palace  in  front  of  the  great  square  where  the 
besiegers  were  gathered  and  to  counsel  them  to  make  peace  with  the 
Spaniards.  For  a  moment  there  was  universal  silence,  then  a  murmur 
of  vexation  and  rage,  and  then  Montezuma  was  struck  down  by  the 
javelins  of  his  own  subjects.  In  a  few  days  he  died  of  wretchedness 
and  despair,  and  for  a  while  the  warriors,  overwhelmed  with  remorse, 
abandoned  the  conflict.  But  with  the  renewal  of  the  strife  Cortez  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  city.  Finally  a  great  battle  was  fought,  and  the 
Spanish  arms  and  valor  triumphed.  In  the  crisis  of  the  struggle  the 
sacred  Mexican  banner  was  struck  down  and  captured.  Dismay  seized 
the  hosts  of  puny  warriors,  and  they  fled  in  all  directions.  In  De¬ 
cember  of  1520,  Cortez  again  marched  on  the  capital.  A  siege,  last¬ 
ing  until  August  of  the  following  year,  ensued;  and  then  the  famous 
city  yielded.  The  empire  of  the  Montezumas  was  overthrown,  and 
Mexico  became  a  Spanish  province. 

Among  the  many  daring  enterprises  which  marked  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  that  of  Ferdinand  Magellan  is  worthy 
of  special  mention.  A  Portuguese  by  birth,  a  navigator  by  profession, 
this  man,  so  noted  for  extraordinary  boldness  and  ability,  determined 
to  discover  a  south-west  rather  than  a  north-west  passage  to  Asia. 
With  this  object  in  view,  he  appealed  to  the  king  of  Portugal  for 
ships  and  men.  The  monarch  listened  coldly,  and  did  nothing  to 
give  encouragement.  Incensed  at  this  treatment,  Magellan  threw  off 
his  allegiance,  went  to  Spain — the  usual  resort  of  disappointed  sea¬ 
men — and  laid  his  plans  before  Charles  V.  The  emperor  caught 
eagerly  at  the  opportunity,  and  ordered  a  fleet  of  five  ships  to  be  im¬ 
mediately  fitted  at  the  public  expense  and  properly  manned  with 
crews. 

The  voyage  was  begun  from  Seville  in  August  of  1519.  Sailing 
southward  across  the  equinoctial  line,  Magellan  soon  reached  the  coast 
of  South  America,  and  spent  the  autumn  in  explorations,  hoping  to  find 
some  strait  that  should  lead  him  westward  into  that  ocean  which  Balboa 
had  discovered  six  years  previously.  Not  at  first  successful  in  this  effort. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


he  passed  the  winter — which  was  summer  on  that  side  of  the  equator— 
somewhere  on  the  coast  of  Brazil.  Renewing  his  voyage  southward,  he 
came  at  last  to  the  eastern  mouth  of  that  strait  which  still  bears  the  name 
of  its  discoverer,  and  passing  through  it  found  himself  in  the  open  and 
boundless  ocean.  The  weather  was  beautiful,  and  the  peaceful  deep  was 
called  the  Pacific. 

Setting  his  prows  to  the  north  of  west,  Magellan  now  held  steadily 
on  his  course  for  nearly  four  months,  suffering  much  meanwhile  from 
want  of  water  and  scarcity  of  provisions.  In  March  of  1520  he  came  to 
the  group  of  islands  called  the  Ladrones,  situated  about  midway  between 
Australia  and  Japan.  Sailing  still  westward,  he  reached  the  Philippine 
group,  where  he  was  killed  in  a  battle  with  the  natives.  But  the  fleet  was 
now  less  than  four  hundred  miles  from  China,  and  the  rest  of  the  route 
was  easy.  A  new  captain  was  chosen,  and  the  voyage  continued  by  way 
of  the  Moluccas,  where  a  cargo  of  spices  was  taken  on  board  for  the  market 
of  Western  Europe.  Only  a  single  ship  was  deemed  in  a  fit  condition  to 
venture  on  the  homeward  voyage ;  but  in  this  vessel  the  crews  embarked, 
end  returning  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  arrived  in  Spain  on  the 
17th  day  of  September,  1522.  The  circumnavigation  of  the  globe,  long 
believed  in  as  a  possibility,  had  now  become  a  thing  of  reality.  The 
theory  of  the  old  astronomers,  of  Mandeville  and  of  Columbus  had 
been  proved  by  actual  demonstration. 

The  next  important  voyage  undertaken  to  the  shores  of  America  was 
in  the  year  1520.  Lucas  Yasquez  de  Ayllon,  who  had  been  a  judge 
in  St.  Domingo  and  had  acquired  great  riches,  conducted  the  expedition. 
He  and  six  other  wealthy  men,  eager  to  stock  their  plantations  with  slaves, 
determined  to  do  so  by  kidnapping  natives  from  the  neighboring  Bahamas. 
Two  vessels  were  fitted  out  for  the  purpose,  and  De  Ayllon  commanded 
in  person.  When  the  vessels  were  nearing  their  destination,  they  encoun¬ 
tered  a  storm  which  drove  them  northward  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
leagues,  and  brought  them  against  the  coast  of  South  Carolina.  The  ships 
entered  St.  Helena  Sound  and  anchored  in  the  mouth  of  the  Cambahee 
River.  The  name  of  Chicora  was  given  to  the  country,  and  the  river  was 
called  the  Jordan.  The  timid  but  friendly  natives,  as  soon  as  their  fears 
had  subsided,  began  to  make  presents  to  the  strangers  and  to  treat  them 
with  great  cordiality.  They  flocked  on  board  the  ships ;  and  when  the 
decks  were  crowded,  De  Ayllon,  watching  his  opportunity,  weighed 
anchor  and  sailed  away.  A  few  days  afterward  an  avenging  storm  sent 
one  of  the  ships  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  death  came  mercifully  to 
most  of  the  poor  wretches  who  were  huddled  under  the  hatches  of  the 
her. 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


03 

Going  at  once  to  Spain,  De  Ayllon  repeated  the  story  of  his  exploit 
to  Charles  V.,  who  rewarded  him  with  the  governorship  of  Chicora  and 
the  privilege  of  conquest.  Returning  to  his  province  in  1525,  he  found 
the  natives  intensely  hostile.  His  best  ship  ran  aground  in  the  mouth 
of  the  Jordan,  and  the  outraged  Indians  fell  upon  him  with  fury,  killing 
many  of  the  treacherous  crew,  and  making  the  rest  glad  enough  to  get 
away  with  their  lives.  De  Ayllon  himself  returned  to  St.  Domingo 
humiliated  and  ruined.  Thus  ended  the  first  disgraceful  effort  to  enslave 
the  Indians. 

In  the  year  1526,  Charles  V.  appointed  the  unprincipled  Pampiiilo 
de  .Narvaez  governor  of  Florida,  and  to  the  appointment  was  added 
the  usual  privilege  of  conquest.  The  territory  thus  placed  at  his  disposal 
extended  from  Cape  Sable  fully  three-fifths  of  the  way  around  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  was  limited  on  the  south-west  by  the  mouth  of  the  River 
of  Palms.  With  this  extensive  commission  De  Narvaez  arrived  at  Tampa 
Bay  in  the  month  of  April,  1528.  His  force  consisted  of  two  hundred 
and  sixty  soldiers  and  forty  horsemen.  The  natives  treated  them  with 
suspicion,  and,  anxious  to  be  rid  of  the  intruders,  began  to  hold  up  their 
gold  trinkets  and  to  point  to  the  north.  The  hint  was  eagerly  caught  at 
by  the  avaricious  Spaniards,  whose  imaginations  were  set  on  fire  with  the 
sight  of  the  precious  metal.  They  struck  boldly  into  the  forests,  expect¬ 
ing  to  find  cities  and  empires,  and  found  instead  swamps  and  savages. 
They  reached  the  Withlacoochie  and  crossed  it  by  swimming,  they  passed 
over  the  Suwanee  in  a  canoe  which  they  made  for  the  occasion,  and  finally 
came  to  Apalachee,  a  squalid  village  of  forty  cabins.  This,  then,  was  the 
mighty  city  to  which  their  guides  had  directed  them. 

Oppressed  with  fatigue  and  goaded  by  hunger,  they  plunged  again 
into  the  woods,  wading  through  lagoons  and  assailed  by  lurking  savages, 
until  at  last  they  reached  the  sea  at  the  harbor  of  St.  Mark’s.  Here  they 
expected  to  find  their  ships,  but  not  a  ship  was  there,  or  had  been.  With 
great  labor  they  constructed  some  brigantines,  and  put  to  sea  in  the  vain 
hope  of  reaching  the  Spanish  settlements  in  Mexico.  They  were  tossed 
by  storms,  driven  out  of  sight  of  land  and  then  thrown  upon  the  shore 
again,  drowned,  slain  by  the  savages,  left  in  the  solitary  woods  dead  of 
starvation  and  despair,  until  finally  four  miserable  men  of  all  the  adven¬ 
turous  company,  under  the  leadership  of  the  heroic  De  Vaca,  first  lieu¬ 
tenant  of  the  expedition,  were  rescued  at  the  village  of  San  Miguel,  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  and  conducted  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  The  story  can 
hardly  be  paralleled  in  the  annals  of  suffering  and  peril. 

But  the  Spaniards  were  not  yet  satisfied.  In  the  year  1537  a  new 
expedition  was  planned  which  surpassed  all  the  others  in  the  bril- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


iiancy  of  its  beginning  and  the  disasters  of  its  end.  The  most  cavalier 
of  the  cavaliers  was  Ferdinand  de  Soto,  of  Xeres.  Besides  the  dis¬ 
tinction  of  a  noble  birth,  he  had  been  the  lieutenant  and  bosom  friend  of 
Pizarro,  and  had  now  returned  from  Peru  loaded  with  wealth.  So  great 
was  his  popularity  in  Spain  that  he  had  only  to  demand  what  he  would 
have  of  the  emperor  that  his  request  might  be  granted.  At  his  own  dic¬ 
tation  he  was  accordingly  appointed  governor  of  Cuba  and  Florida,  with 
the  privilege  of  exploring  and  conquering  the  latter  country  at  his  pleasure. 
A  great  company  of  young  Spaniards,  nearly  all  of  them  wealthy  and 
high-born,  flocked  to  his  standard.  Of  these  he  selected  six  hundred  of 
the  most  gallant  and  daring.  They  were  clad  in  costly  suits  of  armor 
of  the  knightly  pattern,  with  airy  scarfs  and  silken  embroidery  and  all 
the  trappings  of  chivalry.  Elaborate  preparations  were  made  for  the 
grand  conquest ;  arms  and  stores  were  provided ;  shackles  were  wrought 
for  the  slaves ;  tools  for  the  forge  and  workshop  were  abundantly  sup¬ 
plied  ;  bloodhounds  were  bought  and  trained  for  the  work  of  hunting 
fugitives ;  cards  to  keep  the  young  knights  excited  with  gaming ;  twelve 
priests  to  conduct  religious  ceremonies ;  and,  last  of  all,  a  drove  of  swine 
uO  fatten  on  the  maize  and  mast  of  the  country. 

When,  after  a  year  of  impatience  and  delay,  everything  was  at  last 
in  readiness,  the  gay  Castilian  squadron,  ten  vessels  in  all,  left  the  harbor 
of  San  Lucar  to  conquer  imaginary  empires  in  the  New  World.  The  fleet 
touched  at  Havana,  and  the  enthusiasm  was  kindled  even  to  a  higher 
pitch  than  it  had  reached  in  Spain.  De  Soto  left  his  wife  to  govern  Cuba 
during  his  absence ;  and  after  a  prosperous  and  exulting  voyage  of  two 
weeks,  the  ships  cast  anchor  in  Tampa  Bay.  This  was  in  the  early  part 
of  June,  1539.  When  some  of  the  Cubans  who  had  joined  the  expedition 
first  saw  the  silent  forests  and  gloomy  morasses  that  stretched  before  them, 
they  were  terrified  at  the  prospect,  and  sailed  back  to  the  security  of  home ; 
but  De  Soto  and  his  cavaliers  despised  such  cowardice,  and  began  their 
march  into  the  interior.  During  the  months  of  July,  August  and  Sep¬ 
tember  they  marched  to  the  northward,  wading  through  swamps,  swim¬ 
ming  rivers  and  fighting  the  Indians.  In  October  they  arrived  at  the 
oountry  of  the  Apalachians,  on  the  left  bank  of  Flint  River,  where 
they  determined  to  spend  the  winter.  For  four  months  they  remained  in 
this  locality,  sending  out  exploring  parties  in  various  directions.  One  of 
these  companies  reached  the  gulf  at  Pensacola,  and  made  arrangements 
that  supplies  should  be  sent  out  from  Cuba  to  that  place  during  the  fol¬ 
lowing  summer. 

In  the  early  spring  the  Spaniards  left  their  winter  quarters  and  con¬ 
tinued  their  march  to  the  north  and  east.  An  Indian  guide  told  them  or' 


BURIAL.  OF  DE  SOTO 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


65 


a  powerful  and  populous  empire  in  that  direction  ;  a  woman  was  empress, 
ind  the  land  was  full  of  gold.  A  Spanish  soldier,  one  of  the  men  of 
Narvaez,  who  had  been  kept  a  captive  among  the  Indians,  denied  the 
truth  of  the  extravagant  story ;  but  De  Soto  only  said  that  he  would  find 
gold  or  see  poverty  with  his  own  eyes,  and  the  freebooters  pressed  on 
through  the  swamps  and  woods.  It  was  April,  1540,  when  they  cam© 
upon  the  Ogechee  River.  Here  they  were  delayed.  The  Indian  guide 
vent  mad ;  and  when  the  priests  had  conjured  the  evil  spirit  out  of  him, 
he  repaid  their  benevolence  by  losing  the  whole  company  in  the  forest. 
Bv  the  1st  of  May  they  had  reached  South  Carolina,  and  were  within  a 
two  days’  march  of  where  De  Ayllon  had  lost  his  ships  and  men  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Jordan.  Thence  the  wanderers  turned  westward ;  but  that 
De  Soto  and  his  men  crossed  the  mountains  into  North  Carolina  and  Ten¬ 
nessee  is  hardly  to  be  believed.  They  seem  rather  to  have  passed  across 
Northern  Georgia  from  the  Chattahouche  to  the  upper  tributaries  of  the 
Coosa,  and  thence  down  that  river  to  the  valleys  of  Lower  Alabama. 
Here,  just  above  the  confluence  of  the  Alabama  and  the  Tombecbee,  they 
came  upon  the  fortified  Indian  town  called  Mauville,  or  Mobile,  where  a 
terrible  battle  was  fought  with  the  natives.  The  town  was  set  on  fire, 
and  two  thousand  five  hundred  of  the  Indians  were  killed  or  burned  to 
death.  Eighteen  of  De  Soto’s  men  were  killed,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty 
wounded.  The  Spaniards  also  lost  about  eighty  horses  and  all  of  their 
baggage. 

The  ships  of  supply  had  meanwhile  arrived  at  Pensacola,  but  De 
Soto  and  his  men,  although  in  desperate  circumstances,  were  too  stubborn 
and  proud  to  avail  themselves  of  help  or  even  to  send  news  of  their  where¬ 
abouts.  They  turned  resolutely  to  the  north ;  but  the  country  was  poor, 
and  their  condition  grew  constantly  worse  and  worse.  By  the  middle  of 
December  they  had  reached  the  country  of  the  Chickasas,  in  Northern 
Mississippi.  They  crossed  the  Yazoo;  the  weather  was  severe;  snow 
fell ;  and  the  Spaniards  were  on  the  point  of  starvation.  They  succeeded, 
however,  in  finding  some  fields  of  ungathered  maize,  and  then  came  upon 
a  deserted  Indian  village  which  promised  them  shelter  for  the  winter. 
After  remaining  here  till  February,  1541,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  in 
the  dead  of  night  by  the  Indians,  who,  at  a  preconcerted  signal,  set  the 
town  on  fire,  determined  then  and  there  to  make  an  end  of  the  desolating 
foreigners ;  but  the  Spanish  weapons  and  discipline  again  saved  De  Soto 
and  his  men  from  destruction. 

After  gathering  provisions  and  reclothing  themselves  as  well  as  pos¬ 
sible,  the  Spaniards  set  out  again  in  early  spring  to  journey  still  farther 
westward.  The  guides  now  brought  them  to  the  Mississippi.  The  point 


66 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


where  the  majestic  Father  of  Waters  was  first  seen  by  white  men  was  at 
the  lower  Chickasaw  Biuff,  a  little  north  of  the  thirty-fourth  parallel  of 
latitude ;  the  day  of  the  discovery  cannot  certainly  be  known.  The  In¬ 
dians  came  down  the  river  in  a  fleet  of  canoes,  and  offered  to  carry  the 
Spaniards  over ;  but  the  horses  could  not  be  transported  until  barges  were 
built  for  that  purpose.  The  crossing  was  not  effected  until  the  latter  part 
of  May. 

De  Soto’s  men  now  found  themselves  in  the  land  of  the  Dakotas. 
Journeying  to  the  north-west,  they  passed  through  a  country  where  wild 
fruits  were  plentiful  and  subsistence  easy.  The  natives  were  inoffensive 
and  superstitious.  At  one  place  they  were  going  to  worship  the  woe¬ 
begone  cavaliers  as  the  children  of  the  gods,  but  De  Soto  was  too  good  a 
Catholic  to  permit  such  idolatry.  The  Spaniards  continued  their  march 
until  they  reached  the  St.  Francis  River,  which  they  crossed,  and  gained 
the  southern  limits  of  Missouri,  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Madrid.  Thence 
westward  the  march  was  renewed  for  about  two  hundred  miles ;  thence 
southward  to  the  Hot  Springs  and  the  tributaries  of  the  Washita  River. 
On  the  banks  of  this  river,  at  the  town  of  Atiamque,  they  passed  the  win¬ 
ter  of  1541--42.  The  Indians  were  found  to  be  much  more  civilized  than 
those  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  but  their  civilization  did  not  protect  them 
in  the  least  from  the  horrid  cruelties  which  the  Spaniards  practiced.  No 
consideration  of  justice,  humanity  or  mercy  moved  the  stony  hearts  of 
these  polite  and  Christian  warriors.  Indian  towns  were  set  on  fire  for 
sport ;  Indian  hands  were  chopped  off  for  a  whim ;  and  Indian  captives 
burned  alive  because,  under  fear  of  death,  they  had  told  a  falsehood. 

But  De  Soto’s  men  were  themselves  growing  desperate  in  their  mis¬ 
fortunes.  They  turned  again  toward  the  sea,  and  passing  down  the 
tributaries  of  the  Washita  to  the  junction  of  that  stream  with  the  Red 
River,  came  upon  the  Mississippi  in  the  neighborhood  of  Natchez.  The 
spirit  of  De  Soto  was  at  last  completely  broken.  The  haughty  cavalier 
bowed  his  head  and  became  a  prey  to  melancholy.  No  more  dazzling 
visions  of  Peru  and  Mexico  flitted  before  his  imagination.  A  malignant 
fever  seized  upon  his  emaciated  frame,  and  then  death.  The  priests 
chanted  a  requiem,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  solemn  night  his  sorrowful 
companions  put  the  dead  hero’s  body  into  a  rustic  coffin,  and  rowing  out 
a  distance  from  shore  sunk  it  in  the  Mississippi.  Ferdinand  de  Soto  had 
found  a  grave  under  the  rolling  waters  of  the  great  river  with  which  his 
name  will  be  associated  for  ever. 

Before  his  death,  De  Soto  had  named  Moscoso  as  his  successor ;  and 
now,  under  the  leadership  of  the  new  governor,  the  ragged,  half-starved 
adventurers,  in  the  vain  hope  of  reaching  Mexico,  turned  once  more  to  the 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


67 


west.  They  crossed  the  country  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Red  River,  on 
the  confines  of  Texas.  Thence  they  turned  northward  into  the  territory 
of  the  Pawnees  and  the  Comanches,  ranging  the  hunting-grounds  of 
those  fierce  savages  until  stopped  by  the  mountains.  In  December  of 
1542,  after  almost  endless  wanderings  and  hardships,  they  came  again 
to  the  Mississippi,  reaching  the  now  familiar  stream  a  short  distance  above 
the  mouth  of  Red  River.  They  now  formed  the  desperate  resolution  of 
building  boats,  and  thus  descending  the  river  to  the  gulf.  They  erected 
a  forge,  broke  off  the  fetters  of  the  captives  in  order  to  procure  iron,  sawed 
timber  in  the  forest,  and  at  last  completed  seven  brigantines  and  launched 
them.  The  time  thus  occupied  extended  from  January  to  July  of  1543. 
The  Indians  of  the  neighborhood  were  now  for  the  last  time  plundered 
in  order  to  furnish  supplies  for  the  voyage;  and  on  the  2d  day  of  July 
the  Spaniards  went  on  board  their  boats  and  started  for  the  sea.  The  dis¬ 
tance  was  almost  five  hundred  miles,  and  seventeen  days  were  required  to 
make  the  descent.  On  reaching  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  they  steered  to  the 
south-west ;  and  keeping  as  close  to  the  shore  as  possible,  after  fifty-five 
days  of  buffetings  and  perils  along  the  dangerous  coast,  they  came — three 
hundred  and  eleven  famished  and  heart-broken  fugitives — to  the  settle¬ 
ment  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  of  Palms;  and  thus  ended  the  most 
marvelous  expedition  in  the  early  history  of  our  country. 

The  next  attempt  by  the  Spaniards  to  colonize  Florida  was  in  the 
year  1565.  The  enterprise  was  entrusted  to  Pedro  Melendez,  a  Span¬ 
ish  soldier  of  ferocious  disposition  and  criminal  practices.  He  was  undei 
sentence  to  pay  a  heavy  fine  at  the  very  time  when  he  received  his  com¬ 
mission  from  the  bigoted  Philip  II.  The  contract  between  that  monarch 
and  Melendez  was  to  the  effect  that  the  latter  should  within  three  years 
explore  the  coast  of  Florida,  conquer  the  country,  and  plant  in  some 
favorable  district  a  colony  of  not  less  than  five  hundred  persons,  of  whom 
one  hundred  should  be  married  men.  Melendez  was  to  receive  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-five  square  miles  of  land  adjacent  to  the  settlement,  and 
an  annual  salary  of  two  thousand  dollars.  Twenty-five  hundred  persons 
collected  around  Melendez  to  join  in  the  expedition.  The  fleet -left  Spain 
in  July,  reached  Porto  Rico  early  in  August,  and  on  the  28th  of  the  same 
month  came  in  sight  of  Florida.  » 

It  must  now  be  understood  that  the  real  object  had  in  view  by 
Melendez  was  to  attack  and  destroy  a  colony  of  French  Protestants  called 
Huguenots,  who,  in  the  previous  year,  had  made  a  settlement  about  thirty- 
five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John’s  River.  This  was,  of  course, 
within  the  limits  of  the  territory  claimed  by  Spain  ;  and  Melendez  at  once 
perceived  that  to  extirpate  these  French  heretics  in  the  name  of  patriotism 


68 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  religion  would  be  likely  to  restore  his  shattered  character  and  bring 
him  into  favor  again.  His  former  crimes  were  to  be  washed  out  in  the 
blood  of  the  innocents.  Moreover,  the  Catholic  party  at  the  French 
court  had  communicated  with  the  Spanish  court  as  to  the  whereabouts  and 
intentions  of  the  Huguenots,  so  that  Melendez  knew  precisely  where  to 
find  them  and  how  to  compass  their  destruction. 

It  was  St.  Augustine’s  day  when  the  dastardly  Spaniard  came  in 
Bight  of  the  shore,  but  the  landing  was  not  effected  until  the  2d  of  Sep¬ 
tember.  The  spacious  harbor  and  the  small  river  which  enters  it  from 
the  south  were  named  in  honor  of  the  saint.  On  the  8th  day  of  the 
same  month,  Philip  II.  was  proclaimed  monarch  of  all  North  America ; 
a  solemn  mass  was  said  by  the  priests ;  and  there,  in  the  sight  of  forest,  and 
sky,  and  sea,  the  foundation-stones  of  the  oldest  town  in  the  United  States 
were  put  into  their  place.  This  was  seventeen  years  before  the  founding 
of  Santa  Fe  by  Antonio  de  Espego,  and  forty-two  years  before  the 
settlement  at  Jamestown. 

As  soon  as  the  new  town  was  sufficiently  advanced  to  be  secure 
against  accident,  Melendez  turned  his  attention  to  the  Huguenots.  The 
latter  were  expecting  to  be  attacked,  but  had  supposed  that  the  Spanish 
fleet  would  sail  up  the  St.  John’s,  and  make  the  onset  from  that  direction. 
Accordingly,  knowing  that  they  must  fight  or  die,  all  the  French  vessels 
except  two  left  their  covert  in  the  river  and  put  to  sea,  intending  to  an¬ 
ticipate  the  movements  of  the  Spaniards ;  but  a  furious  storm  arose  and 
dashed  to  pieces  every  ship  in  the  fleet.  Most  of  the  crews,  however, 
reached  the  shore  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Melendez  now 
collected  his  forces  at  St.  Augustine,  stole  through  the  woods  and  swamps, 
and  falling  unexpectedly  on  the  defenceless  colony,  utterly  destroyed 
it.  Men,  women  and  children  were  alike  given  up  to  butchery.  Two 
hundred  were  killed  outright.  A  few  escaped  into  the  forest,  Laudonniere, 
the  Huguenot  leader,  among  the  number,  and  making  their  way  to  the 
coast,  were  picked  up  by  the  two  French  ships  which  had  been  saved 
from  the  storm. 

The  crews  of  the  wrecked  vessels  were  the  next  object  of  Spanish 
vengeance.  Melendez  discovered  their  whereabouts,  and  deceiving  them 
with  treacherous  promises  of  clemency,  induced  them  to  surrender.  They 
were  ferried  across  the  river  in  boats ;  but  no  sooner  were  they  completely 
in  the  power  of  their  enemy  than  their  hands  were  bound  behind  them, 
and  they  were  driven  off,  tied  two  and  two,  toward  St.  Augustine.  As 
they  approached  the  Spanish  fort  the  signal  was  given  by  sounding  a 
trumpet,  and  the  work  of  slaughter  began  anew.  Seven  hundred  defence¬ 
less  victims  were  added  to  the  previous  atrocious  massacre.  Only  a  few 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


69 


mechanics  and  Catholic  servants  were  left  alive.  Under  these  bloody 
auspices  the  first  permanent  European  colony  was  planted  in  our  country. 
In  what  way  the  Huguenots  were  revenged  upon  their  enemies  will  be 
told  in  another  place. 

The  Spaniards  had  now  explored  the  entire  coast  from  the  Isthmus 
of  Darien  to  Port  Royal  in  South  Carolina.  They  were  acquainted  with 
the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  as  far  north  as  New  Mexico  and 
Missouri,  and  east  of  that  river  they  had  traversed  the  Gulf  States  as  far 
as  the  mountain  ranges  of  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina.  With  the  es¬ 
tablishment  of  their  first  permanent  colony  on  the  coast  of  Florida  the 
period  of  Spanish  voyage  and  discovery  may  be  said  to  end. 

Before  closing  this  chapter,  a  brief  account  of  the  only  important 
voyage  made  by  the  Portuguese  to  America  will  be  given :  At  the  time 
of  the  first  discovery  by  Columbus,  the  unambitious  John  II.  was  king 
of  Portugal.  He  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  New  World,  prefer¬ 
ring  the  security  and  dullness  of  his  own  capital  to  the  splendid  allure¬ 
ments  of  the  Atlantic.  In  1495  he  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  his 
cousin  Manuel,  a  man  of  very  different  character.  This  monarch  could 
hardly  forgive  his  predecessor  for  having  allowed  Spain  to  snatch  from  the 
flag  of  Portugal  the  glory  of  Columbus’s  achievements.  In  order  to  secure 
some  of  the  benefits  which  yet  remained,  King  Manuel  fitted  out  two  ves¬ 
sels,  and  in  the  summer  of  1501  commissioned  Gaspar  Cortereal  to 
6ail  on  a  voyage  of  discovery.  The  Portuguese  vessels  reached  America  in 
the  month  of  July,  and  beginning  at  some  point  on  the  shores  of  Maine, 
sailed  northward,  exploring  the  coast  for  nearly  seven  hundred  miles.  Just 
below  the  fiftieth  parallel  of  latitude  Cortereal  met  the  icebergs,  and  could 
go  no  farther.  Little  attention  was  paid  by  him  to  the  great  forests  of 
pine  and  hemlock  which  stood  tall  and  silent  along  the  shore,  promising 
ship-yards  and  cities  in  after  times.  He  satisfied  his  rapacity  by  kid¬ 
napping  fifty  Indians,  whom,  on  his  return  to  Portugal,  he  sold  as  slaves. 
A  new  voyage  was  then  undertaken,  with  the  avowed  purpose  .of  capturing 
another  cargo  of  natives  for  the  slave-mart  of  Europe ;  but  when  a  year 
went  by,  and- no  tidings  arrived  from  the  fleet,  the  brother  of  the  Portuguese 
captain  sailed  in  hope  of  finding  the  missing  vessels.  He  also  was  lost, 
but  in  what  manner  has  never  been  ascertained.  The  fate  of  the  Corte- 
reals  and  their  slave-ships  has  remained  one  of  the  unsolved  mysteries 
of  tfie  sea. 


70 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  FRENCH  IN  AMERICA. 

FRANCE  was  not  slow  to  profit  by  the  discoveries  of  Columbus.  As 
early  as  1504  the  fishermen  of  Normandy  and  Brittany  began  to  plv 
their  vocation  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland.  A  map  of  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence  was  drawn  by  a  Frenchman  in  the  year  1506.  Two  years 
later  some  Indians  were  taken  to  France;  and  in  1518  the  attention  of 
Francis  I.  was  turned  to  the  colonization  of  the  New  World.  Five  years 
afterward  a  voyage  of  discovery  and  exploration  was  planned,  and  John 
Verrazzani,  a  native  of  Florence,  was  commissioned  to  conduct  the 
expedition.  The  special  object  had  in  view  was  to  discover  a  north-west 
passage  to  Asia. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1524,  Verrazzani  left  the  shores  of  Europe. 
His  fleet  consisted  at  first  of  four  vessels ;  but  three  of  them  were  damaged 
in  a  storm,  and  the  voyage  was  undertaken  with  a  single  ship,  called  the 
Dolphin.  For  fifty  days,  through  the  buffetings  of  tempestuous  weather, 
the  courageous  mariner  held  on  his  course,  and  on  the  7th  day  of  March 
discovered  the  main  land  in  the  latitude  of  Wilmington.  He  first  sailed 
.  southward  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  harbor, 
but  found  none.  Returning  northward,  he  finally  anchored  somewhere 
along  the  low  sandy  beach  which  stretches  between  the  mouth  of  Cape 
Fear  River  and  Pamlico  Sound.  Here  he  began  a  traffic  with  the  natives. 
The  Indians  of  this  neighborhood  were  found  to  be  a  gentle  and  timid 
sort  of  creatures,  unsuspicious  and  confiding.  A  half-drowned  sailor  who 
was  washed  ashore  by  the  surf  was  treated  with  great  kindness,  and  as  soon 
as  opportunity  offered,  permitted  to  return  to  the  ship. 

After  a  few  days  the  voyage  was  continued  toward  the  north.  The 
whole  coast  of  New  Jersey  was  explored,  and  the  hills  marked  as  con¬ 
taining  minerals.  The  harbor  of  New  York  was  entered,  and  its  safe 
and  spacious  waters  were  noted  with  admiration.  At  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  V errazzani  anchored  for  fifteen  days,  and  a  trade  was  again  opened 
with  the  Indians.  Before  leaving  the  place  the  French  sailors  repaid  the 
confidence  of  the  natives  by  kidnapping  a  child  and  attempting  to  steal 
a  defenceless  Indian  girl. 

Sailing  from  Newport,  Verrazzani  continued  his  explorations  north- 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


71 


•ward.  The  long  and  broken  line  of  the  New  England  coast  was  traced 
with  considerable  care.  The  Indians  of  the  north  were  wary  and  sus¬ 
picious.  They  would  buy  neither  ornaments  nor  toys,  but  were  eager  to 
purchase  knives  and  weapons  of  iron.  Passing  to  the  east  of  Nova 
Scotia,  the  bold  navigator  reached  Newfoundland  in  the  latter  part  of 
May.  In  July  he  returned  to  France  and  published  an  account,  still  ex¬ 
tant,  of  his  great  discoveries.  The  name  of  New  France  was  now  given 
to  the  whole  country  whose  sea-coast  had  been  traced  by  the  adventurous 
crew  of  the  Dolphin. 

Such  was  the  distracted  condition  of  France  at  this  time,  that 
another  expedition  was  not  planned  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  In  1534, 
however,  Chabot,  admiral  of  the  kingdom,  selected  James  Cartier,  a 
seaman  of  St.  Malo,  in  Brittany,  to  make  a  new  voyage  to  America. 
Two  ships  were  fitted  out  for  the  enterprise,  and  after  no  more  than 
twenty  days  of  sailing  under  cloudless  skies  anchored  on  the  10th  day  of 
May  off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland.  Before  the  middle  of  July,  Cartier 
had  circumnavigated  the  island  to  the  northward,  crossed  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  to  the  south  of  Anticosti,  and  entered  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs. 
Not  finding,  as  he  had  hoped,  a  passage  out  of  this  bay  westward,  he 
changed  his  course  to  the  north  again,  and  ascended  the  coast  as  far  as 
Gaspe  Bay.  Here,  upon  a  point  of  land,  he  set  up  a  cross  bearing  a 
shield  with  the  lily  of  France,  and  proclaimed  the  French  king  monarch 
of  the  country.  Pressing  his  way  still  farther  northward,  and  then  west¬ 
ward,  he  entered  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  ascended  the  broad  estuary  until 
the  narrowing  banks  made  him  aware  that  he  was  in  the  mouth  of  a  river. 
Cartier,  thinking  it  impracticable  to  pass  the  winter  in  the  New  World, 
now  turned  his  prows  toward  France,  and  in  thirty  days  anchored  his  ships 
in  the  harbor  of  St.  Malo. 

So  great  was  the  fame  of  Cartier’s  first  voyage  that  another  was 
planned  immediately.  Three  good  ships  were  provided,  and  quite  a  num¬ 
ber  of  young  noblemen  joined  the  expedition.  Colonization  rather  than 
discovery  was  now  the  inspiring  motive.  The  sails  were  set  by  zealous 
and  excited  crews,  and  on  the  19th  of  May  the  new  voyage  was  begun. 
This  time  there  was  stormy  weather,  yet  the  passage  to  Newfoundland 
was  made  by  the  10th  of  August.  It  was  the  day  of  St.  Lawrence,  and 
the  name  of  that  martyr  was  accordingly  given  to  the  gulf,  and  after¬ 
ward  to  the  noble  stream  which  enters  it  from  the  west.  Sailing  north¬ 
ward  around  Anticosti,  the  expedition  proceeded  up  the  river  to  the  island 
of  Orleans,  where  the  snips  were  moored  in  a  place  of  safety.  Two  In¬ 
dians  vhom  Cartier  had  taken  with  him  to  France  in  the  previous  year 
now  gave  information  that  higher  up  the  river  there  was  an  important 


72 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


town  on  the  island  of  Hochelaga.  Proceeding  thither  in  his  boats,  the 
French  captain  found  it  as  the  Indians  had  said.  A  beautiful  village  lay 
there  at  the  foot  of  a  high  hill  in  the  middle  of  the  island.  Climbing  to 
the  top  of  the  hill,  Cartier,  as  suggested  by  the  scene  around  him,  named 
the  island  and  town  Mont-Real.  The  country  was  declared  to  belong  by 
right  of  discovery  to  the  king  of  France;  and  then  the  boats  dropped 
down  the  river  to  the  ships.  During  this  winter  twenty-five  of  Cartier’s 
men  were  swept  off  by  the  scurvy,  a  malady  hitherto  unknown  in  Europe. 

With  the  opening  of  spring,  preparations  were  made  to  return  to 
France.  The  terrible  winter  had  proved  too  much  for  French  enthusiasm. 
The  emblem  of  Catholicism,  bearing  the  arms  of  France,  was  again  planted 
in  the  soil  of  the  New  World,  and  the  homeward  voyage  began ;  but  be¬ 
fore  the  ships  had  left  their  anchorage,  the  kindly  king  of  the  Hurons, 
who  had  treated  Cartier  with  so  much  generosity,  was  decoyed  on  board 
and  carried  off  to  die.  On  the  6th  day  of  July  the  fleet  reached  St. 
Malo  in  safety ;  but  by  the  accounts  which  Cartier  published  on  his  return 
the  French  were  greatly  discouraged.  Neither  silver  nor  gold  had  been 
found  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence ;  and  what  was  a  new  world  good 
for  that  had  not  silver  and  gold  ? 

Francis  of  La  Roque,  lord  of  Roberval,  in  Picardy,  was  the  next 
to  undertake  the  colonization  of  the  countries  discovered  by  the  French. 
This  nobleman,  four  years  after  Cartier’s  return  from  his  second  voyage, 
was  commissioned  by  the  court  of  France  to  plant  a  colony  on  the  St. 
Lawrence.  The  titles  of  viceroy  and  lieutenant-general  of  New  France 
were  conferred  upon  him,  and  much  other  vainglorious-  ceremony  attended 
his  preparations  for  departure.  The  man,  however,  who  was  chiefly 
relied  on  to  give  character  and  direction  to  the  proposed  colony  was  no 
other  than  James  Cartier.  He  only  seemed  competent  to  conduct  the 
enterprise  with  any  promise  of  success.  His  name  was  accordingly  added 
to  the  list,  and  he  was  honored  with  the  office  of  chief  pilot  and  captain- 
general  of  the  expedition. 

The  next  thing  to  be  done  was  to  find  material  for  the  colony.  This 
was  a  difficult  task.  The  French  peasants  and  mechanics  were  not  eager 
to  embark  for  a  country  which  promised  nothing  better  than  savages  and 
snow.  Cartier’s  honest  narrative  about  the  resources  of  New  France  had 
left  no  room  for  further  dreaming.  So  the  work  of  enlisting  volunteers 
went  on  slowly,  until  the  government  adopted  the  plan  of  opening  the 
prisons  of  the  kingdom  and  giving  freedom  to  whoever  would  join  the 
expedition.  There  was  a  rush  of  robbers,  swindlers  and  murderers,  and 
the  lists  were  immediately  filled.  Only  counterfeiters  and  traitois  were 
denied  the  privilege  of  gaining  their  liberty  in  the  New  World. 


1  DINING-HALL  OF  THE  FRENCH  COLONISTS  AT  PORT  ROYAL. 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


1% 


In  the  latter  part  of  May,  1541,  five  ships,  under  the  immediate 
command  of  Cartier,  left  France,  and  soon  reached  the  St.  Lawrence. 
The  expedition  proceeded  up  the  river  to  the  present  site  of  Quebec, 
where  a  fort  was  erected  and  named  Charlesbourg.  Here  the  colonists 
passed  the  winter.  Cartier,  offended  because  of.  the  subordinate  position 
which  he  held,  was  sullen  and  gloomy,  and  made  no  effort  to  prosecute 
discoveries  which  could  benefit  no  one  but  the  ambitious  Roberval.  The 
two  leaders  never  acted  in  concert ;  and  when  La  Roque,  in  June  of  the 
following  year,  arrived  with  immigrants  and  supplies,  Cartier  secretly 
sailed  away  with  his  part  of  the  squadron,  and  returned  to  Europe. 
Roberval  was  left  in  New  France  with  three  shiploads  of  criminals  who 
could  only  be  restrained  by  whipping  and  hanging.  During  the  autumn 
some  feeble  efforts  were  made  to  discover  a  northern  passage ;  the  winter 
was  long  and  severe,  and  spring  was  welcomed  by  the  colonists  chiefly 
for  the  opportunity  which  it  gave  them  of  returning  to  France.  The 
enterprise  undertaken  with  so  much  pomp  had  resulted  in  nothing.  In 
the  year  1549  Roberval,  with  a  large  company  of  emigrants,  sailed  on  a 
second  voyage,  but  the  fleet  was  never  heard  of  afterward. 

A  period  of  fifty  years  now  elapsed  before  the  French  authorities 
again  attempted  to  colonize  America.  Meanwhile,  private  enterprise 
and  religious  persecution  had  co-operated  in  an  effort  to  accomplish  in 
Florida  and  Carolina  what  the  government  had  failed  to  accomplish  on 
the  St.  Lawrence.  About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  Coligni, 
the  Protestant  admiral  of  France,  formed  the  design  of  establishing  in 
America  a  refuge  for  the  persecuted  Huguenots  of  his  own  country.  In 
1562  this  liberal  and  influential  minister  obtained  from  the  sovereign, 
Charles  IX.,  the  coveted  privilege  of  planting  a  colony  of  Protestants 
in  the  New  World.  John  Ribault  of  Dieppe,  a  brave  and  experienced 
sailor,  was  selected  to  lead  the  Huguenots  to  the  land  of  promise.  Sail¬ 
ing  in  February,  the  company  reached  the  coast  of  Florida  at  a  point 
where  three  years  later  St.  Augustine  was  founded.  The  River  St.  John’s, 
called  by  the  Spaniards  the  St.  Matthew,  was  entered  by  the  French  and 
named  the  River  of  May.  The  vessels  then  continued  northward  along 
the  coast  until  they  came  to  the  entrance  of  Port  Royal ;  here  it  was 
determined  to  make  the  settlement.  The  colonists  were  landed  on  an 
island,  and  a  stone  engraved  with  the  arms  of  their  native  land  was  set 
up  to  mark  the  place.  A  fort  was  erected,  and  in  honor  of  Charles  IX. 
named  Carolina — a  name  which  a  century  afterward  was  retained  by  the 
English  and  applied  to  the  whole  country  from  the  Savannah  River  to 
the  southern  boundary  of  Virginia.  In  this  fort  Ribault  left  twenty-six 
men  to  keep  possession,  and  then  sailed  back  to  France  for  additional 
fi 


74 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


emigrants  and  stores.  But  civil  war  was  now  raging  in  the  kingdom, 
and  it  was  quite  impossible  to  procure  either  supplies  or  colonists.  No 
reinforcements  were  sent  to  Carolina,  and  in  the  following  spring  the  men 
in  the  fort,  discouraged  with  long  waiting,  grew  mutinous,  and  killed 
their  leader  for  attempting  to  control  them.  Then  they  constructed  a 
rude  brig  and  put  to  sea.  After  they  had  been  driven  about  by  the 
winds  for  a  long  time,  they  were  picked  up  half  starved  by  an  English 
ship  and  carried  to  the  coast  of  France. 

Coligni  did  not  yet  despair  of  success  in  what  he  had  undertaken. 
Two  years  after  the  first  attempt  another  colony  was  planned,  and  Lau- 
donniere  chosen  leader.  The  character,  however,  of  this  second  Prot¬ 
estant  company  was  very  bad.  Many  of  them  were  abandoned  men,  of 
little  industry  and  no  prudence.  The  harbor  of  Port  Royal  was  now 
shunned  by  the  Huguenots,  and  a  point  on  the  River  St.  John’s  about 
fifteen  miles  west  of  where  St.  Augustine  now  stands  was  selected  for  the 
settlement.  A  fort  was  built  here,  and  things  were  going  well  until  a  part 
of  the  colonists,  under  the  pretext  of  escaping  from  famine,  contrived  to  get 
away  with  two  of  the  ships.  Instead  of  returning  to  France,  as  they  had 
promised,  they  began  to  practice  piracy  in  the  adjacent  seas,  until  they  were 
caught,  brought  back  and  justly  hanged.  The  rest  of  the  settlers,  im¬ 
provident  and  dissatisfied,  were  on  the  eve  of  breaking  up  the  colony, 
when  Ribault  arrived  with  supplies  of  every  sort,  and  restored  order  and 
content.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Spaniard  Melendez,  as  already 
narrated,  discovered  the  whereabouts  of  the  Huguenots,  and  murdered  the 
entire  company. 

It  remained  for  Dominic  de  Gourges,  a  soldier  of  Gascony,  to 
visit  the  Spaniards  of  St.  Augustine  with  signal  vengeance.  This  man 
fitted  out  three  ships,  mostly  with  his  own  means,  and  with  only  fifty 
daring  seamen  on  board  arrived  in  mid-winter  on  the  coast  of  Florida. 
With  this  handful  of  soldiers  he  surprised  successively  three  Spanish 
forts  on  the  St.  John’s,  and  made  prisoners  of  the  inmates.  Then,  when 
he  was  unable  to  hold  his  position  any  longer,  he  hanged  his  leading 
captives  to  the  branches  of  the  trees,  and  put  up  this  inscription  to  explain 
what  he  had  done :  “  Not  Spaniards,  but  murderers.” 

In  the  year  1598  the  attention  of  the  government  of  France  was 
once  more  directed  to  the  claims  which  French  discovery  had  established 
in  America.  The  Marquis  of  La  Roche,  a  nobleman  of  influence  and 
distinction,  now  obtained  a  commission  authorizing  him  to  found  an  empire 
in  the  New  World.  The  prisons  of  France  were  again  opened  to  furnish 
the  emigrants,  and  the  colony  was  soon  made  up.  Crossing  the  Atlantic 
by  the  usual  route,  the  vessels  reached  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  and 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


75 


anchored  at  Sable  Island.  A  more  dismal  place  could  not  have  been 
found  between  Labrador  and  Mexico ;  yet  here,  on  this  desolate  island,  La 
Roche  left  forty  men  to  form  a  settlement,  while  he  himself,  under  the  pre¬ 
text  of  procuring  more  men  and  supplies,  returned  to  France.  Shortly 
after  his  arrival  in  that  country  he  died ;  and  for  seven  dreary  years  the 
new  French  empire,  composed  of  forty  criminals,  languished  on  Sable 
Island.  Then  they  were  mercifully  picked  up  by  some  passing  ships  and 
carried  back  to  France.  Their  punishment  had  been  enough,  and  they 
were  never  remanded  to  prison. 

But  the  time  had  now  come  when  a  colony  of  Frenchmen  should 
actually  be  established  in  America.  In  the  year  1603  the  sovereignty  of 
the  country  from  the  latitude  of  Philadelphia  to  one  degree  north  of 
Montreal  was  granted  to  De  Monts.  The  items  of  chief  importance  in 
the  patent  which  he  received  from  the  king  were  a  monopoly  of  the  fur- 
trade  of  the  new  country  and  religious  freedom  for  Huguenot  immigrants. 
De  Monts,  with  two  shiploads  of  colonists,  left  France  early  in  March  of 
1604,  and  after  a  pleasant  voyage  reached  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  The  sum¬ 
mer  was  spent  in  making  explorations  and  in  trafficking  with  the  natives. 
De  Monts  seems  to  have  been  uncertain  as  to  where  he  should  plant  his 
colony ;  but  while  in  this  frame  of  mind,  Poutrincourt,  the  captain  of  one  of 
the  ships,  being  greatly  pleased  with  a  harbor  which  he  had  discovered  on 
the  north-west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  asked  and  obtained  a  grant  of  the  same, 
together  with  some  beautiful  lands  adjacent,  and  he  and  a  part  of  the  crew 
went  on  shore.  De  Monts,  with  the  rest  of  the  colony,  crossed  to  the  west 
side  of  the  bay,  and  began  to  build  a  fort  on  an  island  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Croix  River.  But  in  the  following  spring  they  abandoned  this 
place,  and  returned  to  the  harbor  which  had  been  granted  to  Poutrin¬ 
court.  Here,  on  the  14th  day  of  November,  1605,  the  foundations  of  the 
first  permanent  French  settlement  in  America  were  laid.  The  name  of 
Port  Royal  was  given  to  the  harbor  and  the  fort,  and  the  whole  country, 
including  Nova  Scotia,  the  surrounding  islands  and  the  main  land  as  far 
south  as  the  St.  Croix  River,  was  called  Acadia. 

Two  years  before  the  settlement  was  made  at  Port  Royal,  Samuel 
Champlain,  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  soldierly  men  of  his  times,  was 
commissioned  by  a  company  of  Rouen  merchants  to  explore  the  country  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  establish  a  trading-post.  The  traders  saw  that  a  traffic 
in  the  furs  which  those  regions  so  abundantly  supplied  was  a  surer  road 
to  riches  than  rambling  about  in  search  of  gold  and  diamonds.  Under 
this  commission,  Champlain  crossed  the  ocean,  entered  the  gulf,  sailed  up 
the  river,  and  with  remarkable  prudence  and  good  judgment  selected 
the  spot  on  which  Quebec  now  stands  as  the  site  for  a  fort.  In  t 


76 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


autumn  of  1603,  he  returned  to  France,  and  published  an  interesting  and 
faithful  account  of  his  expedition. 

In  the  year  1608,  Champlain  again  visited  America,  and  on  the 
3d  of  July  in  that  year  the  foundations  of  Quebec  were  laid.  In  the 
following  year  he  and  two  other  Fr.nchmen  joined  a  company  of  Huron 
and  Algonquin  Indians  who  were  at  ;  rar  with  the  Iroquois  of  New  York. 
While  marching  with  this  party  of  warriors,  he  ascended  the  Sorel  River 
until  he  came  to  the  long,  narrow  lake  which  he  was  the  first  white  man 
to  look  upon,  and  which  has  ever  since  borne  the  name  of  its  discoverer. 

Champlain  was  a  religious  enthusiast,  and  on  that  account  the 
development  of  his  colony  was  for  some  time  hindered.  In  1612  the 
Protestant  party  came  into  power  in  France,  and  the  great  Conde,  the 
protector  of  the  Protestants,  became  viceroy  of  the  French  empire  in 
America.  Now,  for  the  third  time,  Champlain  came  to  New  France, 
and  the  success  of  the  colony  at  Quebec  was  fully  assured.  Franciscan 
monks  came  over  and  began  to  preach  among  the  Indians.  These 
friars  and  the  Protestants  quarreled  a  good  deal,  and  the  settlement 
was  much  disturbed.  A  second  time  Champlain  went  with  a  war- 
party  against  the  Iroquois.  His  company  was  defeated,  he  himself 
wounded  and  obliged  to  remain  all  winter  among  the  Hurons ;  but 
in  the  summer  of  1617  he  returned  to  the  colony,  in  1620  began  to 
build,  and  four  years  afterward  completed,  the  strong  fortress  of  St. 
Louis.  When  the  heavy  bastions  of  this  castle  appeared  on  the  high 
cliff  above' the  town  and  river,  the  permanence  of  the  French  settle¬ 
ments  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was  no  longer  doubtful.  To 
Samuel  Champlain,  more  than  to  any  other  man — more  than  to  the 
French  government  itself — the  success  of  the  North  American  colo¬ 
nies  of  France  must  be  attributed. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

ENGLISH  DISCOVERIES  AND  SETTLEMENTS. 


JYTO  day  in  the  early  history  of  the  New  World  was  more  important 
than  the  5th  of  May,  1496.  On  that  day  Henry  VII.,  king  of 
England,  signed  the  commission  of  John  Cabot  of  Venice  to  make  dis¬ 
coveries  and  explorations  in  the  Atlantic  and  Indian  Oceans,  to  carry  the 
English  flag,  and  to  take  possession  of  all  islands  and  continents  which  he 
might  discover.  Cabot  was  a  brave,  adventurous  man  who  had  been  a 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


77 


sailor  from  his  boyhood,  and  was  now  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Bristol. 
The  autumn  and  winter  were  spent  in  preparations  for  the  voyage; 
five  substantial  ships  were  fitted,  crews  were  enlisted,  and  everything 
made  ready  for  the  opening  of  the  spring.  In  April  the  fleet  left  Bris¬ 
tol  ;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  June,  at  a  point  about  the 
middle  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Labrador,  the  gloomy  shore  was  seen. 
This  was  the  real  discovery  of  the  American  continent.  Fourteen 
months  elapsed  before  Columbus  reached  the  coast  of  Guiana,  and  more 
than  two  years  before  Ojeda  and  Vespucci  came  in  sight  of  the  main 
land  of  South  America. 

Cabot  explored  the  shore-line  of  the  country  which  he  had  dis¬ 
covered  for  several  hundred  miles.  He  supposed  that  the  land  was  a 
part  of  the  dominions  of  the  Cham  of  Tartary;  but  finding  no  inhabitants, 
he  went  on  shore,  according  to  the  terms  of  his  commission,  planted  the 
flag  of  England,  and  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  English  king. 
No  man  forgets  his  native  land;  by  the  side  of  the  flag  of  his  adopted 
country  Cabot  set  up  the  banner  of  the  republic  of  Venice — auspicious 
emblem  of  another  flag  which  should  one  day  float  from  sea  to  sea. 

As  soon  as  he  had  satisfied  himself  of  the  extent  and  character  of 
the  country  which  he  had  discovered,  Cabot  sailed  for  England.  On  the 
homeward  voyage  he  twice  saw  on  the  right  hand  the  coast  of  Newfound¬ 
land,  but  did  not  stop  for  further  discovery.  After  an  absence  of  but 
little  more  than  three  months,  he  reached  Bristol,  and  was  greeted  with 
great  enthusiasm.  The  town  had  holiday,  the  people  were  wild  about 
the  discoveries  of  their  favorite  admiral,  and  the  whole  kingdom  took  up 
the  note  of  rejoicing.  The  Crown  gave  him  money  and  encouragement, 
new  crews  were  enlisted,  new  ships  fitted  out,  and  a  new  commission 
more  liberal  in  its  provisions  than  the  first  was  signed  in  February  of  1498. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  after  the  date  of  this  second  patent  the  very 
name  of  John  Cabot  disappears  from  the  annals  of  the  times.  Where 
the  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed  and  the  circumstances  of  his  death 
are  involved  in  complete  mystery. 

But  Sebastian,  second  son  of  John  Cabot,  inherited  his  father’s 
plans  and  reputation,  and  to  his  father’s  genius  added  a  greater  genius 
of  his  own.  He  had  already  been  to  the  New  World  on  that  first  famous 
voyage,  and  now,  when  the  opportunity  offered  to  conduct  a  voyage  of 
his  own,  he  threw  himself  into  the  enterprise  with  all  the  fervor  of  youth. 
It  is  probable  that  the  very  fleet  which  had  been  equipped  for  his  father 
was  entrusted  to  Sebastian.  At  any  rate,  the  latter  found  himself,  in  the 
spring  of  1498,  in  command  of  a  squadron  of  well-manned  vessels  and 
on  his  way  to  the  new  continent.  The  particular  object  had  in  view  was 


78 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


that  common  folly  of  the  times,  the  discovery  of  a  north-west  passage  to 
the  Indies. 

The  voyage  continued  prosperously  until,  in  the  ocean  west  of  Green¬ 
land,  the  icebergs  compelled  Sebastian  to  change  his  course.  It  was  July, 
and  the  sun  scarcely  set  at  midnight.  Seals  were  seen  and  the  ships 
ploughed  through  such  shoals  of  codfish  as  had  never  before  been  heard  of. 
The  shore  was  reached  not  far  from  the  scene  of  the  elder  Cabot’s  discov¬ 
eries,  and  then  the  fleet  turned  southward,  but  whether  across  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence  or  to  the  east  of  Newfoundland  is  uncertain.  New 
Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia  and  Maine  were  next  explored.  The  whole 
coast-line  of  New  England  and  of  the  Middle  States  was  now  for  the 
first  time  since  the  days  of  the  Norsemen  traced  by  Europeans.  Nor  did 
Cabot  desist  from  this  work,  which  was  bestowing  the  title  of  discovery 
on  the  crown  of  England,  until  he  had  passed  beyond  the  Chesapeake. 
After  all  the  disputes  about  the  matter,  it  is  most  probable  that  Cape 
Hatteras  is  the  point  from  which  Sebastian  began  his  homeward  voyage. 

The  future  career  of  Cabot  was  as  strange  as  the  voyages  of  his 
boyhood  had  been  wonderful.  The  scheming,  illiberal  Henry  VII., 
although  quick  to  appreciate  the  value  of  Sebastian’s  discoveries,  was 
slow  to  reward  the  discoverer.  The  Tudors  were  all  dark-minded  and 
selfish  princes.  When  King  Henry  died,  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  enticed 
Cabot  away  from  England  and  made  him  pilot-major  of  Spain.  While 
holding  this  high  office  he  had  almost  entire  control  of  the  maritime 
affairs  of  the  kingdom,  and  sent  out  many  successful  voyages.  He  lived 
to  be  very  old,  but  the  circumstances  of  his  death  have  not  been  ascer¬ 
tained,  and  his  place  of  burial  is  unknown. 

The  year  1498  is  the  most  marked  in  the  whole  history  of  discovery. 
In  the  month  of  May,  Vasco  de  Gama  of  Portugal  doubled  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  and  succeeded  in  reaching  Hindostan.  During  the  sum¬ 
mer  the  younger  Cabot  traced  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America  through 
more  than  twenty  degrees  of  latitude,  thus  establishing  for  ever  the  claim 
of  England  to  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  New  World.  In  August, 
Columbus  himself,  now  sailing  on  his  third  voyage,  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  Orinoco.  Of  the  three  great  discoveries,  that  of  Cabot  has  proved  to 
be  by  far  the  most  important. 

But  several  causes  impeded  the  career  of  English  discovery  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  next  year  after  the  New 
World  was  found,  the  pope,  Alexander  the  Sixth,  drew  an  imaginary  line 
north  and  south  three  hundred  miles  west  of  the  Azores,  and  issued  a 
papal  bull  giving  all  islands  and  countries  west  of  that  line  to  Spain. 
Henry  VII.  of  England  was  himself  a  Catholic,  and  he  did  not  care  to 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


79 


begin  a  conflict  with  his  Church  by  pressing  his  own  claims  to  the  newiy- 
found  regions  of  the  west.  His  son  and  successor,  Henry  VIII.,  at  first 
adopted  the  same  policy,  and  it  was  not  until  after  the  .Reformation  had 
been  accomplished  in  England  that  the  decision  of  the  pope  came  tc  be 
disregarded,  and  finally  despised  and  laughed  at. 

During  the  short  reign  of  Edward  VI.  the  spirit  of  maritime  adven¬ 
ture  was  again  aroused.  In  1548  the  king’s  council  voted  a  hundred 
pounds  sterling  to  induce  the  now  aged  Sebastian  Cabot  to  return  from 
Spain  and  become  grand-pilot  of  England.  The  old  admiral  quitted 
Seville  and  once  more  sailed  under  the  English  flag.  In  the  reign  of 
Queen  Mary  the  power  of  England  on  the  sea  was  not  materially  extended, 
but  with  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  a  wonderful  impulse  was  given  to  all 
enterprises  which  promised  the  aggrandizement  of  her  kingdom. 

The  spirit  of  discovery  now  reappeared  in  that  bold  and  skillful 
sailor,  Martin  Frobisher.  Himself  poor,  Dudley,  earl  of  Warwick, 
came  to  his  aid,  and  fitted  out  three  small  vessels  to  sail  in  search  of  a 
north-west  passage  to  Asia.  Three-quarters  of  a  century  had  not  sufficed 
to  destroy  the  fanatical  notion  of  reaching  the  Indies  by  sailing  around 
America  to  the  north.  One  of  Frobisher’s  ships  was  lost  on  the  voyage, 
another,  terrified  at  the  prospect,  returned  to  England,  but  in  the  third  the 
dauntless  captain  proceeded  to  the  north  and  west  until  he  attained  a 
higher  latitude  than  had  ever  before  been  reached  on  the  American  coast. 
Above  the  sixtieth  parallel  he  discovered  the  group  of  islands  which 
lies  in  the  mouth  of  Hudson’s  Strait.  Still  farther  to  the  north  he  came 
upon  a  large  island  which  he  supposed  to  be  the  mainland  of  Asia ;  to 
this  he  gave  the  name  of  Meta  Incognita.  North  of  this  island,  in  lati¬ 
tude  sixty-three  degrees  and  eight  minutes,  he  entered  the  strait  which 
has  ever  since  borne  the  name  of  its  discoverer,  then  sailed  for  England, 
carrying  home  with  him  one  of  the  Esquimaux  and  a  stone  which  was 
declared  by  the  English  refiners  to  contain  gold. 

London  was  greatly  excited.  Queen  Elizabeth  herself  added  a 
vessel  to  the  new  fleet  which  in  the  month  of  May,  1577,  departed  for 
Meta  Incognita  to  gather  the  precious  metal  by  the  shipload.  Coming 
among  the  icebergs,  the  ships  were  for  weeks  together  in  constant  danger 
of  being  crushed  to  atoms  between  the  floating  mountains.  The  summei 
was  unfavorable.  No  ships  reached  as  high  a  point  as  Frobisher  had 
attained  by  himself  on  the  previous  voyage.  The  mariners  were  in  con¬ 
sternation  at  the  gloomy  perils  around  them,  and  availed  themselves  of 
the  first  opportunity  to  get  out  of  these  dangerous  seas  and  return  to 
England. 

Were  the  English  gold-hunters  satisfied?  Not  at  all.  Fifteen  new 


80 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


vessels  were  immediately  fitted  out,  the  queen  again  bearing  part  of  the 
expense,  and  as  soon  as  the  spring  of  1578  opened  the  third  voyage  was 
begun.  This  time  a  colony  was  to  be  planted  in  the  gold-regions  of  the 
north.  Three  of  the  ships,  loaded  with  emigrants,  were  to  remain  in  the 
promised  land.  The  other  twelve  were  to  be  freighted  with  gold-ore  and 
return  to  London.  When  they  reached  the  entrance  to  Hudson’s  Strait, 
they  encountered  icebergs  more  terrible  than  ever.  Through  a  thousand 
perils  the  vessels  finally  reached  Meta  Incognita  and  took  on  cargoes  of 
dirt.  The  provision-ship  now  slipped  away  from  the  fleet  and  returned 
to  England.  Affairs  grew  desperate.  The  north-west  passage  was  for¬ 
gotten.  The  colony  which  was  to  be  planted  was  no  longer  thought  of. 
Faith  in  the  shining  earth  which  they  had  stored  in  the  holds  gave  way, 
and  so,  with  disappointed  crews  on  board  and  several  tons  of  the  spurious 
ore  under  the  hatches,  the  ships  set  sail  for  home.  The  El  Dorado  of  the 
Esquimaux  had  proved  an  utter  failure. 

The  English  admiral,  Sir  Francis  Drake,  sought  fortune  in  a 
different  manner.  Without  much  regard  for  the  law  of  nations,  he  began, 
in  the  year  1572,  to  prey  upon  the  merchant-ships  of  Spain,  and  gained 
thereby  enormous  wealth.  Five  years  later  he  sailed  around  to  the  Pacific 
coast  by  the  route  which  Magellan  had  discovered,  and  became  a  terror  to 
the  Spanish  vessels  in  those  waters.  When  he  had  thus  sufficiently  en¬ 
riched  himself  by  a  process  not  very  different  from  piracy,  he  formed  the 
daring  project  of  tracing  up  the  western  coast  of  North  America  until  he 
should  enter  the  north-west  passage  from  the  Pacific,  and  thence  sail  east¬ 
ward  around  the  continent.  With  this  object  in  view,  he  sailed  northward 
along  the  coast  as  far  as  Oregon,  when  his  sailors,  who  had  been  for  seve¬ 
ral  years  within  the  tropics,  began  to  shiver  with  the  cold,  and  the  enter¬ 
prise,  which  could  have  resulted  in  nothing  but  disaster,  was  given  up. 
Returning  to  the  south,  Drake  passed  the  winter  of  1579-80  in  a  harbor 
on  the  coast  of  Mexico.  To  all  that  portion  of  the  western  shores  of 
America  which  he  had  thus  explored  he  gave  the  name  of  New  Albion ; 
but  the  earlier  discovery  of  the  same  coast  by  the  Spaniards  rendered  the 
English  claim  of  but  little  value.  No  colony  of  Englishmen  had  yet 
been  established  in  the  New  World. 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  was  perhaps  the  first  to  conceive  a  rational 
plan  of  colonization  in  America.  His  idea  was  to  form  somewhere  on  the 
shores  of  the  New  Continent  an  agricultural  and  commercial  state.  With 
this  purpose  he  sought  aid  from  the  queen,  and  received  a  liberal  patent 
authorizing  him  to  take  possession  of  any  six  hundred  square  miles  of 
unoccupied  territory  in  America,  and  to  plant  thereon  a  colony  of  which 
he  himself  should  be  proprietor  and  governor.  With  this  commission, 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


b  i 

Gilbert,  assisted  by  his  illustrious  step-brother,  Walter  Raleigh,  pre¬ 
pared  a  fleet  of  five  vessels,  and  in  June  of  1583  sailed  for  the  west. 
Only  two  days  after  their  departure  the  best  vessel  in  the  fleet  treacher¬ 
ously  abandoned  the  rest  and  returned  to  Plymouth.  Early  in  August, 
Gilbert  reached  Newfoundland,  and  going  ashore,  took  formal  possession 
of  the  country  in  the  name  of  his  queen.  Unfortunately,  some  of  the 
sailors  discovered  in  the  side  of  a  hill  scales  of  mica,  and  a  judge  of 
metals,  whom  Gilbert  had  been  foolish  enough  to  bring  wTith  him,  de¬ 
clared  that  the  glittering  mineral  was  silver  ore.  The  crews  became  in¬ 
subordinate.  Some  went  to  digging  the  supposed  silver  and  carrying  it 
on  board  the  vessels,  while  others  gratified  their  piratical  propensities  by 
attacking  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  ships  that  were  fishing  in  the 
neighboring  harbors. 

Meanwhile,  one  of  Gilbert’s  vessels  became  worthless,  and  had  to  be 
abandoned.  With  the  other  three  he  left  Newfoundland,  and  steered 
toward  the  south.  When  off  the  coast  of  Massachusetts,  the  largest  of 
the  remaining  ships  was  wrecked,  and  a  hundred  men,  with  all  the  spuri¬ 
ous  silver  ore,  went  to  the  bottom.  The  disaster  was  so  great  that  Gilbert 
determined  to  return  at  once  to  England.  The  weather  was  stormy,  and 
the  two  ships  that  were  now  left  were  utterly  unfit  for  the  sea ;  but  the 
voyage  was  begun  in  hope.  The  brave  captain  remained  in  the  weaker 
vessel,  a  little  frigate  called  the  Squirrel,  already  shattered  and  ready  to 
sink.  At  midnight,  as  the  ships,  within  hailing  distance  of  each  other, 
were  struggling  through  a  raging  sea,  the  Squirrel  was  suddenly  en¬ 
gulfed  ;  not  a  man  of  the  courageous  crew  was  saved.  The  other  ship 
finally  reached  Falmouth  in  safety. 

But  the  project  of  colonization  was  immediately  renewed  by  Raleigh. 
In  the  following  spring  that  remarkable  man  obtained  from  the  queen  a 
aew  patent  fully  as  liberal  as  the  one  granted  to  Gilbert.  Raleigh  was  to 
become  lord-proprietor  of  an  extensive  tract  of  country  in  America  ex¬ 
tending  from  the  thirty-third  to  the  fortieth  parallel  of  north  latitude. 
This  territory  was  to  be  peopled  and  organized  into  a  state.  The  frozen 
regions  of  the  north  were  now  to  be  avoided,  and  the  sunny  country  of 
the  Huguenots  was  to  be  chosen  as  the  seat  of  the  rising  empire.  Two 
ships  were  fitted  out,  and  the  command  given  to  Philip  Amidas  and 
Arthur  Barlow. 

In  the  month  of  July  the  vessels  reached  the  coast  of  Carolina. 
The  sea  that  laved  the  long,  low  beach  was  smooth  and  glassy.  The 
woods  were  full  of  beauty  and  song.  The  natives  were  generous  and 
hospitable.  Explorations  were  made  along  the  shores  of  Albemarle  and 
Pamlico  Sounds,  and  a  landing  finally  effected  on  Roanoke  Island,  where 


82 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  English  were  entertained  by  the  Indian  queen.  But  neither  Amidas 
nor  Barlow  had  the  courage  or  genius  necessary  to  such  an  enterprise. 
After  a  stay  of  less  than  two  months  they  returned  to  England  to  exhaust 
the  rhetoric  of  description  in  praising  the  beauties  of  the  new  land.  In 
allusion  to  her  own  life  and  reign,  Elizabeth  gave  to  her  delightful 
country  in  the  New  World  the  name  of  Virginia. 

In  December  of  1584,  Sir  Walter  brought  forward  a  bill  in  Par¬ 
liament  by  which  his  previous  patent  was  confirmed  and  enlarged.  The 
mind  of  the  whole  nation  was  inflamed  at  the  prospects  which  Raleigh’s 
province  now  offered  to  emigrants  and  adventurers.  The  plan  of  coloni¬ 
zation,  so  far  from  being  abandoned,  was  undertaken  with  renewed  zeal  and 
earnestness.  The  proprietor  fitted  out  a  second  expedition,  and  appointed 
the  soldierly  Ralph  Lane  governor  of  the  colony.  Sir  Richard  Gren¬ 
ville  commanded  the  fleet,  and  a  company,  not  unmixed  with  the  gallant 
young  nobility  of  the  kingdom,  made  up  the  crew.  Sailing  from  Ply¬ 
mouth,  the  fleet  of  seven  vessels  reached  the  American  coast  on  the  20th 
of  June.  At  Cape  Fear  they  were  in  imminent  danger  of  being  wrecked ; 
but  having  escaped  the  peril,  they  six  days  afterward  reached  Roanoke  in 
safety.  Here  Lane  was  left  with  a  hundred  and  ten  of  the  emigrants  to 
form  a  settlement.  Grenville,  after  making  a  few  unsatisfactory  explora¬ 
tions,  returned  to  England,  taking  with  him  a  Spanish  treasure-ship  which 
he  had  captured.  Privateering  and  colonization  went  hand  in  hand. 

Meanwhile,  some  Indians  of  a  village  adjacent  to  Roanoke  had 
committed  a  petty  theft,  and  the  English  wantonly  burned  the  whole 
town  as  a  measure  of  revenge.  Jealousy  and  suspicion  took  the  place  of 
former  friendships.  Lane  and  some  of  his  companions  were  enticed  with 
false  stories  to  go  on  a  gold-hunting  expedition  into  the  interior ;  their 
destruction  was  planned,  and  only  avoided  by  a  hasty  retreat  to  Roanoke. 
Wingina,  the  Indian  king,  and  several  of  his  chiefs  were  now  in  turn 
allured  into  the  power  of  the  English  and  inhumanly  murdered.  Hatred 
and  gloom  followed  this  atrocity,  then  despondency  and  a  sense  of  danger, 
until  the  discouragement  became  so  great  that  when  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
returning  with  a  fleet  from  his  exploits  on  the  Pacific  coast,  came  in  sight, 
the  colonists  prevailed  on  him  to  carry  them  back  to  England. 

It  was  a  needless  and  hasty  abandonment,  for  within  a  few  days  a 
shipload  of  stores  arrived  from  the  prudent  Raleigh ;  but  finding  no  colony, 
the  vessel  could  do  nothing  but  return.  Two  weeks  later  Sir  Richard 
Grenville  himself  came  back  to  Roanoke  with  three  well-laden  ships,  and 
made  a  fruitless  search  for  the  colonists.  Not  to  lose  possession  of  the 
country  altogether,  he  left  fifteen  men  upon  the  island,  and  set  sail  for 
home. 


OF  VIRGINIA  DARE. 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


83 


The  ardor  of  the  English  people  was  now  somewhat  cooled.  Yet 
they  had  before  them  truthful  descriptions  of  the  beauty  and  mag¬ 
nificence  of  the  new  country,  and  another  colony,  consisting  largely  of 
families,  was  easily  made  up.  A  charter  of  municipal  government  was 
granted  by  the  proprietor,  John  White  was  chosen  governor,  and  every 
precaution  taken  to  secure  the  permanent  success  of  the  City  of  Raleigh, 
soon  to  be  founded  in  the  west.  In  July  the  emigrants  arrived  in  Caro  ¬ 
lina.  Avoiding  the  dangerous  capes  of  Hatteras  and  Fear,  they  came 
safely  to  Roanoke ;  but  a  search  for  the  fifteen  men  who  had  been  left 
there  a  year  before  only  revealed  the  fact  that  the  natives,  now  grown 
savage,  had  murdered  them.  Nevertheless,  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  ill-omened  island  was  chosen  as  the  site  for  the  city,  and  on  the  23d 
of  the  month  the  foundations  were  laid. 

But  disaster  attended  the  enterprise.  Jealousy  between  the  settlers 
and  the  Indians  grew  into  hostility,  and  hostility  into  war.  Then  a  peace 
was  concluded,  and  Sir  Walter  gave  countenance  to  an  absurd  perform¬ 
ance  by  which  Manteo,  one  of  the  Indian  chiefs,  was  made  a  peer  of 
England,  with  the  title  of  Lord  of  Roanoke.  It  was  a  silly  and  stupid 
piece  of  business.  Notwithstanding  the  presence  of  this  copper-colored 
nobleman,  the  colonists  were  apprehensive  and  gloomy.  They  pretended 
to  fear  starvation,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  August  almost  compelled 
Governor  White  to  return  to  England  for  an  additional  cargo  of  supplies. 
It  was  a  great  mistake.  If  White  had  remained,  and  the  settlers  had 
given  themselves  to  tilling  the  soil  and  building  houses,  no  further  help 
would  have  been  needed.  The  18th  of  August  was  marked  as  the  birth¬ 
day  of  Virginia  Dare,  the  first-born  of  English  children  in  the  New 
World.  When  White  set  sail  for  England,  he  left  behind  him  a  colony 
of  a  hundred  and  eight  persons.  What  their  fate  was  has  never  been 
ascertained.  The  story  of  their  going  ashore  and  joining  the  Indians  is 
unlikely  in  itself,  and  has  no  historical  evidence  to  support  it. 

The  Invincible  Armada  was  now  bearing  down  upon  the  coasts  of 
England.  All  the  resources  and  energies  of  the  kingdom  were  demanded 
for  defence;  and  although  Raleigh  managed  to  send  out  two  supply- 
ships  to  succor  his  starving  colony,  his  efforts  to  reach  them  were  unavail¬ 
ing.  The  vessels  which  he  sent  with  stores  went  cruising  after  Spanish 
merchantmen,  and  were  themselves  run  down  and  captured  by  a  man-of- 
war.  Not  until  tire  spring  of  1590  did  the  governor  finally  return  to 
search  for  the  unfortunate  colonists.  The  island  was  a  desert,  tenantless 
and  silent.  No  soul  remained  to  tell  the  story  of  the  lost. 

In  the  mean  time,  Sir  Walter,  after  spending  two  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  dollars  of  his  own  means  in  the  attempt  to  found  and  foster  a  colony, 


84 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


had  given  up  the  enterprise.  He  assigned  his  exclusive  proprietary  rights 
to  an  association  of  London  merchants,  and  it  was  under  their  auspices 
that  White  had  made  the  final  search  for  the  settlers  of  Roanoke.  From 
the  date  of  this  event  very  little  in  the  way  of  voyage  and  discovery  was 
accomplished  by  the  English  until  the  year  1602,  when  maritime  enter¬ 
prise  again  brought  the  flag  of  England  to  the  shores  of  America.  Bar 
tholomew  Gosnold  was  the  man  to  whom  belongs  the  honor  of  mak¬ 
ing  the  next  explorations  of  our  coast. 

The  old  route  from  the  shores  of  Europe  to  America  was  very  eir 
cuitous.  Ships  from  the  ports  of  England,  France  and  Spain  sailed  first 
southward  to  the  Canary  Islands,  thence  to  the  West  Indies,  and  thence 
northward  to  the  coast-line  of  the  continent.  Abandoning  this  path  as 
unnecessarily  long  and  out  of  the  way,  Gosnold,  in  a  single  small  vessel 
called  the  Concord,  sailed  directly  across  the  Atlantic,  and  in  seven  weeks 
reached  the  coast  of  Maine.  The  distance  thus  gained  was  tully  two 
thousand  miles.  It  was  Gosnold’s  object  to  found  a  colony,  and  fur 
that  purpose  a  company  of  emigrants  came  with  him.  Beginning  at 
Cape  Elizabeth,  explorations  were  made  to  the  southward;  Cape  Cud 
was  reached,  and  here  the  captain,  with  four  of  his  men,  went  on  shore. 
It  was  the  first  landing  of  Englishmen  within  the  limits  of  New  Eng¬ 
land.  Cape  Malabar  was  doubled,  and  then  the  vessel,  leaving  Nantucket 
on  the  right,  turned  into  Buzzard’s  Bay.  Selecting  the  most  westerly 
island  of  the  Elizabeth  group,  the  colonists  went  on  shore,  and  there  be¬ 
gan  the  first  New  England  settlement. 

It  was  a  short-lived  enterprise.  A  traffic  was  opened  with  the 
natives  which  resulted  in  loading  the  Concord  with  sassafras  root,  so  much 
esteemed  for  its  fragrance  and  healing  virtues.  Everything  went  well  for 
a  season  ;  but  when  the  ship  was  about  to  depart  for  England,  the  settlers 
became  alarmed  at  the  prospect  before  them,  and  pleaded  for  permission  to 
return  with  their  friends.  Gosnold  acceded  to  their  demands,  and  the 
island  was  abandoned.  After  a  pleasant  voyage  of  five  weeks,  and  in 
less  than  four  months  from  the  time  of  starting,  the  Concord  reached 
home  in  safety. 

Gosnold  and  his  companions  gave  glowing  accounts  of  the  country 
which  they  had  visited,  and  it  was  not  long  until  another  English  expe* 
dition  to  America  was  planned.  Two  vessels,  the  Speedwell  and  the 
Discoverer,  composed  the  fleet,  with  Martin  Pring  for  commander.  A 
cargo  of  merchandise  suited  to  the  tastes  of  the  Indians  was  put  into 
the  holds;  and  in  April  of  1603,  a  few  days  after  the  death  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  the  vessels  sailed  for  America.  They  came  safely  to  Penobscot 
Bay,  and  afterward  spent  some  time  in  exploring  the  harbors  and  shores 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


85 


of  Maine.  Then,  turning  to  the  south  and  coasting  Massachusetts,  Pring 
readied  the  sassafras  region,  and  loaded  his  vessels  at  Martha’s  Vineyard. 
Thence  he  returned  to  England,  reaching  Bristol  in  October,  after  an 
absence  of  six  months. 

Two  years  later,  George  Waymouth,  under  the  patronage  of  the 
earl  of  Southampton,  made  a  voyage  to  America,  and  passing  Cape  Cod 
on  the  left,  came  to  anchorage  among  the  islands  of  St.  George,  on  the 
coast  of  Maine.  He  explored  the  harbor,  and  sailed  up  the  river  for  a 
considerable  distance,  taking  note  of  the  fine  forests  of  fir  and  of  the 
beautiful  scenery  along  the  banks.  A  profitable  trade  was  opened  with 
the  Indians,  some  of  whom  learned  to  speak  English  and  returned  with 
Waymouth  to  England.  The  voyage  homeward  was  safely  made,  the 
vessels  reaching  Plymouth  about  the  middle  of  June.  This  was  the  last 
of  the  voyages  made  by  the  English  preparatory  to  the  actual  establish¬ 
ment  of  a  colony  in  America.  The  time  had  at  last  arrived  when,  in  the 
beautiful  country  of  the  Chesapeake,  a  permanent  settlement  should  be 
effected. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ENGLISH  DISCOVERIES  AND  SETTLEMENTS.— CONTINUED. 

THE  10th  of  April,  1606,  was  full  of  fate  in  the  destinies  of  the  west¬ 
ern  continent.  On  that  day  King  James  I.  issued  two  great  patents 
directed  to  men  of  his  kingdom,  authorizing  them  to  possess  and  colo¬ 
nize  all  that  portion  of  North  America  lying  between  the  thirty-fourth 
and  forty-fifth  parallels  of  latitude.  The  immense  tract  thus  embraced 
extended  from  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  River  to  Passamaquoddy  Bay, 
and  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  first  patent  was  granted  to  an 
association  of  nobles,  gentlemen  and  merchants  residing  at  London,  and 
called  the  London  Company,  while  the  second  instrument  was  issued 
to  a  similar  body  which  had  been  organized  at  Plymouth,  in  South-west¬ 
ern  England,  and  which  bore  the  name  of  the  Plymouth  Company. 
To  the  former  corporation  was  assigned  all  the  region  between  the  thirty- 
fourth  and  the  thirty-eighth  degrees  of  latitude,  and  to  the  latter  the  tract 
extending  from  the  forty-first  to  the  forty-fifth  degree.  The  narrow  belt 
of  three  degrees  lying  between  the  thirty-eighth  and  forty-first  parallels 
was  to  be  equally  open  to  the  colonies  of  either  company,  but  no  settle- 


86 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ment  of  one  party  was  to  be  made  within  less  than  one  hundred  mile3 
of  the  nearest  settlement  of  the  other.  The  nature  and  extent  of  these 
grants  will  be  fully  understood  from  an  examination  of  the  accompany¬ 
ing  map.  Only  the  London  Company  was  successful  under  its  charter 
in  planting  an  American  colony. 

The  man  who  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  organizing  the  London 
Company  was  Bartholomew  Gosnold.  His  leading  associates  were  Edward 
Wingfield,  a  rich  merchant,  Robert  Hunt,  a  clergyman,  and  John  Smith, 
a  man  of  genius.  Others  who  aided  the  enterprise  were  Sir  John  Pop- 
ham,  chief-justice  of  England,  Richard  Hakluyt,  a  historian,  and  Sir 
Ferdinand  Gorges,  a  distinguished  nobleman.  By  the  terms  of  the  char¬ 
ter,  the  alfairs  of  the  company  were  to  be  administered  by  a  Superior 
Council,  residing  in  England,  and  an  Inferior  Council,  residing  in  the 
colony.  The  members  of  the  former  body  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  king, 
and  to  hold  office  at  his  pleasure ;  the  members  of  the  lower  council  were 
also  selected  by  the  royal  direction,  and  were  subject  to  removal  by  the 
same  power.*  All  legislative  authority  was  likewise  vested  in  the  mon¬ 
arch.  In  the  first  organization  of  the  companies  not  a  single  principle 
of  self-government  was  admitted.  The  most  foolish  clause  in  the  patent 
was  that  which  required  the  proposed  colony  or  colonies  to  hold  all  prop¬ 
erty  in  common  for  a  period  of  five  years.  The  wisest  provision  in  the 
instrument  was  that  which  allowed  the  emigrants  to  retain  in  the  New 
World  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Englishmen. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1606,  the  Plymouth  Company  sent  their 
first  ship  to  America.  The  voyage,  which  was  one  of  exploration, 
was  but  half  completed,  when  the  company’s  vessel  was  captured  by  a 
Spanish  man-of-war.  In  the  autumn  another  ship  was  sent  out,  which 
remained  on  the  American  coast  until  the  following  spring,  and  then 
returned  with  glowing  accounts  of  the  country.  Encouraged  by  these 
reports,  the  company,  in  the  summer  of  1607,  despatched  a  colony  of  a 
hundred  persons.  Arriving  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Kennebec,  the 
colonists  began  a  settlement  under  favorable  circumstances.  Some  forti¬ 
fications  were  thrown  up,  a  storehouse  and  several  cabins  built,  and  the 
place  named  St.  George.  Then  the  ships  returned  to  England,  leaving 
a  promising  colony  of  forty-five  members;  but  the  winter  of  1607-8 
was  very  severe ;  some  of  the  settlers  were  starved  and  some  frozen,  the 
storehouse  burned,  and  when  summer  came  the  remnant  escaped  to 
England. 

The  London  Company  had  better  fortune.  A  fleet  of  three  vessels 
was  fitted  out,  and  the  command  given  to  Christopher  Newport.  On  the 
9th  of  December  the  ships,  having  on  board  a  hundred  and  five  colonists. 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


37 

among  whom  were  Wingfield  and  Smith,  left  England.  Newport,  to 
begin  with,  committed  the  astonishing  folly  of  taking  the  old  route  by 
way  of  the  Canaries  and  the  West  Indies,  and  did  not  reach  the  American 
coast  until  the  month  of  April.  It  was  the  design  that  a  landing  should 
be  made  in  the  neighborhood  of  Roanoke  Island,  but  a  storm  prevailed 
and  carried  the  ships  northward  into  the  Chesapeake.  Entering  the 
magnificent  bay  and  coasting  along  the  southern  shore,  the  vessels  came 
to  the  mouth  of  a  broad  and  beautiful  river,  which  was  named  in  honor 
of  King  James.  Proceeding  up  this  stream  about  fifty  miles,  Newport 
noticed  on  the  northern  bank  a  peninsula  more  attractive  than  the  rest 
for  its  verdure  and  beauty ;  the  ships  were  moored,  and  the  emigrants 
went  on  shore.  Here,  on  the  13th  day  of  May  (Old  Style),  in  the  year 
1607,  were  laid  the  foundations  of  Jamestown,  the  oldest  English  settle¬ 
ment  in  America.  It  was  within  a  month  of  a  hundred  and  ten  years 
after  the  discovery  of  the  continent  by  the  elder  Cabot,  and  nearly  forty- 
two  years  after  the  founding  of  St.  Augustine.  So  long  a  time  had  been 
required  to  plant  the  first  feeble  germ  of  English  civilization  in  the  New 
World. 

After  the  unsuccessful  attempt  to  form  a  settlement  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Kennebec,  very  little  was  done  by  the  Plymouth  Company  for 
several  years ;  yet  the  purpose  of  planting  colonies  was  not  relinquished. 
Meanwhile,  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  the  affairs  of  North  Virginia  by 
the  ceaseless  activity  and  exhaustless  energies  of  John  Smith.  Wounded 
by  an  accident,  and  discouraged,  as  far  as  it  was'possible  for  such  a  man 
to  be  discouraged,  by  the  distractions  and  turbulence  of  the  Jamestown 
colony,  Smith  left  that  settlement  in  1609,  and  returned  to  England.  On 
recovering  his  health  he  formed  a  partnership  with  four  wealthy  mer¬ 
chants  of  London,  with  a  view  to  the  fur-trade  and  probable  establish¬ 
ment  of  colonies  within  the  limits  of  the  Plymouth  grant.  Two  ships 
were  accordingly  freighted  with  goods  and  put  under  Smith’s  command. 
The  summer  of  1614  was  spent  on  the  coast  of  lower  Maine,  where  a 
profitable  traffic  was  carried  on  with  the  Indians.  The  crews  of  the  ves¬ 
sels  were  well  satisfied  through  the  long  days  of  July  with  the  plea¬ 
sures  and  profits  of  the  teeming  fisheries,  but  Smith  himself  found  nobler 
work.  Beginning  as  far  north  as  practicable,  he  patiently  explored  the 
country,  and  drew  a  map  of  the  whole  coast-line  from  the  Penobscot 
River  to  Cape  Cod.  In  this  map,  which  is  still  extant,  and  a  marvel  of 
accuracy  considering  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  made,  the 
country  was  called  New  England — a  name  which  Prince  Charles  con¬ 
firmed,  and  which  has  ever  since  remained  as  the  designation  of  the  North¬ 
eastern  States  of  the  republic.  In  the  month  of  November  the  ships  re- 
7 


88 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


turned  to  Plymouth,  taking  with  them  many  substantial  proofs  of  a  suc¬ 
cessful  voyage. 

Smith  now  pleaded  more  strongly  than  ever  in  behalf  of  coloniza¬ 
tion.  Some  of  his  friends  in  the  Plymouth  Company  gave  him  aid,  and 
in  1615  a  small  colony  of  sixteen  persons  was  sent  out  in  a  single  ship. 
When  nearing  the  American  coast,  they  encountered  a  terrible  storm,  and 
after  being  driven  about  for  two  or  three  weeks  were  obliged  to  return  to 
England.  In  spite  of  these  reverses,  the  undaunted  leader  renewed  the 
enterprise,  and  again  raised  a  company  of  emigrants.  Part  of  his  crew 
became  mutinous,  betrayed  him,  and  left  him  in  mid-ocean.  His  own 
ship  was  run  down  and  captured  by  a  band  of  French  pirates,  and  him¬ 
self  imprisoned  in  the  harbor  of  Rochelle.  Later  in  the  same  year  he 
escaped  in  an  open  boat  and  made  his  way  back  to  London.  With  as¬ 
tonishing  industry,  he  now  published  a  description  of  New  England, 
and  was  more  zealous  than  ever  in  inciting  the  company  of  Plymouth  to 
energetic  action.  In  these  efforts  he  was  much  impeded.  The  London 
Company  was  jealous  of  its  rival,  and  put  obstacles  in  the  way  of  every 
enterprise.  The  whole  of  the  years  1617-18  was  spent  in  making  and 
unmaking  plans  of  colonization,  until  finally,  on  the  petition  of  some  of 
its  own  leading  members,  the  Plymouth  Company  was  formally  super¬ 
seded  by  a  new  corporation  called  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  consisting 
of  forty  of  the  most  wealthy  and  influential  men  of  the  kingdom.  On 
this  body  were  conferred,  by  the  terms  of  the  new  charter,  almost  un¬ 
limited  powers  and  privileges.  All  that  part  of  America  lying  between 
the  fortieth  and  the  forty-eighth  parallels  of  north  latitude,  and  extending 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  was  given  to  the  council  in  fee  simple.  More  than  a 
million  of  square  miles  were  embraced  in  the  grant,  and  absolute  jurisdic¬ 
tion  over  this  immense  tract  was  committed  to  forty  men.  How  King 
James  was  ever  induced  to  sign  such  a  charter  has  remained  an  unsolved 
mystery. 

A  plan  of  colonizing  was  now  projected  on  a  grand  scale.  John 
Smith  was  appointed  admiral  of  New  England  for  life.  The  king,  not¬ 
withstanding  the  opposition  of  the  House  of  Commons,  issued  a  procla¬ 
mation  enforcing  the  provisions  of  the  charter,  and  everything  gave 
promise  of  the  early  settlement  of  America.  Such  were  the  schemes  of 
men  to  possess  and  people  the  Western  Continent.  Meanwhile,  a  Power 
higher  than  the  will  of  man  was  working  in  the  same  direction.  The 
time  had  come  when,  without  the  knowledge  or  consent  of  James  I., 
•without  the  knowledge  or  consent  of  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  a  per¬ 
manent  settlement  should  be  made  on  the  bleak  shores  of  New  England. 

The  Puritans  !  Name  of  all  names  in  the  early  history  of  the 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


West !  About  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  a  number  of  poor  dis¬ 
senters  scattered  through  the  North  of  England,  especially  in  the  counties 
of  Nottingham,  Lincoln  and  York,  began  to  join  themselves  together  for 
the  purposes  of  free  religious  worship.  Politically,  they  were  patriotic 
subjects  of  the  English  king;  religiously,  they  were  rebels  against  the 
authority  of  the  English  Church.  Their  rebellion,  however,  only  ex¬ 
tended  to  the  declaration  that  every  man  has  a  right  to  discover  and  ap¬ 
ply  the  truth  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  without  the  interposition  of 
any  power  other  than  his  own  reason  and  conscience.  Such  a  doctrine  was 
very  repugnant  to  the  Church  of  England.  Queen  Elizabeth  herself 
declared  such  teaching  to  be  subversive  of  the  principles  on  which  her 
monarchy  was  founded.  King  James  was  not  more  tolerant ;  and  from 
time  to  time  violent  persecutions  broke  out  against  the  feeble  and  dis¬ 
persed  Christians  of  the  north. 

Despairing  of  rest  in  their  own  country,  the  Puritans  finally  deter¬ 
mined  to  go  into  exile,  and  to  seek  in  another  land  the  freedom  of  wor¬ 
ship  which  their  own  had  denied  them.  They  turned  their  faces  toward 
Holland,  made  one  unsuccessful  attempt  to  get  away,  were  brought  back 
and  thrown  into  prisons.  Again  they  gathered  together  on  a  bleak  heath 
in  Lincolnshire,  and  in  the  spring  of  1608  embarked  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Humber.  Their  ship  brought  them  in  safety  to  Amsterdam,  where, 
under  the  care  of  their  heroic  pastor,  John  Robinson,  they  passed  one 
winter,  and  then  removed  to  Leyden.  Such  was  the  beginning  of  their 
wandering.  They  took  the  name  of  Pilgrims,  and  grew  content  to  have 
no  home  or  resting-place.  Privation  and  exile  could  be  endured  when 
sweetened  with  liberty. 

But  the  love  of  native  land  is  a  universal  passion.  The  Puritans 
in  Holland  did  not  forget — could  not  forget — that  they  were  Englishmen. 
During  their  ten  years  of  residence  at  Leyden  they  did  not  cease  to  long 
for  a  return  to  the  country  which  had  cast  them  out.  Though  ruled  by 
a  heartless  monarch  and  a  bigoted  priesthood,  England  was  their  country 
still.  The  unfamiliar  language  of  the  Dutch  grated  harshly  on  their  ears. 
They  pined  with  unrest,  conscious  of  their  ability  and  willingness  to  do 
something  which  should  convince  even  King  James  of  their  patriotism 
and  worth. 

It  was  in  this  condition  of  mind  that  aoout  the  year  1617  the 
Puritans  began  to  meditate  a  removal  to  the  wilds  of  the  New  World. 
There,  with  honest  purpose  and  prudent  zeal,  they  would  extend  the 
dominions  of  the  English  king.  They  would  forget  the  past,  and  be  at 
peace  with  their  country.  Accordingly,  John  Carver  and  Robert  Cush¬ 
man  were  despatched  to  England  to  ask  permission  for  the  church  of 


90 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Leyden  to  settle  in  America.  The  agents  of  the  London  Company 
and  the  Council  of  Plymouth  gave  some  encouragement  to  the  request, 
but  the  king  and  his  ministers,  especially  Lord  Bacon,  set  their  faces 
against  any  project  which  might  seem  to  favor  heretics.  The  most  that 
King  James  would  do  was  to  make  an  informal  promise  to  let  the  Pil¬ 
grims  alone  in  America.  Such  has  always  been  the  despicable  attitude 
of  bigotry  toward  every  liberal  enterprise. 

The  Puritans  were  not  discouraged.  With  or  without  permission, 
protected  or  not  protected  by  the  terms  of  a  charter  which  might  at  best 
be  violated,  they  would  seek  asylum  and  rest  in  the  Western  wilderness. 
Out  of  their  own  resources,  and  with  the  help  of  a  few  faithful  friends, 
they  provided  the  scanty  means  of  departure  and  set  their  faces  toward 
the  sea.  The  Speedwell,  a  small  vessel  of  sixty  tons,  was  purchased  at 
Amsterdam,  and  the  Mayflower,  a  larger  and  more  substantial  ship,  was 
hired  for  the  voyage.  The  former  was  to  carry  the  emigrants  from  Ley¬ 
den  to  Southampton,  where  they  were  to  be  joined  by  the  Mayflower,  with 
another  company  from  London.  Assembling  at  the  harbor  of  Delft,  on 
the  River  Meuse,  fifteen  miles  south  of  Leyden,  as  many  of  the  Pilgrims 
as  could  be  accommodated  went  on  board  the  Speedwell.  The  whole  con¬ 
gregation  accompanied  them  to  the  shore.  There  Robinson  gave  them  a 
consoling  farewell  address,  and  the  blessings  and  prayers  of  those  who 
were  left  behind  followed  the  vessel  out  of  sight. 

Both  ships  came  safely  to  Southampton,  and  within  two  weeks  the 
emigrants  were  ready  for  the  voyage.  On  the  5th  of  August,  1620,  the 
vessels  left  the  harbor ;  but  after  a  few  days’  sailing  the  Speedwell  was 
found  to  be  shattered,  old  and  leaky.  On  this  account  both  ships  an¬ 
chored  in  the  port  of  Dartmouth,  and  eight  days  were  spent  in  making 
the  needed  repairs.  Again  the  sails  were  set ;  but  scarcely  had  the  land 
receded  from  sight  before  the  captain  of  the  Speedwell  declared  his  vessel 
unfit  to  breast  the  ocean,  and  then,  to  the  great  grief  and  discouragement 
of  the  emigrants,  put  back  to  Plymouth.  Here  the  bad  ship  was  aban¬ 
doned  ;  but  the  Pilgrims  were  encouraged  and  feasted  by  the  citizens,  and 
the  more  zealous  went  on  board  the  Mayflower,  ready  and  anxious  for  a 
final  effort.  On  the  6th  day  of  September  the  first  colony  of  New  Eng¬ 
land,  numbering  one  hundred  and  two  souls,  saw  the  shores  of  Old 
England  grow  dim  and  sink  behind  the  sea. 

The  voyage  was  long  and  perilous.  For  sixty-three  days  the  ship 
was  buffeted  by  storms  and  driven.  It  had  been  the  intention  of  the 
Pilgrims  to  found  their  colony  in  the  beautiful  country  of  the  Hudson ; 
but  the  tempest  carried  them  out  of  their  course,  and  the  first  land  seen 
was  the  desolate  Cape  Cod.  On  the  9th  of  November  the  vessel  was 


THE  MAYFLOWER  AT  SEA. 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY 


91 


anchored  in  the  bay ;  then  a  meeting  was  held  on  board  and  the  colony 
organized  under  a  solemn  compact.  In  the  charter  which  they  there 
made  for  themselves  the  emigrants  declared  their  loyalty  to  the  English 
Crown,  and  covenanted  together  to  live  in  peace  and  harmony,  with  equal 
rights  to  all,  obedient  to  just  laws  made  for  the  common  good.  Such  was 
the  simple  but  sublime  constitution  of  the  oldest  New  England  State.  A 
nobler  document  is  not  to  be  found  among  the  records  of  the  world.*  To 
this  instrument  all  the  heads  of  families,  forty-one  in  number,  solemnly 
set  their  names.  An  election  was  held  in  which  all  had  an  equal  voice, 
and  John  Carver  was  unanimously  chosen  governor  of  the  colony. 

After  two  days  the  boat  was  lowered,  but  was  found  to  be  half 
rotten  and  useless.  More  than  a  fortnight  of  precious  time  was  required 
to  make  the  needed  repairs.  Standish,  Bradford  and  a  few  other  hardy 
spirits  got  to  shore  and  explored  the  country ;  nothing  was  found  but  a 
heap  of  Indian  corn  under  the  snow.  By  the  6th  of  December  the  boat 
was  ready  for  service,  and  the  governor,  with  fifteen  companions,  went 
ashore.  The  weather  was  dreadful.  Alternate  rains  and  snow-storms 
converted  the  clothes  of  the  Pilgrims  into  coats-of-mail.  All  day  they 
wandered  about,  and  then  returned  to  the  sea-shore.  In  the  morning 
they  were  attacked  by  the  Indians,  but  escaped  to  the  ship  with  their 
lives,  cheerful  and  giving  thanks.  Then  the  vessel  was  steered  to  the 
south  and  west  for  forty-five  miles  around  the  coast  of  what  is  now  the 
county  of  Barnstable.  At  nightfall  of  Saturday  a  storm  came  on ;  the 
rudder  was  wrenched  away,  and  the  poor  ship  driven,  half  by  accident 
and  half  by  the  skill  of  the  pilot,  into  a  safe  haven  on  the  west  side 
of  the  bay.  The  next  day,  being  the  Sabbath,  was  spent  in  religious 
devotions,  and  on  Monday,  the  11th  of  December,  Old  Style,  1620,  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  on  the  Rock  of  Plymouth. 

It  was  now  the  dead  of  winter.  There  was  an  incessant  storm  of 
sleet  and  snow,  and  the  houseless  immigrants,  already  enfeebled  by  their 
sufferings,  fell  a-dying  of  hunger,  cold  and  exposure.  After  a  few  days 
spent  in  explorations  about  the  coast,  a  site  was  selected  near  the  first 
landing,  some  trees  were  felled,  the  snow-drifts  cleared  away,  and  on  the 
9th  of  January  the  heroic  toilers  began  to  build  New  Plymouth.  Every 
man  took  on  himself  the  work  of  making  his  own  house ;  but  the  rav¬ 
ages  of  disease  grew  daily  worse,  strong  arms  fell  powerless,  lung-fevers 
and  consumptions  wasted  every  family.  At  one  time  only  seven  men 
were  able  to  work  on  the  sheds  which  were  building  for  shelter  from  the 
storms ;  and  if  an  early  spring  had  not  brought  relief,  the  colony  must 
have  perished  to  a  man.  Such  were  the  privations  and  griefs  of  that 
terrible  winter  when  New  England  began  to  be. 

*  See  Appendix,  note  -B. 


92 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


/ 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

VOYAGES  AND  SETTLEMENTS  OF  THE  DUTCH. 

THE  first  Dutch  settlement  in  America  was  made  on  Manhattan  or 
New  York  Island.  The  colony  resulted  from  the  voyages  and 
explorations  of  the  illustrious  Sir  Henry  Hudson.  In  the  year  1607 
this  great  British  seaman  was  employed  by  a  company  of  London  mer¬ 
chants  to  sail  into  the  North  Atlantic  and  discover  a  route  eastward  or 
westward  to  the  Indies.  He  made  the  voyage  in  a  single  ship,  passed  up 
the  eastern  coast  of  Greenland  to  a  higher  point  of  latitude  than  ever 
before  attained,  turned  eastward  to  Spitzbergen,  circumnavigated  that 
island,  and  then  was  compelled  by  the  icebergs  to  return  to  England.  In 
the  next  year  lip  renewed  his  efforts,  hoping  to  find  between  Spitzbergen 
and  Nova  Zembla  an  open  way  to  the  East.  By  this  course  he  confi¬ 
dently  expected  to  shorten  the  route  to  China  by  at  least  eight  thousand 
miles.  Again  the  voyage  resulted  in  failure ;  his  employers  gave  up  the 
enterprise  in  despair,  but  his  own  spirits  only  rose  to  a  higher  determi¬ 
nation.  When  the  cautious  merchants  would  furnish  no  more  means,  he 
quitted  England  and  went  to  Amsterdam.  Holland  was  at  this  time  the 
foremost  maritime  nation  of  the  world,  and  the  eminent  navigator  did  not 
long  go  begging  for  patronage  in  the  busy  marts  of  that  country.  The 
Dutch  East  India  Company  at  once  furnished  him  with  a  ship,  a  small 
yacht  called  the  Half  Moon,  and  in  April  of  1609  he  set  out  on  his 
third  voyage  to  reach  the  Indies.  About  the  seventy-second  parallel  of 
latitude,  above  the  capes  of  Norway,  he  turned  eastward,  but  between 
Lapland  and  Nova  Zembla  the  ocean  was  filled  with  icebergs,  and  further 
sailing  was  impossible.  Baffled  but  not  discouraged,  he  immediately 
turned  his  prow  toward  the  shores  of  America ;  somewhere  between  the 
Chesapeake  and  the  North  Pole  he  would  find  a  passage  into  the  Pacific 
ocean. 

In  the  month  of  July  Hudson  reached  Newfoundland,  and  passing 
to  the  coast  of  Maine,  spent  some  time  in  repairing  his  ship,  which  had 
been  shattered  in  a  storm.  Sailing  thence  southward,  he  touched  at  Cape 
Cod,  and  by  the  middle  of  August  found  himself  as  far  south  as  the 
Chesapeake.  Again  he  turned  to  the  north,  determined  to  examine  the 
coast  more  closely,  and  on  the  28th  of  the  month  anchored  in  Delaware 


VOYAGE  AND  DISCOVERY. 


93 


Bay.  After  one  day’s  explorations  the  voyage  was  continued  along  the 
coast  of  New  Jersey,  until,  on  the  3d  of  September,  the  Half  Moon  came 
to  a  safe  anchorage  in  the  bay  of  Sandy  Hook.  Two  days  later  a  land¬ 
ing  was  effected,  the  natives  flocking  in  great  numbers  to  the  scene,  and 
bringing  gifts  of  corn,  wild  fruits  and  oysters.  The  time  until  the  9th 
of  the  month  was  spent  in  sounding  the  great  harbor ;  on  the  next  day 
the  vessel  passed  the  Narrows,  and  then  entered  the  noble  river  which 
bears  the  name  of  Hudson. 

To  explore  the  beautiful  stream  was  now  the  pleasing  task.  For 
eight  days  the  Half  Moon  sailed  northward  up  the  river.  Such  mag¬ 
nificent  forests,  such  beautiful  hills,  such  mountains  rising  in  the  distance, 
such  fertile  valleys,  planted  here  and  there  with  ripening  corn,  the  Neth- 
erlanders  had  never#seen  before.  On  the  19th  of  September  the  vessel 
was  moored  at  what  is  now  the  landing  of  Kinder  hook ;  but  an  exploring 
party,  still  unsatisfied,  took  to  the  boats  and  rowed  up  the  river  beyond 
the  site  of  Albany.  After  some  days  they  returned  to  the  ship,  the  moor¬ 
ings  were  loosed,  the  vessel  dropped  down  the  stream,  and  on  the  4th  of 
October  the  sails  were  spread  for  Holland.  On  the  homeward  voyage 
Hudson,  not  perhaps  without  a  touch  of  national  pride,  put  into  the  har¬ 
bor  of  Dartmouth.  Thereupon  the  government  of  King  James,  with 
characteristic  illiberality,  detained  the  Half  Moon,  and  claimed  the  crew 
as  Englishmen.  All  that  Hudson  could  do  was  to  forward  to  his  employ¬ 
ers  of  the  East  India  Company  an  account  of  his  successful  voyage  and 
of  the  delightful  country  which  he  had  visited  under  the  flag  of  Holland. 

Now  were  the  English  merchants  ready  to  spend  more  money  to 
find  the  north-west  passage.  In  the  summer  of  1610,  a  ship,  called  the 
Discovery,  was  given  to  Hudson ;  and  with  a  vision  of  the  Indies  flitting 
before  his  imagination  he  left  England,  never  to  return.  He  had  learned 
by  this  time  that  nowhere  between  Florida  and  Maine  was  there  an  open¬ 
ing  through  the  continent  to  the  Pacific.  The  famous  pass  must  now  be 
sought  between  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  southern  point  of 
Greenland.  Steering  between  Cape  Farewell  and  Labrador,  in  the  track 
which  Frobisher  had  taken,  the  vessel  came,  on  the  2d  day  of  August, 
into  the  mouth  of  the  strait  which  bears  the  name  of  its  discoverer.  No 
ship  had  ever  before  entered  these  waters.  For  a  while  the  way  west¬ 
ward  wras  barred  with  islands ;  but  passing  between  them,  the  bay  seemed 
to  open,  the  ocean  widened  to  the  right  and  left,  and  the  route  to  China 
was  at  last  revealed.  So  believed  the  great  captain  and  his  crew ;  but 
sailing  farther  to  the  west,  the  inhospitable  shores  narrowed  on  the  more 
inhospitable  sea,  and  Hudson  found  himself  environed  with  the  terrors 
of  winter  in  the  frozen  gulf  of  the  North.  With  unfaltering  courage  he 


94 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITER  STATES. 


bore  up  until  his  provisions  were  almost  exhausted ;  spring  was  at  hand, 
and  the  day  of  escape  had  already  arrived,  when  the  treacherous  crew 
broke  out  in  mutiny.  They  seized  Hudson  and  his  only  son,  with  seven 
other  faithful  sailors,  threw  them  into  an  open  shallop,  and  cast  them  off 
among  the  icebergs.  The  fate  of  the  illustrious  mariner  has  never  been 
ascertained. 

In  the  summer  of  1610  the  Half  Moon  was  liberated  at  Dartmouth, 
and  returned  to  Amsterdam.  In  the  same  year  several  ships  owned  by 
Dutch  merchants  sailed  to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  River  and  engaged 
in  the  fur-trade.  The  traffic  was  very  lucrative,  and  in  the  two  following 
years  other  vessels  made  frequent  and  profitable  voyages.  Early  in  1614 
an  act  was  passed  by  the  States-General  of  Holland  giving  to  certain 
merchants  of  Amsterdam  the  exclusive  right  to  trade  and  establish  settle¬ 
ments  within  the  limits  of  the  country  explored  by  Hudson.  Under  this 
commission  a  fleet  of  five  small  trading-vessels  arrived  in  the  summer  of 
the  same  year  at  Manhattan  Island.  Here  some  rude  huts  had  already 
been  built  by  former  traders,  but  now  a  fort  for  the  defence  of  the  place 
was  erected,  and  the  settlement  named  New  Amsterdam.  In  the  course 
of  the  autumn  Adrian  Block,  who  commanded  one  of  the  ships,  sailed 
through  East  River  into  Long  Island  Sound,  made  explorations  along  the 
coast  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut,  thence  to  Narraganset  Bay, 
and  even  to  Cape  Cod.  Almost  at  the  same  time  Christianson,  another 
Dutch  commander,  in  the  same  fleet,  sailed  up  the  river  from  Manhattan 
to  Castle  Island,  a  short  distance  below  the  site  of  Albany,  and  erected  a 
block-house,  which  was  named  Fort  Nassau,  for  a  long  time  the  northern 
outpost  of  the  settlers  on  the  Hudson.  Meanwhile,  Cornelius  May,  the 
captain  of  a  small  vessel  called  the  Fortune,  sailed  from  New  Amsterdam 
and  explored  the  Jersey  coast  as  far  south  as  the  Bay  of  Delaware.  Upon 
these  two  voyages,  one  north  and  the  other  south  from  Manhattan  Island 
where  the  actual  settlement  was  made,  Holland  set  up  a  feeble  claim  to 
the  country  which  was  now  named  New  Netherlands,  extending  from 
Cape  Henlopen  to  Cape  Cod — a  claim  which  Great  Britain  and  France 
treated  with  derision  and  contempt.  Such  were  the  feeble  and  inaus¬ 
picious  beginnings  of  the  Dutch  colonies  in  New  York  and  Jersey. 


PART  III. 

COLONIAL  HISTORY! 

A.  D.  1007—1775. 


PARENT  COLONIES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

VIRGINIA.— THE  FIRST  CHARTER. 

MANY  circumstances  impeded  the  progress  of  the  oldest  Virginia 
colony.  The  first  settlers  at  Jamestown  were  idle,  improvident, 
dissolute.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  five  men  who  came  with  Newport 
in  the  spring  of  1607,  only  twelve  were  common  laborers.  There  were 
four  carpenters  in  the  company,  and  six  or  eight  masons  and  blacksmiths, 
but  the  lack  of  mechanics  was  compensated  by  a  long  list  of  forty-eight 
gentlemen.  If  necessity  had  not  soon  driven  these  to  the  honorable 
vocations  of  toil,  the  colony  must  have  perished.  The  few  married  men 
who  joined  the  expedition  had  left  their  families  in  England.  The  pros¬ 
pect  of  planting  an  American  State  on  the  banks  of  James  River  was 
not  at  all  encouraging. 

From  the  first  the  affairs  of  the  colony  were  badly  managed.  King 
James  made  out  instructions  for  the  organization  of  the  new  State,  and 
then,  with  his  usual  stupidity,  sealed  up  the  parchment  in  a  box  which 
was  not  to  be  opened  until  the  arrival  of  the  emigrants  in  America.  The 
names  of  the  governor  and  members  of  the  council  were  thus  unknown 
during  the  voyage;  there  was  no  legitimate  authority  on  shipboard; 
insubordination  and  anarchy  prevailed  among  the  riotous  company.  In 
this  state  of  turbulence  and  misrule,  an  absurd  suspicion  was  blown  out 
against  Captain  John  Smith,  the  best  and  truest  man  in  the  colony.  He 
was  accused  of  making  a  plot  to  murder  the  council,  of  which  he  was 
supposed  to  be  a  member,  and  to  make  himself  monarch  of  Virginia. 
An  arrest  followed,  and  confinement  until  the  end  of  the  voyage.  When 
at  last  the  colonists  reached  the  site  of  their  future  settlement,  the  king’s 
instructions  were  unsealed  and  the  names  of  the  seven  members  of  the 


96 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Inferior  Council  made  known.  Then  a  meeting  of  that  body  was  held 
and  Edward  Wingfield  duly  elected  first  governor  of  Virginia.  Smith, 
who  had  been  set  at  liberty,  was  now  charged  with  sedition  and  excluded 
from  his  seat  in  the  council.  He  demanded  to  be  tried ;  and  when  it  was 
found  that  his  jealous  enemies  could  bring  nothing  but  their  own  suspi¬ 
cions  against  him,  he  was  acquitted,  and  finally,  through  the  good  offices 
of  Robert  Hunt,  restored  to  his  place  as  a  member  of  the  corporation. 

As  soon  as  the  settlement  was  well  begun  and  the  affairs  of  the  colony 

came  into  a  better 
condition,  the  rest¬ 
less  Smith,  accom¬ 
panied  by  New¬ 
port  and  twenty 
others,  ascended 
and  explored 
James  River  for 
forty-five  miles. 
This  was  the  first 
of  those  marvelous 
expeditions  which 
were  undertaken 
and  carried  out  by 
Smith’s  enterprise 
and  daring.  Just 
below  the  falls  of 
the  river,  at  the 
present  site  of 
Richmond,  the 
English  explorers 
came  upon  the 
capital  of  Pow¬ 
hatan,  the  Indian  king.  Smith  was  not  greatly  impressed  with  the  mag¬ 
nificence  of*  an  empire  whose  chief  city  was  a  squalid  village  of  twelve 
wigwams.  The  native  monarch  received  the  foreigners  with  formal 
courtesy  and  used  his  authority  to  moderate  the  dislike  which  his  sub¬ 
jects  manifested  at  the  intrusion.  About  the  last  of  May  the  company 
returned  to  Jamestown,  and  fifteen  days  later  Newport  embarked  for 
England. 

The  colonists  now  for  the  first  time  began  to  realize  their  situation. 
They  were  alone  amid  the  solitudes  of  the  New  World.  The  beauties 
of  the  Virginia  wilderness  were  around  them,  but  the  terrors  of  the 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH. 


VIRGINIA.— FIRST  CHARTER. 


97 


approaching  winter  were  already  present  to  their  imagination.  In  the 
latter  part  of  August  dreadful  diseases  broke  out  in  the  settlement,  and 
the  colony  was  brought  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  The  fort  which  had  been 
built  for  the  defence  of  the  plantation  was  filled  with  the  sick  and  dying. 
At  one  time  no  more  than  five  men  were  able  to  go  on  duty  as  sentinels. 
Bartholomew  Gosnold,  the  projector  of  the  colony  and  one  of  the  best 
men  in  the  council,  died,  and  before  the  middle  of  September  one-half 
of  the  whole  number  had  been  swept  off  by  the  terrible  malady.  If  the 
frosts  of  autumn  had  not  come  to  check  the  ravages  of  disease,  no  soul 
would  have  been  left  to  tell  the  story. 

Civil  dissension  was  added  to  the  other  calamities  of  the  settlement. 
President  Wingfield,  an  unprincipled  man,  and  his  confederate,  George 
Kendall,  a  member  of  the  council,  were  detected  in  embezzling  the  stores 
of  the  colony.  Attempting  to  escape  in  the  company’s  vessel,  they  were 
arrested,  impeached  and  removed  from  office.  Only  three  councilmen 
now  remained,  Ifatcl iffe,  Martin  and  Smith ;  the  first  was  chosen  presi¬ 
dent.  He  was  a  man  who  possessed  neither  ability  nor  courage,  and  the 
affairs  of  the  settlers  grew  worse  and  worse.  After  a  few  weeks  of  vacil¬ 
lation  and  incompetency,  he,  like  his  predecessor,  was  caught  in  an  attempt 
to  abandon  the  colony,  and  willingly  gave  up  an  office  which  he  could  not 
fill.  Only  Martin  and  Smith  now  remained ;  the  former  elected  the  lat¬ 
ter  president  of  Virginia !  It  was  a  forlorn  piece  of  business,  but  very 
necessary  for  the  public  good.  In  their  distress  and  bitterness  there  had 
come  to  pass  among  the  colonists  a  remarkable  unanimity  as  to  Smith’s 
merits  and  abilities.  The  new  administration  entered  upon  the. .discharge 
of  its  duties  without  a  particle  of  opposition. 

The  new  president,  though  not  yet  thirty  years  of  age,  was  a  veteran 
in  every  kind  of  valuable  human  experience.  Born  an  Englishman; 
trained  as  a  soldier  in  the  wars  of  Holland ;  a  traveler  in  France,  Italy 
and  Egypt;  again  a  soldier  in  Hungary;  captured  by  the  Turks  and 
sold  as  a  slave;  sent  from  Constantinople  to  a  prison  in  the  Crimea; 
killing  a  taskmaster  who  beat  him,  and  then  escaping  through  the  woods 
of  Russia  to  Western  Europe ;  going  with  an  army  of  adventurers  against 
Morocco;  finally  returning  to  England  and  joining  the  London  Com¬ 
pany, — he  was  now  called  upon  by  the  very  enemies  who  had  persecuted 
and  ill-treated  him  to  rescue  them  and  their  colony  from  destruction.  A 
strange  and  wonderful  career !  John  Smith  was  altogether  the  most  noted  « 
man  in  the  early  history  of  America. 

Under  the  new  administration  the  Jamestown  settlement  soon  began 
to  show  signs  of  vitality  and  progress.  Smith’s  first  care,  after  the  set¬ 
tlers  were  in  a  measure  restored  to  health,  was  to  improve  the  buildings 


98 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  the  plantation.  The  fortifications  of  the  place  were  strengthened, 
dwellings  were  repaired,  a  storehouse  erected,  and  everything  made  ready 
for  the  coming  winter.  The  next  measure  was  to  secure  a  supply  of  pro¬ 
visions  from  the  surrounding  country.  A  plentiful  harvest  among  the 
Indians  had  compensated  in  some  degree  for  the  mismanagement  and 
rascality  of  the  former  officers  of  the  colony,  but  to  procure  corn  from  the 
natives  was  not  an  easy  task.  Although  ignorant  of  the  Indian  language, 
Smith  undertook  the  hazardous  enterprise.  Descending  James  River  as 
far  as  Hampton  Roads,  he  landed  with  his  five  companions,  went  boldly 
among  the  natives,  and  began  to  offer  them  hatchets  and  copper  coins  in 
exchange  for  corn.  The  Indians  only  laughed  at  the  proposal,  and  then 
mocked  the  •  half-starved  foreigners  by  offering  to  barter  a  piece  of  bread 
for  Smith’s  sword  and  musket.  Finding  that  good  treatment  was  only 
thrown  away,  the  English  captain  formed  the  desperate  resolution  of  fight¬ 
ing.  He  and  his  men  fired  a  volley  among  the  affrighted  savages,  who 
ran  yelling  into  the  woods.  Going  straight  to  their  wigwams,  he  found 
an  abundant  store  of  corn,  but  forbade  his  men  to  take  a  grain  until  the 
Indians  should  return  to  attack  them.  Sixty  or  seventy  painted  warriors, 
headed  by  a  priest  who  carried  an  idol  in  his  arms,  soon  came  out  of  the 
forest  and  made  a  violent  onset.  The  English  not  only  stood  their  ground, 
but  made  a  rush,  wounded  several  of  the  natives  and  captured  their  idol. 
A  parley  now  ensued ;  the  terrified  priest  came  and  humbly  begged  for  his 
fallen  deity,  but  Smith  stood  grimly  with  his  musket  across  the  pros¬ 
trate  idol,  and  would  grant  no  terms  until  six  unarmed  Indians  had  loaded 
his  boat  with  corn.  Then  the  image  was  given  up,  beads  and  hatchets 
were  liberally  distributed  among  the  warriors  who  ratified  the  peace  by 
performing  a  dance  of  friendship,  while  Smith  and  his  men  rowed  up  the 
river  with  a  boat-load  of  supplies. 

There  were  other  causes  of  rejoicing  at  Jamestown.  The  neighbor¬ 
ing  Indians,  made  liberal  by  their  own  abundance,  began  to  come  into 
the  fort  with  voluntary  contributions.  The  fear  of  famine  passed  away. 
The  woods  were  full  of  wild  turkeys  and  other  game,  inviting  to  the  chase 
as  many  as  delighted  in  such  excitement.  Good  discipline  was  maintained 
in  the  settlement  and  friendly  relations  established  with  several  of  the 
native  tribes.  Seeing  the  end  of  their  distresses,  the  colonists  revived  in 
spirit;  cheerfulness  and  hope  took  the  place  of  melancholy  and  despair. 

As  soon  as  the  setting  in  of  winter  had  made  an  abandonment  of 
the  colony  impossible,  the  president,  to  whose  ardor  winter  and  summer 
were  alike,  gave  himself  freely  to  the  work  of  exploring  the  country. 
With  a  company  of  six  Englishmen  and  two  Indian  guides  he  began  the 
ascent  of  the  Chickahominy  River.  It  was  generally  believed  by  the 


JOHN  SMITH  AMONG  TH3  I  'DIANS 


VIRGINIA  .—FIRST  CHARTER. 


99 


people  of  Jamestown  that  by  going  up  this  stream  they  could  reach  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Smith  knew  well  enough  the  absurdity  of  such  an  opin¬ 
ion,  but  humored  it  because  of  the  opportunity  which  it  gave  him  to 
explore  new  territory.  The  rest  might  dig  imaginary  gold-dust  and  hunt 
for  the  Pacific;  he  would  see  the  country  and  map  the  course  of  the 
river. 

The  company  proceeded  up  the  Chickahominy  until  their  barge  ran 
aground  in  shallow  water.  Mooring  the  boat  in  a  place  of  safety,  Smith  left 
four  of  the  Englishmen  to  guard  it,  and  with  the  other  two  and  the  Indian 
guides  ascended  the  stream  in  a  canoe.  When  this  smaller  craft  could  go 
no  farther,  it  was  put.  in  charge  of  the  white  men,  while  the  captain,  with 
only  the  savages,  proceeded  on  foot.  For  twenty  miles  he  continued  along 
the  banks  of  the  river,  now  dwindled  to  a  mere  creek  winding  about  the 
woods  and  meadows.  Meanwhile,  the  men  who  were  left  to  protect  the 
barge  disobeyed  their  orders,  and  wandering  into  the  forest,  were  attacked 
by  three  hundred  Indians  under  the  command  of  their  king,  Opechan- 
canough,  the  brother  of  Powhatan.  Three  of  the  Englishmen  escaped 
to  the  boat,  but  the  fourth,  George  Cassen  by  name,  was  taken  prisoner. 
Him  the  savages  compelled  by  torture  to  reveal  the  whereabouts  of  Smith. 
The  two  men  who  guarded  the  canoe  were  next  overtaken  and  killed. 
The  captain  himself  was  at  last  discovered,  attacked,  wounded  with  an 
arrow  and  chased  through  the  woods.  The  missiles  of  the  barbarians 
flew  around  him  in  a  shower,  but  he  compelled  the  Indian  guides  to  stand 
between  him  and  his  enemies,  and  every  discharge  of  his  musket  brought 
down  a  savage.  He  fought  like  a  lion  at  bay,  tied  one  of  the  guides  to 
his  left  arm  for  a  buckler,  ran  and  fired  by  turns,  stumbled  into  a  morass, 
and  was  finally  overtaken.  The  savages  were  still  wary  of  their  danger¬ 
ous  antagonist  until  he  laid  down  his  gun,  made  signs  of  surrender  and 
was  pulled  out  of  the  mire. 

Without  exhibiting  the  least  signs  of  fear,  Smith  demanded  to  see 
the  Indian  chief,  and  on  being  taken  into  the  presence  of  that  dignitary 
began  to  excite  his  interest  and  curiosity  by  showing  him  a  pocket  com¬ 
pass  and  a  watch.  These  mysterious  instruments  struck  the  Indians 
with  awe ;  and  profiting  by  his  momentary  advantage,  the  prisoner  began 
to  draw  figures  on  the  ground,  and  to  give  his  captors  some  rude  lessons 
in  geography  and  astronomy.  The  savages  were  amazed  and  listened  for 
an  hour,  but  then  grew  tired,  bound  their  captive  to  a  tree  and  prepared 
to  shoot  him.  At  the  critical  moment  he  flourished  his  compass  in  the 
air  as  though  performing  a  ceremony,  and  the  Indians  forbore  to  shoot. 
His  sagacity  and  courage  had  gained  the  day,  but  the  more  appalling 

danger  of  torture  was  yet  to  be  avoided.  The  savages,  however,  were 
8 


100 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


thoroughly  superstitious,  and  became  afraid  to  proceed  against  liim  except 
in  the  most  formal  manner.  He  was  regarded  by  them  as  an  inhabitant 
of  another  world  whom  it  was  dangerous  to  touch. 

Smith  was  first  taken  to  the  town  of  Orapax,  a  few  miles  north¬ 
east  of  the  site  of  Richmond.  Here  he  found  the  Indians  making 
great  preparations  to  attack  and  destroy  Jamestown.  They  invited  him 
to  join  them  and  become  their  leader,  but  he  refused,  and  then  terrified 
them  by  describing  the  cannon  and  other  destructive  weapons  of  the 
English.  He  also  managed  to  write  a  letter  to  his  countrymen  at  the 
settlement,  telling  them  of  his  captivity  and  their  own  peril,  asking  for 
certain  articles,  and  requesting  especially  that  those  bearing  the  note  should 
be  thoroughly  frightened  before  their  return.  This  letter,  which  seemed 
to  them  to  have  such  mysterious  power  of  carrying  intelligence  to  a  dis¬ 
tance,  was  not  lost  on  the  Indians,  who  dreaded  the  writer  more  than  ever. 
When  the  warriors  bearing  the  epistle  arrived  at  Jamestown  and  found 
everything  precisely  as  Smith  had  said,  their  terror  and  amazement  knew 
no  bounds,  and  as  soon  as  they  returned  to  Orapax  all  thought  of  attack¬ 
ing  the  settlement  wTas  at  once  given  up. 

The  Indians  now  marched  their  captive  about  from  village  to  vil¬ 
lage,  the  interest  and  excitement  constantly  increasing,  until,  near  the 
fork  of  York  River,  they  came  to  Pamunkey,  the  capital  of  Opechan- 
canough:  Here  Smith  was  turned  over  to  the  priests,  who  assembled  in 
their  Long  House,  or  judgment-hall,  and  for  three  days  together  danced 
around  him,  sang  and  yelled  after  the  manner  of  their  superstition.  The 
object  was  to  determine  by  this  wild  ceremony  what  their  prisoner’s  fate 
should  be.  The  decision  was  against  him,  and  he  was  condemned  to  death. 

It  was  necessary  that  the  sanction  of  the  Indian  emperor  should 
be  given  to  the  sentence,  and  Smith  was  now  taken  twenty-five  miles 
lown  the  river  to  a  town  where  Powhatan  lived  in  winter.  The  savage 
monarch  was  now  sixty  years  of  age,  and,  to  use  Smith’s  own  language, 
looked  every  inch  a  king.  He  received  the  prisoner  with  all  the  rude 
formalities  peculiar  to  his  race.  Going  to  the  Long  House  of  the  village, 
the  emperor,  clad  in  a  robe  of  raccoon  skins,  took  his  seat  on  a  kind  of 
throne  prepared  for  the  occasion.  •  His  two  daughters  sat  right  and  left, 
while  files  of  warriors  and  women  of  rank  were  ranged  around  the  hall. 
The  king  solemnly  reviewed  the  cause  and  confirmed  the  sentence  of 
death.  Two  large  stones  were  brought  into  the  hall,  Smith  wTas  dragged 
forth  bound,  and  his  head  put  into  position  to  be  crushed  with  a  war- 
elub.  A  stalwart  painted  savage  was  ordered  out  of  the  rank  and  stood 
ready  for  the  bloody  tragedy.  The  signal  was  given,  the  grim  execu¬ 
tioner  raised  his  bludgeon,  and  another  moment  had  decided  the  fate  of 


VIRGINIA. — FIRST  CHARTER. 


101 


both  the  illustrious  captive  and  his  colony.  But  the  peril  went  by  harm¬ 
less.  Matoaka,*  the  eldest  daughter  of  Powhatan,  sprang  from  her  seat 
and  rushed  between  the  warrior’s  uplifted  club  and  the  prostrate  prisoner. 
'  She  clasped  his  head  in  her  arms  and  held  on  with  the  resolution  of  despair 
ontil  her  father,  yielding  to  her  frantic  appeals,  ordered  Smith  to  be 
Unbound  and  lifted  up.  Again  he  was  rescued  from  a  terrible  death. 
There  is  no  reason  in  the  world  for  doubting  the  truth  of  this  affecting 
and  romantic  story,  one  of  the  most  marvelous  and  touching  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  any  nation. 

Powhatan,  having  determined  to  spare  his  captive’s  life,  received 
him  into  favor.  The  prisoner  should  remain  in  the  household  of  the  mon¬ 
arch,  making  hatchets  for  the  warriors  and  toys  for  the  king’s  daughters. 
By  degrees  his  liberties  were  enlarged,  and  it  was  even  agreed  soon 
afterward  that  he  should  return  to  his  own  people  at  Jamestown.  The 
conditions  of  his  liberation  wore  that  he  should  send  back  to  Grapax  two 
cannons  and  a  grindstone.  Certain  warriors  were  to  accompany  Smith  to 
the  settlement  and  carry  the  articles  to  Powhatan.  There  should  then 
be  peace  and  friendship  between  the  English  and  the  Bed  men.  The 
journey  was  accordingly  begun,  the  company  camping  at  night  in  the 
woods,  and  Smith  being  in  constant  peril  of  his  life  from  the  uncertain 
disposition  of  the  savages.  But  the  colony  was  reached  in  safety,  the  lost 
captain  and  his  twelve  Indian  guides  being  received  with  great  gladness. 

Smith’s  first  and  chief  care  was  to  make  a  proper  impression  on 
the  minds  of  the  savages.  He  had  improved  the  opportunities  of  his 
captivity  by  learning  the  language  of  Powhatan’s  people,  and  by  making 
himself  familiar  with  their  peculiarities  and  weaknesses — an  experience  of 
vast  importance  to  himself  and  the  colony.  He  now  ordered  the  two 
cannons  which  he  had  promised  to  give  Powhatan  to  be  brought  out  and 
loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  stones.  Then,  under  pretence  of  teaching  the 
Indians  gunnery,  he  had  the  pieces  discharged  among  the  tree-tops,  which 
were  bristling  with  icicles.  There  was  a  terrible  crash,  and  the  savages, 
cowering  with  fear  and  amazement,  could  not  be  induced  to  touch  the 
dreadful  engines.  The  barbarous  delegation  returned  to  their  king  with 
neither  guns  nor  grindstones. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  settlers  were  very  little  to  be  dreaded  by 
anybody.  Only  thirty-eight  of  them  were  left  alive,  and  these  were  frost¬ 
bitten  and  half  starved.  Their  only  competent  leader  had  been  absent 
for  seven  weeks  in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  severest  winters  known  in 

*  Powhatan’s  tribe  had  a  superstition  that  no  one  whose,  real  name  was  unknown  could 
be  injured.  They  therefore  told  the  English  falsely  that  Matoaka’s  name  was  Poca* 
hontas. 


102 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


modern  times.  The  old  fears  and  discontents  of  the  colonists  had  revived ; 
and  when  Smith  returned  to  the  settlement,  he  found  all  hands  preparing 
to  escape  in  the  pinnace  as  soon  as  the  ice  should  break  in  the  river. 
With  much  persuasion  and  a  few  wholesome  threats  he  induced  the 
majority  to  abandon  this  project,  but  the  factious  spirits  of  the  colony, 
burning  with  resentment  against  him  and  his  influence,  made  a  conspir¬ 
acy  to  kill  him,  and  lie  knew  not  what  hour  might  be  his  last. 

In  the  midst  of  these  dark  days  Captain  Newport  arrived  from 
England.  He  brought  a  full  store  of  supplies  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  emigrants.  Great  was  the  joy  throughout  the  little  plantation ; 
only  the  president  was  at  heart  as  much  grieved  as  gladdened,  for  he  saw 
in  the  character  of  the  new  comers  no  promise  of  anything  but  vexation 
and  disaster.  Here  were  thirty-four  gentlemen  at  the  head  of  the  list 
to  begin  with  ;  then  came  gold-hunters,  jewelers,  engravers,  adventurers, 
strollers  and  vagabonds,  many  of  whom  had  more  business  in  jail  than 
at  Jamestown.  To  add  to  Smith’s  chagrin,  this  company  of  worthless 
creatures  had  been  sent  out  contrary  to  his  previous  protest  and  injunc¬ 
tion.  He  had  urged  Newport  to  bring  over  only  a  few  industrious 
mechanics  and  laborers;  but  the  love  of  gold  among  the  members  of  the 
London  Company  had  prevailed  over  common  sense  to  send  to  Virginia 
another  crowd  of  profligates. 

The  kind  of  industry  which  Smith  had  encouraged  in  the  colony 
was  now  laughed  at.  As  soon  as  the  weather  would  permit,  the  new¬ 
comers  and  as  many  of  the  old  settlers  as  had  learned  nothing  from  the 
past  year’s  experience  began  to  stroll  about  the  country  digging  for  gold. 
In  a  bank  of  sand  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  tributary  of  the  James  some 
glittering  particles  were  found,  and  the  whole  settlement  was  ablaze  with 
excitement.  Martin  and  Newport,  both  members  of  the  council,  were 
carried  away  with  the  common  fanaticism.  The  former  already  in  imagi¬ 
nation  saw  himself  loaded  with  wealth  and  honored  with  a  peerage.  The 
latter,  having  filled  one  of  his  ships  with  the  supposed  gold-dust,  sent  it 
to  England,  and  then  sailed  up  James  River  to  find  the  Pacific  Ocean ! 
Fourteen  weeks  of  the  precious  springtime,  that  ought  to  have  been  given 
to  ploughing  and  planting,  were  consumed  in  this  stupid  nonsense.  Even 
the  Indians  ridiculed  the  madness  of  men  who  for  imaginary  grains  of 
gold  were  wasting  their  chances  for  a  crop  of  corn. 

In  this  general  folly  Smith  was  quite  forgotten ;  but  foreseeing  that 
the  evil  must  soon  work  its  own  cure,  he  kept  his  patience,  and  in  the 
mean  time  busied  himself  with  one  of  his  most  brilliant  and  successful 
enterprises ;  this  was  no  less  than  the  exploration  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and 
its  tributaries.  Accompanied  by  Dr.  Russell  and  thirteen  other  comrades 


VIRGINIA. — FIRST  CHARTER. 


103 


who  had  remained  faithful  to  him,  he  left  Jamestown  on  the  2d  day  of 
June.  He  had  nothing  but  an  open  barge  of  three  tons’  burden,  but  in 
this  he  steered  boldly  out  by  way  of  Hampton  Roads  and  Cape  Henry 
as  far  as  Smith’s  Island.  Returning  thence  around  the  peninsula  which 
ends  with  Cape  Charles,  the  survey  of  the  eastern  shore  of  the  bay  was 
begun,  and  continued  northward  as  far  as  the  river  Wicomico,  in  Mary¬ 
land.  From  this  point  the 
expedition  crossed  over  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Patuxent,  and 
thence  coasted  northward  along 
the  western  side  to  the  Pataps- 
co.  Here  some  members  of 
the  company  became  discon¬ 
tented,  and  insisted  on  return¬ 
ing  to  the  colony.  Smith  gave 
a  reluctant  consent,  but  in  steer¬ 
ing  southward  had  the  good 
fortune  to  enter  the  mouth  of 
the  Potomac.  The  crew  were 
so  much  pleased  with  the  pros¬ 
pect  that  they  agreed  to  explore 
the  great  river  before  returning 
homeward.  Accordingly,  the 
barge  was  steered  up  stream  as 
far  as  the  falls  above  George¬ 
town.  The  country  was  much 
admired ;  and  when  the  explor¬ 
ers  were  tired  of  adventure, 
they  dropped  down  the  river 
to  the  bay,  and  turning  south-  Jamestown  and  Vicinity. 

Ward,  reached  JameStOWn  On  Smith’s  First  Voyage  in  the  Chesapeake - 

Smith’s  Second  Voyage  in  the  Chesapeake - 

After  a  rest  of  three  days  a  second  voyage  was  begun.  This  time 
the  expedition  reached  the  head  of  the  bay,  and  sailed  up  the  Susquehanna 
River  until  the  volume  of  water  would  float  the  barge  no  farther.  Here 
an  acquaintance  was  made  with  a  race  of  Indians  of  gigantic  stature  and 
fiercer  disposition  than  was  known  among  the  natives  of  Virginia.  On 
the  return  voyage  Smith  passed  down  the  bay,  exploring  every  sound  and 
inlet  of  any  note,  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Rappahannoc ;  this  stream 
he  ascended  to  the  head  of  navigation,  and  then,  returning  by  way  of  the 
York  and  Chesapeake  Rivers,  reached  Jamestown  on  the  7th  of  Septem- 


the  21st  of  July 


104 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ber.  He  had  been  absent  a  little  more  than  three  months,  had  explored 
the  winding  coast  of  the  great  bay  for  fully  three  thousand  miles,  had 
encountered  hostile  savages  by  hundreds  and  thousands,  had  been  driven 
hither  and  thither  by  storms,  once  wrecked,  once  stung  by  a  poisonous 
fish  and  brought  so  near  to  death  that  his  comrades  digged  his  grave ; 
now  he  was  come  back  to  the  colony  with  a  Map  of  the  Chesapeake, 
which  he  sent  by  Newport  to  England,  and  which  is  still  preserved.  Only 
one  man  had  been  lost  on  the  expedition.  Richard  Fetherstone  had  died, 
and  was  buried  on  the  Rappahannoc. 

Within  three  days  after  Smith’s  return  to  Jamestown  he  was  form¬ 
ally  elected  president.  He  entered  at  once  upon  the  duties  of  his  office, 
correcting  abuses,  enforcing  the  laws  and  restoring  order  to  the  distracted 
colony.  There  was  a  marked  change  for  the  better ;  gold-hunting  be¬ 
came  unpopular,  and  the  rest  of  the  year  was  noted  as  a  season  of  great 
prosperity.  Late  in  the  autumn  Newport  arrived  with  seventy  additional 
immigrants,  increasing  the  number  to  more  than  two  hundred.  The 
health  was  so  good  that  only  seven  deaths  occurred  between  September 
and  May  of  the  following  year.  Excellent  discipline  was  maintained. 
Every  well  man  was  obliged  to  work  six  hours  a  day.  New  houses  were 
built,  new  fields  fenced  in ;  and  all  through  the  winter  the  sound  of  axe 
and  saw  and  hammer  gave  token  of  a  prosperous  and  growing  village. 
Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  spring  of  1609. 


CHAPTER  X. 

VIRGINIA.— THE  SECOND  CHARTER. 

ON  the  23d  of  May,  1609,  King  James,  without  consulting  the  wishes 
of  his  American  colonists,  revoked  their  constitution,  and  granted  to 
the  London  Company  a  new  charter,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  Virginia  was  completely  changed.  The  territory  included  under 
the  new  patent  extended  from  Cape  Fear  to  Sandy  Hook,  and  westward 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  members  of  the  Superior  Council  were  now 
to  be  chosen  by  the  stockholders  of  the  company,  vacancies  were  to  be 
filled  by  the  councilors,  who  were  also  empowered  to  elect  a  governor 
from  their  own  number. 

The  council  wa°  at  once  organized  in  accordance  with  this  charter, 


VIRGINIA.— SECOND  CHARTER. 


105 


and  the  excellent  Lord  De  La  Ware  chosen  governor  for  life.  With  him 
were  joined  in  authority  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  lieutenant-general ;  Sir  George 
Somers,  admiral ;  Christopher  Newport,  vice-admiral ;  Sir  Thomas  Dale, 
high  marshal ;  Sir  Ferdinand  Wainman,  master  of  horse ;  and  other  dig¬ 
nitaries  of  similar  sort.  Attracted  by  the  influence  of  these  noblemen,  a 
large  company  of  more  than  five  hundred  emigrants  was  speedily  col¬ 
lected,  and  early  in  June  a  fleet  of  nine  vessels  sailed  for  America.  Lord 
Delaware  did  not  himself  accompany  the  expedition,  but  delegated  his 
authority  to  three  commissioners,  Somers,  Gates  and  Newport.  About 
the  middle  of  July  the  ships,  then  passing  the  West  Indies,  were  over¬ 
taken  and  scattered  by  a  storm.  One  small  vessel  was  wrecked,  and 
another,  having  on  board  the  commissioners  of  Lord  Delaware,  was  driven 
ashore  on  one  of  the  Bermuda  Islands,  where  the  crew  remained  until 
April  of  the  following  year ;  the  other  seven  ships  came  safely  to  James¬ 
town. 

But  who  should  now  be  governor?  Captain  Smith  was  at  first  dis¬ 
posed  to  give  up  his  office,  but  in  a  few  days  the  affairs  of  the  colony 
were  plainly  going  to  ruin,  and  he  was  urged  by  the  old  settlers  and  the 
better  class  of  new-comers  to  continue  in  authority.  Accordingly,  declar¬ 
ing  that  his  powers  as  president  under  the  old  constitution  did  not  cease 
until  some  one  should  arrive  from  England  properly  commissioned  to 
supersede  him,  he  kept  resolutely  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  although 
in  daily  peril  of  his  life.  He  arrested  Ratcliffe*  and  Archer,  put  some 
of  the  most  rebellious  brawlers  in  prison,  and  then,  in  order  to  distract 
the  attention  of  the  rest,  planned  two  new  settlements,  one,  of  a  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty  men,  under  the  command  of  Martin,  to  be  established 
at  Nansemond ;  the  other,  of  the  same  number,  under  Captain  West,  to 
form  a  colony  at  the  falls  of  the  James.  Both  companies  behaved  badly. 
In  a  few  days  after  their  departure  troubles  arose  between  West’s  men 
and  the  Indians.  The  president  was  sent  for  in  order  to  settle  the  diffi¬ 
culty  ;  but  finding  his  efforts  unavailing,  he  returned  to  Jamestown.  On 
his  way  down  the  river,  while  asleep  in  the  boat,  a  bag  of  gunpowder 
lying  near  by  exploded,  burning  and  tearing  his  flesh  so  terribly  that  in 
his  agony  he  leaped  overboard.  Being  rescued  from  the  river,  he  was 
carried  to  the  fort,  where  he  lay  for  some  time  racked  with  fever  and  tor¬ 
tured  with  his  wounds.  Finally,  despairing  of  relief  under  the  imperfect 
medical  treatment  which  the  colony  afforded,  he  decided,  to  return  to 
England.  He  accordingly  delegated  his  authority  to  Sir  George  Percy, 
a  brother  of  the  earl  of  Northumberland,  and  about  the  middle  of  Sep- 

*  This  man’s  real  name  was  not  Ratcliffe,  but  Sicklemore.  He  had  been  president  of 
the  colony  in  1607,  and  was  an  accomplished  thief  as  well  as  an  impostor. 


106 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


tember,  1609,  left  the  scene  of  his  heroic  toils  and  sufferings,  never  to 
return. 

There  remained  at  Jamestown  a  colony  of  four  hundred  and  ninety 
persons,  well  armed,  well  sheltered  and  well  supplied.  But  such  was  the 
viciousness  and  profligacy  of  the  greater  number,  and  such  the  insubor¬ 
dination  and  want  of  proper  leadership,  after  Smith’s  departure,  that  by 
the  beginning  of  winter  the  settlement  was  face  to  face  with  starvation. 
The  Indians  became  hostile  and  hovered  around  the  plantations,  strag¬ 
glers  were  intercepted  and  murdered,  houses  were  fired  at  every  opportu¬ 
nity,  disease  returned  to  add  to  the  desolation,  and  cold  and  hunger 
completed  the  terrors  of  a  winter  which  was  long  remembered  with  a 
shudder  and  called  The  Starving  Time.  By  the  last  of  March  there 
were  only  sixty  persons  alive,  and  these,  if  help  had  not  come  speedily, 
could  hardly  have  lived  a  fortnight. 

Meanwhile,  Sir  Thomas  Gates  and  his  companions,  who  had  been 
shipwrecked  in  the  Bermudas,  had  constructed  out  of  the  materials  of 
their  old  ship,  with  such  additional  timber  as  they  could  cut  from  the  for¬ 
est,  two  small  vessels,  and  set  sail  for  Virginia.  They  came  in  full  expec¬ 
tation  of  a  joyful  greeting  from  a  happy  colony.  What,  therefore,  was 
their  disappointment  and  grief  when  a  few  wan,  half-starved  wretches 
crawled  out  of  their  cabins  to  beg  for  bread !  Whatever  stores  the  com¬ 
missioners  had  brought  with  them  were  distributed  to  the  famishing 
settlers,  and  Gates  assumed  control  of  the  government. 

But  the  colonists  had  now  fully  determined  to  abandon  for  ever  a 
place  which  promised  them  nothing  but  disaster  and  death.  In  vain  did 
the  commissioners  remonstrate ;  they  were  almost  driven  by  the  clamors 
around  them  to  yield  to  the  common  will.  An  agreement  was  made  to 
sail  for  Newfoundland  ;  there  the  remnant  of  the  Virginia  colony  should 
be  distributed  among  the  fishermen  until  such  time  as  some  friendly  ship 
might  carry  them  back  to  England. 

On  the  8th  of  June  Jamestown  was  abandoned.  The  disheartened 
settlers,  now  grown  resentful,  were  anxious  before  leaving  to  burn  the 
town,  but  Gates  defeated  this  design,  and  was  himself  the  last  man  to  go 
on  board.  Four  pinnaces  lay  at  their  moorings  in  the  river ;  embark¬ 
ing  in  these,  the  colonists  dropped  down  with  the  tide,  and  it  seemed  as 
though  the  enterprise  of  Raleigh  and  Gosnold  had  ended  in  failure  and 
humiliation. 

But  Lord  Delaware  was  already  on  his  way  to  America.  Before 
the  escaping  settlers  had  passed  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the  ships 
of  the  noble  governor  came  in  sight.  Here  were  additional  immigrants, 
plentiful  supplies  and  promise  of  better  things  to  come.  Would  the 


VIRGINIA.— SECOND  CHARTER. 


107 


colonists  return  ?  The  majority  gave  a  reluctant  consent,  and  before  night¬ 
fall  the  fires  were  again  kindled  on  the  hearthstones  of  the  deserted  village. 
The  next  day  was  given  to  religious  services ;  the  governor  caused  his  com¬ 
mission  to  be  read,  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  The 
amiability  and  virtue  of  his  life,  no  less  than  the  mildness  and  decision  of 
his  administration,  endeared  him  to  all  and  inspired  the  colony  with  hope. 

Autumn  came,  and  Lord  Delaware  fell  sick.  Against  his  own  will, 
and  to  the  great  regret  of  the  colony,  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  Eng¬ 
land.  Having  reluctantly  delegated  his  authority  to  Percy — the  same 
who  had  been  the  deputy  of  Captain  Smith — the  good  Delaware  set  sail 
for  his  own  country.  It  was  an  event  of  great  discouragement ;  but  for¬ 
tunately,  before  a  knowledge  of  the  governor’s  departure  reached  England, 
the  Superior  Council  had  despatched  a  new  shipload  of  stores  and  another 
company  of  emigrants,  unde;'  command  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale.  The  vessel 
arrived  at  Jamestown  on  the  10th  of  May,  and  Percy  was  superseded  by 
the  captain,  who  bore  a  commission  from  the  council.  Dale  had  been  a 
military  officer  in  the  wars  of  the  Netherlands,  and  he  now  adopted  a 
system  of  martial  law  as  the  basis  of  his  administration.  He  was,  how¬ 
ever,  a  man  so  tolerant  and  just  that  very  little  complaint  was  made  on 
account  of  his  arbitrary  method  of  governing. 

One  of  Dale’s  first  acts  was  to  write  to  the  council  in  England, 
requesting  that  body  to  send  out  immediately  as  large  a  number  of  colon¬ 
ists  as  possible,  with  an  abundance  of  supplies.  For  once  the  council  acted 
promptly ;  and  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  Sir  Thomas  Gates  arrived  with 
a  fleet  of  six  ships,  having  on  board  three  hundred  immigrants  and  a  large 
quantity  of  stores.  There  was  great  thanksgiving  in  the  colony,  a  fresh 
enthusiasm  was  enkindled,  and  contentment  came  with  a  sense  of  security. 

Thus  far  the  property  of  the  settlers  at  Jamestown  had  been  held 
in  common.  The  colonists  had  worked  together,  and  in  time  of  harvest 
deposited  their  products  in  storehouses  which  were  under  the  control  of 
the  governor  and  council.  Now  the  right  of  holding  private  property 
was  recognized.  Governor  Gates  had  the  lands  divided  so  that  each  set¬ 
tler  should  have  three  acres  of  his  own ;  every  family  might  cultivate  a 
garden  and  plant  an  orchard,  the  fruits  of  which  no  one  but  the  owner 
was  allowed  to  gather.  The  benefits  of  this  system  of  labor  were  at  once 
apparent.  The  laborers,  as  soon  as  each  was  permitted  to  claim  the 
rewards  of  his  own  toil,  became  cheerful  and  industrious.  There  were 
now  seven  hundred  persons  in  the  colony ;  new  plantations  were  laid  out 
on  every  side,  and  new  settlements  were  formed  on  both  banks  of  the 
river  and  at  considerable  distances  from  Jamestown.  The  promise  of  an 
American  State,  so  long  deferred,  seemed  at  last  to  be  realized. 


108 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

VIRGINIA.— THE  THIRD  CHARTER. 

EARLY  in  the  year  1612  the  London  Company  obtained  from  the 
king  a  third  patent,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  character  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  was  entirely  changed.  The  Superior  Council  was  abolished  and 
the  powers  of  that  body  transferred  to  the  stockholders,  who  were  author¬ 
ized  to  hold  public  meetings,  to  elect  their  own  officers,  to  discuss  and 
decide  all  questions  of  law  and  right,  and  to  govern  the  colony  on  their 
own  responsibility.  The  cause  of  this  change  was  the  unprofitableness 
of  the  colony  as  a  financial  enterprise,  and  the  consequent  dissatisfaction 
of  the  company  with  the  management  of  the  council.  The  new  patent, 
although  not  so  intended  by  the  king,  was  a  great  step  toward  a  demo¬ 
cratic  form  of  government  in  Virginia. 

2.  The  year  1613  was  marked  by  two  important  events,  both  of  them 
resulting  from  the  lawless  behavior  of  Captain  Samuel  Argali.  While 
absent  on  an  expedition  up  the  Potomac  River  he  learned  that  Pocahon¬ 
tas,  who  had  had  some  difficulty  with  her  father’s  tribe,  was  residing  in 
that  neighborhood.  Procuring  the  help  of  a  treacherous  Indian  family, 
the  English  captain  enticed  the  unsuspecting  girl  on  board  his  vessel  and 
carried  her  captive  to  Jamestown.  The  authorities  of  the  colony,  instead 
of  punishing  Argali  for  this  atrocity,  aggravated  the  outrage  by  demand¬ 
ing  that  Powhatan  should  pay  a  heavy  ransom  for  his  daughter’s  libera¬ 
tion.  The  old  king  indignantly  refused,  and  ordered  his  tribes  to  prepare 
for  war.  Meanwhile,  Pocahontas,  who  seems  not  to  have  been  greatly 
grieved  on  account  of  her  captivity,  was  converted  to  the  Christian  faith 
and  became  by  baptism  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  She  was 
led  to  this  course  of  action  chiefly  by  the  instruction  and  persuasion  of 
John  Rolfe,  a  worthy  young  man  of  the  colony,  who  after  the  baptism 
of  the  princess  sought  her  in  marriage.  Powhatan  and  his  chief  men 
gave  their  consent,  and  the  nuptials  were  duly  celebrated  in  the  spring 
of  the  following  year.  By  this  means  war  was  averted,  and  a  bond  of 
union  established  between  the  Indians  and  the  whites. 

3.  Two  years  later  Rolfe  and  his  wife  went  to  England,  where  they 
were  received  in  the  highest  circles  of  society.  Captain  Smith  gave  them 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  Queen  Anne,  and  many  other  flattering  atten- 


VIRGINIA.— THIRD  CHARTER. 


109 


tions  were  bestowed  on  the  modest  daughter  of  the  Western  wilderness. 
In  the  following  year,  Rolfe  made  preparations  to  return  to  America ;  but 
before  embarking,  Pocahontas  fell  sick  and  died.  There  was  left  of  this 
marriage  a  son,  who  afterward  came  to  Jamestown  and  was  a  man  of  some 
importance  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony.  To  him  several  influential  families 
of  Virginians  still  trace  their  origin.  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  was  a 
grandson  of  the  sixth  generation  from  Pocahontas. 

When  Captain  Argali  returned  from  his  expedition  up  the  Potomac, 
he  was  sent  with  an  armed  vessel  to  the  coast  of  Maine.  The  avowed 
object  of  the  voyage  was  to  protect  the  English  fishermen  who  frequented 
the  waters  between  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  Cape  Cod,  but  the  real  pur¬ 
pose  was  to  destroy  the  colonies  of  France,  if  any  should  be  found  within 
the  limits  of  the  territory  claimed  by  England.  Arriving  at  his  destina¬ 
tion,  Argali  soon  found  opportunity  for  the  display  of  his  violence  and 
rapacity.  The  French  authorities  of  Acadia  were  at  this  time  building 
a  village  on  Mount  Desert  Island,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot.  Thi3 
settlement  was  the  first  object  of  Argali’s  vengeance.  The  place  was  cap¬ 
tured,  pillaged  and  burned ;  part  of  the  inhabitants  were  put  on  board  a 
vessel  bound  for  France,  and  the  rest  were  carried  to  the  Chesapeake.  The 
French  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  River  next  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  English  captain,  who  cannonaded  the  fort  and  destroyed 
every  building  in  the  settlement.  Passing  thence  across  the  bay  to 
Port  Royal,  Argali  burned  the  deserted  hamlet  which  Poutrincourt  and 
his  companions  had  built  there  eight  years  before.  On  his  way  back  to 
Virginia  he  made  a  descent  on  the  Dutch  traders  of  Manhattan  Island, 
destroyed  many  of  their  huts,  and  compelled  the  settlers  to  acknowledge 
the  sovereignty  of  England.  The  result  of  these  outrageous  proceedings 
was  to  confine  the  French  settlements  in  America  to  the  banks  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  to  leave  a  clear  coast  for  the  English  flag  from  Nova  Scotia 
to  Florida. 

In  the  month  of  March,  1614,  Sir  Thomas  Gates  returned  to  Eng¬ 
land,  leaving  the  government  in  the  hands  of  Dale,  whose  administration 
lasted  for  two  years.  During  this  time  the  laws  of  the  colony  were 
much  improved,  and,  more  important  still,  the  colonial  industry  took 
an  entirely  different  form.  Hitherto  the  labor  of  the  settlers  had  been 
directed  to  the  planting  of  vineyards  and  to  the  manufacture  of  potash, 
soap,  glass  and  tar.  The  managers  of  the  London  Company  had  at  last 
learned  that  these  articles  could  be  produced  more  cheaply  in  Europe 
than  in  America.  They  had  also  discovered  that  there,  were  certain 
products  peculiar  to  the  New  World  which  might  be  raised  and  exported 
with  great  profit.  Chief  among  such  native  products  was  the  plant  called 


110 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


tobacco,  the  use  of  which  had  already  become  fashionable  in  Spain,  Eng¬ 
land  and  France.  This,  then,  became  the  leading  staple  of  the  colony, 
and  was  even  used  for  money.  So  entirely  did  the  settlers  give  them¬ 
selves  to  the  cultivation  of  the  famous  weed  that  the  very  streets  of 
Jamestown  were  ploughed  up  and  planted  with  it. 

It  was  a  great  disaster  to  the  people  of  the  colony  when  Argali  was 
chosen  deputy-governor.  He  was  a  man  who  had  one  virtue,  courage ; 
and  in  all  other  respects  was  thoroughly  bad.  The  election  occurred  in 
1617,  and  through  the  influence  of  an  unscrupulous  faction  composed  of 
Argali’s  friends  he  was  not  only  selected  as  Lord  Delaware’s  deputy  in 
America,  but  was  also  made  an  admiral  of  the  English  navy.  ITis 
administration  was  characterized  by  fraud,  oppression  and  violence. 
Neither  property  nor  life  was  secure  against  his  tyranny  and  greed.  By 
and  by,  the  news  of  his  proceedings  reached  England ;  emigration  ceased 
at  once,  and  the  colony  became  a  reproach,  until  Lord  Delaware  restored 
confidence  by  embarking  in  person  for  Virginia.  But  the  worthy  noble¬ 
man  died  on  the  voyage,  and  Argali  continued  his  exactions  and  cruelty. 
In  the  spring  of  1619,  he  was  at  last  displaced  through  the  influence 
of  Sir  Edwyn  Sandy s,  and  the  excellent  Sir  George  Yeardley  appointed 
to  succeed  him. 

Martial  law  was  now  abolished.  The  act  which  required  each 
settler  to  give  a  part  of  his  labor  for  the  common  benefit  was  also 
repealed,  and  thus  the  people  were  freed  from  a  kind  of  colonial  servi¬ 
tude.  Another  action  was  taken  of  still  greater  importance.  Governor 
Yeardley,  in  accordance  with  instructions  received  from  the  company, 
divided  the  plantations  along  James  River  into  eleven  districts,  called 
boroughs,  and  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  citizens  of  each  borough  to 
elect  two  of  their  own  number  to  take  part  in  the  government  of  the 
colony.  The  elections  were  duly  held,  and  on  the  30th  of  July,  1619, 
the  delegates  came  together  at  Jamestown.  Here  was  organized  the 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  a  colonial  legislature,  the  first  popular 
assembly  held  in  the  New  World. 

The  Burgesses  had  many  privileges,  but  very  little  power.  They 
might  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  but  could  not  control  them ;  pass 
laws,  but  could  not  enforce  them;  declare  their  rights,  but  could  not 
secure  them.  Though  the  governor  and  council  should  both  concur  in 
the  resolutions  of  the  assembly,  no  law  was  binding  until  ratified  by  the 
company  in  England.  Only  one  great  benefit  was  gained — the  freedom 
of  debate.  Wherever  that  is  recognized,  liberty  must  soon  follow. 

The  year  1619  was  also  marked  by  the  introduction  of  negro  slavery 
into  Virginia.  The  servants  of  the  people  of  Jamestown  had  hitherto 


WIVES  FOR  THE  SETTLER&  AT  JAMESTOWN 


VIRGINIA. — THIRD  CHARTER. 


Ill 


been  persons  of  English  or  German  descent,  and  their  term  of  service 
had  varied  from  a  few  months  to  many  years.  No  perpetual  servitude 
had  thus  far  been  recognized,  nor  is  it  likely  that  the  English  colonists 
would  of  themselves  have  instituted  the  system  of  slave  labor.  In  the 
month  of  August  a  Dutch  man-of-war  sailed  up  the  river  to  the  planta¬ 
tions,  and  offered  by  auction  twenty  Africans.  They  were  purchased  by 
the  wealthier  class  of  planters,  and  made  slaves  for  life.  It  was,  however, 
nearly  a  half  century  from  this  time  before  the  system  of  negro  slavery 
became  well  established  in  the  English  colonies. 

Twelve  years  had  now  passed  since  the  founding  of  Jamestown. 
Eighty  thousand  pounds  sterling  had  been  spent  by  the  company  in  the 
attempted  development  of  the  new  State.  As  a  result  there  were  only 
six  hundred  men  in  the  colony,  and  these  for  the  most  part  were  rovers 
who  intended  to  return  to  England.  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  the  treasurer, 
had  managed  matters  badly.  Very  few  families  had  emigrated,  and 
society  in  Virginia  was  coarse  and  vicious.  In  this  condition  of  affairs 
Smith  was  superseded  by  Sir  Edwyn  Sandys,  a  man  of  great  prudence  and 
integrity.  A  reformation  of  abuses  was  at  once  begun  and  carried  out. 
By  his  wisdom  and  liberality  the  new  treasurer  succeeded  before  the  end 
of  the  summer  of  1620  in  collecting  and  sending  to  America  a  company 
of  twelve  hundred  and  sixty-one  persons.  Another  measure  of  still 
greater  importance  was  equally  successful.  By  the  influence  of  Sandys 
and  his  friends,  ninety  young  women  of  good  breeding  and  modest  man¬ 
ners  were  induced  to  emigrate  to  Jamestown.  In  the  following  spring  sixty 
others  of  similar  good  character  came  over,  and  received  a  hearty  welcome. 

The  statement  that  the  early  Virginians  bought  their  wives  is 
absurd.  All  that  was  done  was  this :  when  Sandys  sent  the  first  company 
of  women  to  America,  he  charged  the  colonists  with  the  expense  of  the 
voyage — a  measure  made  necessary  by  the  fact  that  the  company  was 
almost  bankrupt.  An  assessment  was  made  according  to  the  number 
who  were  brought  over,  and  the  rate  fixed  at  a  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds  of  tobacco  for  each  passenger — a  sum  which  the  settlers  cheerfully 
paid.  The  many  marriages  that  followed  were  celebrated  in  the  usual 
way,  and  nothing  further  was  thought  of  the  transaction.  When  the  sec¬ 
ond  shipload  came,  the  cost  of  transportation  was  reported  at  a  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  for  each  passenger,  which  was  also  paid  without  complaint. 

In  July  of  1621  the  London  Company,  which  had  now  almost 
run  its  course,  gave  to  Virginia  a  code  of  written  laws  and  frame  of 
government  modeled  after  the  English  constitution.  The  terms  of  the 
instrument  were  few  and  easily  understood.  The  governor  of  the  colony 
was  as  hitherto  to  be  appointed  by  the  company,  a  council  to  be  chosen 


112 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


by  the  same  body,  and  a  house  of  burgesses,  two  members  from  each 
district,  to  be  elected  by  the  people.  In  making  laws  the  councilors  and 
burgesses  sat  together.  When  a  new  law  was  proposed,  it  was  debated, 
and  if  passed  received  the  governor’s  signature,  then  was  transmitted  to 
England  and  ratified  or  rejected  by  the  company.  The  constitution  also 
acknowledged  the  right  of  petition  and  of  trial  by  jury,  but  the  most 
remarkable  and  liberal  concession  was  that  which  gave  the  burgesses  the 
power  of  vetoing  any  objectionable  acts  of  the  company. 

Governor  Yeardley’s  administration  ended  in  October  of  1621. 
At  that  time  Sir  Francis  Wyatt  arrived,  commissioned  as  governor  and 
bearing  the  new'  constitution  of  Virginia.  The  colony  was  found  in  a 
very  flourishing  condition.  The  settlements  extended  for. a  hundred  and 
forty  miles  along  both  banks  of  James  River  and  far  into  the  interior, 
especially  northward  toward  the  Potomac.  There  remained  but  one 
cause  of  foreboding  and  alarm.  The  Indians  had  seen  in  all  this  growth 
and  prosperity  the  doom  of  their  own  race,  and  had  determined  to  make 
one  desperate  effort  to  destroy  their  foes  before  it  should  be  too  late.  To 
do  this  in  open  war  was  impossible ;  necessity  and  the  savage  impulse  work¬ 
ing  together  suggested  treachery  as  the  only  means  likely  to  accomplish 
the  result.  Circumstances  favored  the  villainous  undertaking.  Pocahon¬ 
tas  was  dead.  The  peaceable  and  faith-keeping  Powhatan  had  likewise 
passed  away.  The  ambitious  and  crafty  Opechancanough,  who  succeeded 
to  his  brother’s  authority  in  1618,  had  ever  since  been  plotting  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  English  colony,  and  the  time  had  come  for  the  bloody  tragedy. 

The  savages  carefully  concealed  their  murderous  purpose.  Until 
the  very  day  of  the  massacre  they  continued  on  terms  of  friendship  with 
the  English.  They  came  unmolested  into  the  settlements,  ate  with  their 
victims,  borrowed  boats  and  guns,  made  purchases,  and  gave  not  the 
slightest  token  of  hostility.  The  attack  was  planned  for  the  22d  of 
March,  at  mid-day.  At  the  fatal  hour  the  work  of  butchery  began. 
Every  hamlet  in  Virginia  was  attacked  by  a  band  of  yelling  barbarians. 
No  age,  sex  or  condition  awakened  an  emotion  of  pity.  Men,  women 
and  children  were  indiscriminately  slaughtered,  until  three  hundred  and 
forty -seven  had  perished  under  the  knives  and  hatchets  of  the  savages. 

But  Indian  treachery  was  thwarted  by  Indian  faithfulness.  What 
was  the  chagrin  and  rage  of  the  warriors  to  find  that  Jamestown  and  the 
other  leading  settlements  had  been  warned  at  the  last  moment,  and  were 
prepared  for  the  onset  ?  A  converted  Red  man,  wishing  to  save  an  Eng¬ 
lishman  who  had  been  his  friend,  went  to  him  on  the  night  before  the 
massacre  and  revealed  the  plot.  The  alarm  was  spread  among  the  settle¬ 
ments,  and  thus  the  greater  part  of  the  colony  escaped  destruction.  But 


VIRGINIA  —  THIRD  CHARTER. 


113 


the  outer  plantations  were  entirely  destroyed.  The  people  crowded  to¬ 
gether  on  the  larger  farms  about  Jamestown,  until  of  the  eighty  settlements 
there  were  only  eight  remaining.  Still,  there  were  sixteen  hundred  reso¬ 
lute  men  in  the  colony ;  and  although  gloom  and  despondency  prevailed 
for  a  while,  the  courage  of  the  settlers  soon  revived,  and  sorrow  gave 
place  to  a  desire  for  vengeance. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  Indians  to  suffer.  Parties  of  English 
soldiers  scoured  the  country  in  every  direction,  destroying  wigwams, 
burning  villages  and  killing  every  savage  that  fell  in  their  way,  until  the 
tribes  of  Opechancanough  were  driven  into  the  wilderness.  The  colon¬ 
ists,  regaining  their  confidence  and  zeal,  returned  to  their  deserted  farms, 
and  the  next  year  brought  such  additions  that  the  census  showed  a  popu¬ 
lation  of  two  thousand  five  hundred. 

Meanwhile,  difficulties  arose  between  the  corporation  and  the  king. 
Most  of  the  members  of  the  London  Company  belonged  to  the  patriot 
party  in  England,  and  the  freedom  with  which  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
discussing  political  and  governmental  matters  was  very  distasteful  to  the 
monarch.  A  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  now  a  numerous  body,  was 
held  once  every  three  months,  and  the  debates  took  a  wider  and  still 
wider  range.  The  liberal  character  of  the  Virginia  constitution  was 
offensive  to  King  James,  who  determined  by  some  means  to  obtain  con¬ 
trol  of  the  London  Company,  or  else  to  suppress  it  altogether.  A  com¬ 
mittee  was  accordingly  appointed  to  look  into  the  affairs  of  the  cor¬ 
poration  and  to  make  a  report  on  its  management.  The  commissioners 
performed  their  duty,  and  reported  that  the  company,  in  addition  to  being 
a  hot-bed  of  political  agitation,  was  unsound  in  every  part,  that  the  treas^ 
ury  was  bankrupt,  and  especially  that  the  government  of  Virginia  was 
bad  and  would  continue  so  until  a  radical  change  should  be  made  in  the 
constitution  of  the  new  State. 

Legal  proceedings  were  now  instituted  by  the  ministers  to  ascer¬ 
tain  whether  the  company’s  charter  had  not  been  forfeited.  The  question 
came  before  the  judges,  who  had  no  difficulty  in  deciding  that  the  violated 
patent  was  null  and  void.  In  accordance  with  this  decision,  the  charter 
of  the  corporation  was  canceled  by  the  king,  and  in  June  of  1624  the 
London  Company  ceased  to  exist.  But  its  work  had  been  well  done ;  a 
torch  of  liberty  had  been  lighted  on  the  banks  of  the  James  which  all 
the  gloomy  tyranny  of  after  times  could  not  extinguish.  The  Virgin¬ 
ians  were  not  slow  to  remember  and  to  claim  ever  afterward  the  precious 
rights  which  were  guaranteed  in  the  constitution  of  1621.  And  the 
other  colonies  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  the  chartered 

privileges  which  were  recognized  in  the  laws  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

c* 


114 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


« 


CHAPTER  XII. 

VIRGINIA.— THE  ROYAL  GOVERNMENT. 

A  ROYAL  government  was  now  established  in  Virginia.  To  the 
colonists  themselves  the  change  of  authorities  was  scarcely  percepti¬ 
ble.  The  new  administration  consisted  of  a  governor  and  twelve  coun¬ 
cilors  appointed  by  the  crown.  The  General  Assembly  of  the  colony 
was  left  undisturbed,  and  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  colonists 
remained  as  before.  The  king’s  hostility  had  been  directed  against  the 
London  Company,  and  not  against  the  State  of  Virginia;  now  that  the 
former  was  destroyed  the  latter  was  left  unmolested.  Governor  Wyatt 
was  continued  in  office;  and  in  making  up  the  new  council  the  king 
wisely  took  pains  to  select  the  known  friends  of  the  colony  rather  than 
certain  untried  partisans  of  his  own  court.  The  Virginians  found  in  the 
change  of  government  as  much  cause  of  gratitude  as  of  grief. 

King  James  of  England  died  in  1625.  His  son,  Charles  I.,  a  young, 
inexperienced  and  stubborn  prince,  succeeded  to  the  throne.  The  new 
king  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  affairs  of  his  American  colony,  until 
the  commerce  in  tobacco  attracted  his  notice.  Seeing  in  this  product  a 
source  of  revenue  for  the  crown,  he  attempted  to  gain  a  monopoly  of  the 
trade,  but  the  colonial  authorities  outwitted  him  and  defeated  the  project. 
It  is  worthy  of  special  note  that  while  conferring  with  the  colony  on  this 
subject  the  king  recognized  the  Virginia  assembly  as  a  rightfully  consti¬ 
tuted  power.  The  reply  which  was  finally  returned  to  the  king’s  proposal 
was  signed  not  only  by  the  governor  and  council,  but  by  thirty-one  of  the 
burgesses. 

In  1626  Governor  Wyatt  retired  from  office,  and  Yeardley,  the  old 
friend  and  benefactor  of  the  colonists,  was  reappointed.  The  young 
State  was  never  more  prosperous  than  under  this  administration,  which 
was  terminated  by  the  governor’s  death,  in  November  of  1627.  During 
the  preceding  summer  a  thousand  new  immigrants  had  come  to  swell  the 
population  of  the  growing  province. 

The  council  of  Virginia  had  a  right,  in  case  of  an  emergency,  to 
elect  a  governor.  Such  an  emergency  was  now  present,  and  Francis 
West  was  chosen  by  the  councilors ;  but  as  soon  as  the  death  of  Yeardley 


VIRGINIA.— THE  ROYAL  GOVERNMENT. 


115 


was  known  in  England,  King  Charles  commissioned  John  Harvey  to 
assume  the  government.  He  arrived  in  the  autumn  of  1629,  and  from 
this  time  until  1635,  the  colony  was  distracted  with  the  presence  of  a 
most  unpopular  chief  magistrate.  He  seems  to  have  been  disliked  on 
general  principles,  but  the  greatest  source  of  dissatisfaction  was  his  par¬ 
tiality  to  certain  speculators  and  land  monopolists  who  at  this  time  in¬ 
fested  Virginia,  to  the  annoyance  and  injury  of  the  poorer  people.  There 
were  many  old  land  grants  covering  districts  of  territory  which  were  now 
occupied  by  actual  settlers,  and  between  the  holders  of  the  lands  and  the 
holders  of  the  titles  violent  altercations  arose.  In  these  disputes  the 
governor  became  a  partisan  of  the  speculators  against  the  people,  until 
the  outraged  assembly  of  1635  passed  a  resolution  that  Sir  John  Harvey 
be  thrust  out  of  office,  and  Captain  West  be  appointed  in  his  place  “until 
the  king’s  pleasure  may  be  known  in  this  matter.”  A  majority  of  the 
councilors  sided  with  the  burgesses,  and  Harvey  was  obliged  to  go  to 
England  to  stand  his  trial. 

King  Charles  treated  the  whole  affair  with  contempt.  The  com¬ 
missioners  appointed  by  the  council  of  Virginia  to  conduct  Harvey’s  im¬ 
peachment  were  refused  a  hearing,  and  he  was  restored  to  the  governor¬ 
ship  of  the  unwilling  colony.  He  continued  in  power  until  the  year 
1639,  when  he  was  superseded  by  Wyatt,  who  ruled  until  the  spring  of 
1642. 

And  now  came  the  English  Revolution.  The  exactions  and  tyranny 
of  Charles  at  last  drove  his  subjects  into  open  rebellion.  In  January  of 
1642,  the  king  and  his  friends  left  London,  and  repairing  to  Nottingham, 
collected  an  army  of  royalists.  The  capital  and  southern  part  of  the 
country  remained  in  the  power  of  Parliament.  The  High  Church  party 
and  the  adherents  of  monarchy  took  sides  with  the  king,  while  the  re¬ 
publicans  and  dissenters  made  up  the  opposing  forces.  The  country  was 
plunged  into  the  horrors  of  civil  war.  After  a  few  years  of  conflict  the 
royal  army  was  routed  and  dispersed  ;  the  king  escaped  to  Scotland,  and 
the  leading  royalists  fled  to  foreign  lands.  On  the  demand  of  Parliament 
Charles  was  given  up  and  brought  to  trial.  The  cause  was  heard,  a  sen¬ 
tence  of  death  was  passed,  and  on  the  30th  of  January,  1649,  the  unhappy 
monarch  was  beheaded. 

Monarchy  was  now  abolished.  Oliver  Cromwell,  the  general  of 
the  Parliamentary  army,  was  made  Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  England.  By  him  the  destinies  of  the  nation  were  controlled  until 
his  death,  in  1658,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Richard.  But  the 
latter,  lacking  his  father’s  abilities  and  courage,  became  alarmed  at  the 
dangers  that  gathered  around  him,  and  resigned.  For  a  few  months  tim 


116 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


country  was  in  anarchy,  until  General  Monk,  who  commanded  the  Eng¬ 
lish  army  of  the  North,  came  down  from  Scotland  and  declared  a  restora¬ 
tion  of  the  monarchy.  The  exiled  son  of  Charles  I.  was  called  home 
and  proclaimed  king,  the  people  acquiesced,  Parliament  sanctioned  the 
measure,  and  on  the  18th  of  May,  1660,  Charles  II.  was  placed  on  the 
throne  of  England. 

These  were  times  full  of  trouble.  Virginia  shared  in  some  degree 
the  distractions  of  the  mother-country,  yet  the  evil  done  to  the  new  State 
by  the  conflict  in  England  was  less  than  might  have  been  expected.  In 
the  first  year  of  the  civil  war  Sir  William  Berkeley  became  governor  of 
the  colony,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  brief  visit  to  England  in  1645, 
remained  in  office  for  ten  years.  His  administration,  notwithstanding  the 
commotions  abroad,  was  noted  as  a  time  of  rapid  growth  and  develop¬ 
ment.  The  laws  were  greatly  improved  and  made  conformable  to  the 
English  statutes.  The  old  controversies  about  the  lands  were  satisfacto¬ 
rily  settled.  Cruel  punishments  were  abolished  and  the  taxes  equalized. 
The  general  assembly  was  regularly  convened  to  bear  its  part  in  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  and  Virginia  was  in  all  essential  particulars  a  free  as  well  as  a 
prosperous  State.  So  rapid  was  the  progress  that  in  1646  there  were 
twenty  thousand  people  in  the  colony. 

But  there  were  also  drawbacks  to  the  prosperity  of  Virginia.  Re¬ 
ligious  intolerance  came  with  its  baleful  shadow  to  disturb  the  State.  The 
faith  of  the  Episcopal  Church  was  established  by  law,  and  dissenting  was 
declared  a  crime.  The  Puritans  were  held  in  contempt  by  the  people, 
who  charged  them  with  being  the  destroyers  of  the  peace  of  England. 
In  March  of  1643  a  statute  was  enacted  by  the  assembly  declaring  that 
no  person  who  disbelieved  the  doctrines  of  the  English  Church  should  be 
allowed  to  teach  publicly  or  privately,  or  to  preach  the  gospel,  within  the 
limits  of  Virginia.  The  few  Puritans  in  the  colony  were  excluded  from 
their  places  of  trust,  and  some  were  even  driven  from  their  homes.  Gov¬ 
ernor  Berkeley,  himself  a  zealous  churchman,  was  a  leader  in  these  per¬ 
secutions,  by  which  all  friendly  relations  with  New  England  were  broken 
off  for  many  years. 

A  worse  calamity  befell  in  a  second  war  with  the  Indians.  Early 
in  1644,  the  natives,  having  forgotten  their  former  punishment,  and 
believing  that  in  the  confusion  of  the  civil  war  there  still  remained  a  hope 
of  destroying  the  English,  planned  a  general  massacre.  On  the  18th  of 
April,  at  a  time  when  the  authorities  were  somewhat  off  their  guard,  the 
savages  fell  upon  the  frontier  settlements,  and  before  assistance  could  be 
brought  murdered  three  hundred  people.  Alarmed  at  their  own  atrocity, 
the  warriors  then  fled,  but  were  followed  by  the  English  forces  and 


VIRGINIA.— THE  ROYAL  GOVERNMENT. 


117 


driven  into  the  woods  and  swamps.  The  aged  Opechancanough  was  cap¬ 
tured,  and  died  a  prisoner.  The  tribes  were  chastised  without  mercy,  and 
were  soon  glad  to  purchase  peace  by  the  cession  of  large  tracts  of  land. 

The  Virginians  adhered  with  great  firmness  to  the  cause  of  Charles 
I.  in  his  war  with  Parliament,  and  after  his  death  proclaimed  the  exiled 
Charles  II.  as  rightful  sovereign  of  the  country.  Cromwell  and  the 
Parliament  were  much  exasperated  at  this  course  of  conduct,  and  mea¬ 
sures  were  at  once  devised  to  bring  the  colony  to  submission.  An  ordi¬ 
nance  was  passed  laying  heavy  restrictions  on  the  commerce  of  such 
English  colonies  as  refused  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Parliament. 
All  foreign  ships,  especially  those  of  Holland,  were  forbidden  to  enter 
the  colonial  harbors.  In  1651  the  noted  statute  called  the  Navigation 
Act  was  passed,  and  the  trade  of  the  colonies  was  still  more  seriously 
distressed.  In  this  new  law  it  was  enacted  that  the  foreign  commerce 
of  Virginia,  now  grown  into  importance,  should  be  carried  on  wholly  in 
English  vessels,  and  directed  exclusively  to  English  ports. 

The  Virginians  held  out,  and  Cromwell  determined  to  employ 
force.  A  war-vessel  called  the  Guinea  was  sent  into  the  Chesapeake  to 
compel  submission,  but  in  the  last  extreme  the  Protector  showed  him¬ 
self  to  be  just  as  well  as  wrathful.  There  were  commissioners  on  board 
the  frigate  authorized  to  make  an  offer  of  peace,  and  this  was  gladly 
accepted.  It  was  seen  that  the  cause  of  the  Stuarts  was  hopeless.  The 
people  of  Virginia,  although  refusing  to  yield  to  threats  and  violence, 
cheerfully  entered  into  negotiations  with  Cromwell’s  delegates,  and  ended 
by  acknowledging  the  supreme  authority  of  Parliament.  The  terms  of 
the  settlement  were  very  favorable  to  popular  liberty ;  the  commercial 
restrictions  of  the  two  previous  years  were  removed,  and  the  trade  of  the 
colony  was  made  as  free  as  that  of  England.  No  taxes  might  be  levied 
or  duties  collected  except  such  as  were  imposed  by  the  general  assembly 
of  the  State.  The  freedom  of  an  Englishman  was  guaranteed  to  every 
citizen,  and  under  the  control  of  her  own  laws  Virginia  again  grew  pros¬ 
perous. 

No  further  difficulty  arose  during  the  continuance  of  the  Common¬ 
wealth.  The  Protector  was  busied  with  the  affairs  of  Europe,  and  had 
neither  time  nor  disposition  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  a  remote  colony. 
The  Virginians  were  thus  left  free  to  conduct  their  government  as  they 
would.  Even  the  important  matter  of  choosing  a  governor  was  sub¬ 
mitted  to  an  election  in  the  House  of  Burgesses ;  when  so  great  a  power 
had  been  once  exercised,  it  was  not  likely  to  be  relinquished  without  a 
struggle.  Three  governors  were  chosen  in  this  way,  and  what  was  at 
first  only  a  privilege  soon  became  a  right.  Special  acts  of  the  assembly 


118 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


declared  that  such  a  right  existed,  and  that  it  should  be  transmitted  to 
posterity. 

In  1660,  just  at  the  time  of  the  resignation  of  Richard  Cromwell, 
Samuel  Matthews,  the  last  of  the  three  elected  governors,  died.  The 
burgesses  were  immediately  convened,  and  an  ordinance  was  passed  de¬ 
claring  that  the  supreme  authority  of  Virginia  was  resident  in  the  colony, 
and  would  continue  there  until  a  delegate  with  proper  credentials  should 
arrive  from  the  British  government.  Having  made  this  declaration,  the 
house  elected  as  governor  Sir  William  Berkeley,  who  by  accepting  the 
office  acknowledged  the  right  of  the  burgesses  to  choose.  The  question 
of  recognizing  Charles  II.  as  king  was  debated  at  the  same  session,  but 
prudence  suggested  that  the  colonial  authorities  would  better  await  the 
natural  course  of  events.  For  the  present  it  was  decided  to  remain  faith¬ 
ful  to  Parliament.  Most  of  the  people,  no  doubt,  desired  the  restoration, 
but  policy  forbade  any  open  expressions  of  such  a  preference.  It  would 
be  time  enough  when  monarchy  was  actually  restored. 

In  May  of  1660  Charles  II.  became  king  of  England.  As  soon 
as  this  event  was  known  in  Virginia,  Governor  Berkeley,  forgetting  the 
source  of  his  own  authority,  and  in  defiance  of  all  consistency,  issued  writs 
in  the  name  of  the  king  for  the  election  of  a  new  assembly.  The  friends 
of  royalty  were  delighted  with  the  prospect.  The  adherents  of  the  Com¬ 
monwealth  were  thrust  out  of  office,  and  the  favorites  of  the  king  estab¬ 
lished  in  their  places.  Great  benefits  were  expected  from  the  change,  and 
the  whole  colony  was  alive  with  excitement  and  zeal.  But  the  disap¬ 
pointment  of  the  people  was  more  bitter  than  their  hopes  had  been  extrav¬ 
agant.  The  Virginians  soon  found  that  they  had  exchanged  a  republican 
tyrant  with  good  principles  for  a  monarchial  tyrant  with  bad  ones.  King 
Charles  II.  was  the  worst  monarch  of  modern  times,  and  the  people  of 
Virginia  had  in  him  and  his  government  a  special  cause  of  grief.  The 
commercial  system  of  the  Commonwealth,  so  far  from  being  abolished, 
was  re-enacted  in  a  more  hateful  form  than  ever.  The  new  statute  pro¬ 
vided  that  all  the  colonial  commerce,  whether  exports  or  imports,  should 
be  carried  on  in  English  ships,  the  trade  between  the  colonies  was  bur-  . 
dened  with  a  heavy  tax  for  the  benefit  of  the  government,  and  tobacco, 
the  staple  of  Virginia,  could  be  sold  nowhere  but  in  England.  This 
odious  measure  gave  to  English  merchantmen  a  monopoly  of  the  carry¬ 
ing  trade  of  the  colonies,  and  by  destroying  competition  among  the  buy¬ 
ers  of  tobacco  robbed  the  Virginians  to  that  extent  of  their  leading 
product.  Remonstrance  was  tried  in  vain.  The  cold  and  selfish  monarch 
only  sneered  at  the  complaints  of  his  American  subjects  and  the  commer¬ 
cial  ordinances  were  rigorously  enforced. 


VIRGINIA.— THE  ROYAL  GOVERNMENT. 


119 


Charles  II.  seemed  to  regard  the  British  empire  as  personal  property 
to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  himself  and  his  courtiers.  In  order  to  reward 
the  worthless  profligates  who  thronged  his  court,  he  began  to  grant  to  them 
large  tracts  of  land  in  Virginia.  What  did  it  matter  that  these  lands  had 
been  redeemed  from  the  wilderness  and  were  covered  with  orchards  and 
gardens  ?  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  an  American  planter  to  find  that 
his  farm,  which  had  been  cultivated  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  was  given 
away  to  some  dissolute  flatterer  of  the  royal  household.  Great  distress 
was  occasioned  by  these  iniquitous  grants,  until  finally,  in  1673,  the  king 
6et  a  limit  to  his  own  recklessness  by  giving  away  the  whole  State.  Lord 
Culpepper  and  the  earl  of  Arlington,  two  ignoble  noblemen,  received 
under  the  great  seal  a  deed  by  which  was  granted  to  them  for  thirty- 
one  years  all  the  dominion  of  land  and  water  called  Virginia. 

Unfortunately,  the  colonial  legislation  of  these  times  became  as 
selfish  and  narrow-minded  as  the  policy  of  the  king  was  mean.  An 
aristocratic  party  which  had  arisen  in  the  colony  obtained  control  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  and  the  new  laws  rivaled  those  of  England  in  illiber¬ 
ally.  Episcopalianism  was  again  established  as  the  State  religion.  A 
proscriptive  ordinance  was  passed  against  the  Baptists,  and  the  peace-lov¬ 
ing  Quakers  were  fined,  persecuted  and  imprisoned.  Burdensome  taxes 
were  laid  on  personal  property  and  polls ;  the  holders  of  large  estates  were 
exempt  and  the  poorer  people  afflicted.  The  salaries  of  the  officers  were 
secured  by  a  permanent  duty  on  tobacco,  and,  worst  of  all,  the  biennial 
election  of  burgesses  was  abolished,  so  that  the  members  of  the  existing 
assembly  continued  indefinitely  in  power.  For  a  while  Berkeley  and  his 
council  outdid  the  tyranny  of  England. 

And  then  came  open  resistance.  The  people  were  worn  out  with 
the  governor’s  exactions,  and  availed  themselves  of  the  first  pretext  to 
assert  their  rights  by  force  of  arms.  A  war  with  the  Susquehanna  In¬ 
dians  furnished  the  occasion  for  an  insurrection.  The  tribes  about  the 
head  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and  along  the  Susquehanna  had  been  attacked  by 
the  Senecas  and  driven  from  their  homes.  They,  in  turn,  fell  upon  the 
English  settlers  of  Maryland,  and  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  became  the 
scene  of  a  border  war.  Virginia  and  Maryland  made  common  cause 
against  the  savages.  John  Washington,  great-grandfather  of  the  first 
president  of  the  United  States,  led  a  company  of  militia  into  the  enemy’s 
country,  and  compelled  the  Susquehannas  to  sue  for  peace.  Six  of  their 
chieftains  went  into  Virginia  as  ambassadors,  and,  to  the  lasting  dishonor 
of  the  colony,  were  foully  murdered.  This  atrocity  maddened  the  savages, 
and  a  devastating  warfare  raged  along  the  whole  frontier. 

Governor  Berkeley,  not  without  some  show  of  justice,  sided  with 


120 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  Indians.  But  the  colonists  remembered  only  the  many  acts  of 
treachery  and  bloodshed  of  which  the  red  men  had  before  been  guilty, 
and  were  determined  to  have  revenge.  In  this  division  of  sentiment 
among  the  people,  the  assembly  and  the  aristocratic  party  took  sides  with 
the  governor  and  favored  a  peace;  while  the  popular  party,  disliking 
Berkeley  and  hating  the  Indians,  resolved  to  overthrow  him  and  destroy 
them  at  one  blow.  A  leader  was  found  in  that  remarkable  man,  Nathaniel 
Bacon.  Young,  brave,  eloquent,  patriotic,  full  of  enthusiasm  and  energy, 
he  became  the  soul  and  life  of  the  popular  party.  His  own  farm  in  the 
county  of  Henrico  had  been  pillaged  and  his  tenants  murdered  by  the 
savages.  Exasperated  by  these  injuries,  he  was  the  more  easily  urged  by 
the  public  voice  to  accept  the  dangerous  office  of  leading  an  insurrection. 

Five  hundred  men  rushed  to  arms  and  demanded  to  be  led  against 
the  Indians.  Alarm,  excitement  and  passion  prevailed  throughout  the 
colony.  The  natriot  forces  were  organized ;  and  without  permission  of  a 
government  which  they  had  ceased  to  regard,  the  march  was  begun  into 
the  enemy’s  country.  Berkeley  and  the  aristocratic  faction  were  enraged 
at  this  proceeding,  and  proclaimed  Bacon  a  traitor.  A  levy  of  troops  was 
made  for  the  purpose  of  dispersing  the  rebellious  militia ;  but  scarcely  had 
Berkeley  and  his  forces  left  Jamestown  when  another  popular  uprising  in 
the  lower  counties  compelled  him  to  return.  Affairs  were  in  an  uproar. 
Bacon  came  home  victorious.  The  old  assembly  was  unceremoniously 
broken  up,  and  a  new  one  elected  on  the  basis  of  universal  suffrage. 
Bacon  was  chosen  a  member  for  Henrico,  and  soon  after  elected  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  Virginia  army.  The  governor  refused  to  sign  his 
commission,  and  Bacon  appealed  to  the  people ;  the  militia  again  flew  to 
arms,  and  Berkeley  was  compelled  to  yield.  Not  only  was  the  com¬ 
mission  signed,  but  a  paper  drawn  up  by  the  burgesses  in  commendation 
of  Bacon’s  loyalty,  zeal  and  patriotism  received  the  executive  signature 
and  was  transmitted  to  Parliament. 

Peace  returned  to  the  colony.  The  power  of  the  savages  was  com¬ 
pletely  broken.  A  military  force  was  stationed  on  the  frontier,  and  a 
sense  of  security  returned  to  all  the  settlements.  But  Berkeley  was  petu¬ 
lant,  proud  and  vengeful ;  and  it  was  only  a  question  of  time  when  the 
Btruggle  would  be  renewed.  Seizing  the  first  opportunity,  the  governor 
left  Jamestown  and  repaired  to  the  county  of  Gloucester,  on  the  north 
side  of  York  River.  Here  he  summoned  a  convention  of  loyalists,  who, 
contrary  to  his  expectations  and  wishes,  advised  moderation  and  com¬ 
promise  ;  but  the  hot-headed  old  cavalier  would  yield  no  jot  of  his  pre¬ 
rogative  to  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  a  rabble,  and  Bacon  was  again 
proclaimed  a  traitor. 


GOVERNOR  BERKELEY  AND  THE  INSURGENTS 


VIRGINIA. — THE  ROYAL  GOVERNMENT. 


121 


It  was  evident  that  there  must  be  fighting.  Berkeley  and  his 
forces  left  Gloucester,  crossed  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  took  station  on 
the  eastern  shore,  in  the  county  of  Accomac.  Here  his  troops  were 
organized;  the  crews  of  some  English  ships  were  joined  to  his  command, 
and  the  fleet  set  sail  for  Jamestown.  The  place  was  taken  without  much 
resistance ;  but  when  Bacon  with  a  few  companies  of  patriots  drew  near, 
the  loyal  forces  deserted  and  went  over  to  his  standard.  The  governor 
with  his  adherents  was  again  obliged  to  fly,  and  the  capital  remained  in 
possession  of  the  people’s  party.  The  assembly  was  about  to  assume  con¬ 
trol  of  the  government  without  the  governor,  whose  flight  to  Accomac 
had  been  declared  an  abdication,  when  a  rumor  arose  that  an  English  fleet 
was  approaching  for  the  subjugation  of  the  colonies.  The  patriot  leaders 
held  a  council,  and  it  was  determined  that  Jamestown  should  be  burned. 
Accordingly,  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening  the  torch  was  applied,  and  the 
only  town  in  Virginia  laid  in  ashes.  The  leading  men  set  the  example 
by  throwing  firebrands  into  their  own  houses ;  others  caught  the  spirit  of 
sacrifice ;  the  flames  shot  up  through  the  shadows  of  night ;  and  Governor 
Berkeley  and  his  followers,  on  board  a  fleet  twenty  miles  down  the  river, 
had  tolerably  fair  warning  that  the  capital  of  Virginia  could  not  be  used 
for  the  purposes  of  despotism. 

In  this  juncture  of  affairs  Bacon  fell  sick  and  died.  It  was  an 
event  full  of  grief  and  disaster.  The  patriot  party,  discouraged  by  the 
loss  of  the  heroic  chieftain,  was  easily  dispersed.  A  few  feeble  efforts 
were  made  to  revive  the  cause  of  the  people,  but  the  animating  spirit 
which  had  controlled  and  directed  until  now  was  gone.  The  royalists 
found  an  able  leader  in  Robert  Beverly,  and  the  authority  of  the  governor 
was  rapidly  restored  throughout  the  province.  The  cause  of  the  people 
and  the  leader  of  the  people  had  died  together. 

Berkeley’s  vindictive  passions  were  now  let  loose  upon  the  defeated 
insurgents.  Fines  and  confiscations  became  the  order  of  the  day.  The 
governor  seemed  determined  to  drown  the  memory  of  his  own  wrongs  in 
the  woes  of  his  subjects.  Twenty-two  of  the  leading  patriots  were  seized 
and  hanged  with  scarcely  time  to  bid  their  friends  farewell.  Thus  died 
Thomas  Hansford,  the  first  American  who  gave  his  life  for  freedom. 
Thus  perished  Edmund  Cheesnian,  Thomas  W  ilford  and  the  noble  Wil¬ 
liam  Drummond,  martyrs  to  liberty.  Nor  is  it  certain  when  the  vengeful 
tyrant  would  have  stayed  his  hand,  had  not  the  assembly  met  and  passed 
an  edicf  that  no  more  blood  should  be  spilt  for  past  offences.  One  of  the 
burgesses  from  the  county  of  Northampton  said  in  the  debate  that  if  the 
governor  were  let  alone  he  would  hang  half  the  country.  When  Charles 
II.  heard  of  Berkeley’s  ferocity,  he  exclaimed,  “The  old  fool  has  taken 


122 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


away  more  lives  in  that  naked  country  than  I  for  the  murder  of  my 
father”  ;  and  the  saying  was  true. 

The  history  of  this  insurrection  was  for  a  long  time  recited  by 
Bacon’s  enemies.  Until  the  present  century  no  one  appeared  to  rescue 
the  leader’s  name  from  obloquy.  In  the  light  of  after  times  his  character 
will  shine  with  a  peculiar  lustre.  His  motives  were  as  exalted  as  his  life 
was  pure,  and  his  virtues  as  noted  as  his  abilities  were  great.  His  ambi¬ 
tion  was  for  the  public  welfare,  and  his  passions  were  only  excited  against 
the  enemies  of  his  country. 

The  consequences  of  the  rebellion  were  very  disastrous.  Berkeley 
and  the  aristocratic  party  had  now  a  good  excuse  for  suppressing  all  liberal 
sentiments  and  tendencies.  The  printing-press  was  interdicted.  Educa¬ 
tion  was  discouraged  or  forbidden.  To  speak  or  to  write  anything  against 
the  administration  or  in  defence  of  the  late  insurrection  was  made  a  crime 
to  be  punished  by  fine  or  whipping.  If  the  offence  should  be  three  times 
repeated,  it  was  declared  to  be  treason  punishable  with  death.  The  former 
tyrannical  methods  of  taxation  were  revived,  and  Virginia  was  left  at  the 
mercy  of  arbitrary  rulers. 

In  1675,  Lord  Culpepper,  to  whom  with  Arlington  the  province 
had  been  granted  two  years  previously,  obtained  the  appointment  of 
governor  for  life.  The  right  of  the  king  was  thus  by  his  own  act  relin¬ 
quished,  and  Virginia  became  a  proprietary  government.  The  new  execu¬ 
tive  arrived  in  1680  and  assumed  the  duties  of  his  office.  His  whole 
administration  was  characterized  by  avarice  and  dishonesty.  Regarding 
Virginia  as  his  personal  estate,  he  treated  the  Virginians  as  his  tenants 
and  slaves.  Every  species  of  extortion  was  resorted  to,  until  the  mutter- 
ings  of  rebellion  were  again  heard  throughout  the  impoverished  colony. 
In  1683,  Arlington  surrendered  his  claim  to  Culpepper,  who  thus  became 
sole  proprietor  as  well  as  governor ;  but  before  he  could  proceed  to  further 
mischief,  his  official  career  was  cut  short  by  the  act  of  the  king.  Charles 
II.,  repenting  of  his  own  rashness,  found  in  Culpepper’s  vices  and  frauds 
a  sufficient  excuse  to  remove  him  from  office  and  to  revoke  his  patent. 
In  1684,  Virginia  again  became  a  royal  province,  under  the  government 
of  Lord  Howard,  of  Effinglmm,  who  was  succeeded  by  Francis  Nich¬ 
olson,  formerly  governor  of  New  York.  His  administration  was  sig¬ 
nalized  by  the  founding  of  A  illiam  and  Mary  College,  so  named 
in  honor  of  the  new  sovereigns  of  England.  This,  next  to  Harvard, 
was  the  first  institution  of  liberal  learning  planted  in  America.  Here 
the  boy  Jefferson,  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  shall  be 
educated!  From  these  halls,  in  the  famous  summer  of  1776,  shall  be 
sent  forth  young  James  Monroe,  future  President  of  the  United  States! 


MASS  A  CHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 


123 


After  Nicholson’s  administration,  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  recently  ex¬ 
pelled  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  assumed  for  a  while  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  Virginia.  The  affairs  of  the  colony  during  the  next  forty 
or  fifty  years  are  not  of  sufficient  interest  and  importance  to  require 
extended  notice  in  an  abridgment  of  American  history.  At  the  out¬ 
break  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  Virginia  will  show  to  the  world 
that  the  labors  of  Smith,  and  Gosnold,  and  Bacon  have  not  been  in 
vain. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MASS  A  CHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 

THE  spring  of  1621  brought  a  ray  of  hope  to  the  distressed  Pilgrims 
of  New  Plymouth.  Never  was  the  returning  sun  more  welcome. 
The  fatal  winter  had  swept  off  one-half  of  the  number.  The  son  of  the 
benevolent  Carver  was  among  the  first  victims  of  the  terrible  climate. 
The  governor  himself  sickened  and  died,  and  the  broken-hearted  wife 
found  rest  in  the  same  grave  with  her  husband.  But  now,  with  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  warm  weather,  the  destroying  pestilence  was  stayed,  and  the 
spirits  of  the  survivors  revived  with  the  season.  Out  of  the  snows  of 
winter,  the  desolations  of  disease,  and  the  terrors  of  death  the  faith  of  the 
Puritan  had  come  forth  triumphant. 

For  a  while  the  colonists  were  apprehensive  of  the  Indians.  In 
February,  Miles  Standish  was  sent  out  with  his  soldiers  to  gather  in¬ 
formation  of  the  numbers  and  disposition  of  the  natives.  The  army  of 
New  England  consisted  of  six  men  besides  the  general.  Deserted  wig¬ 
wams  were  found  here  and  there ;  the  smoke  of  camp-fires  arose  in  the 
distance ;  savages  were  occasionally  seen  in  the  forest.  These  fled,  how¬ 
ever,  at  the  approach  of  the  English,  and  Standish  returned  to  Plymouth. 

A  month  later  the  colonists  were  astonished  by  the  sudden  appear¬ 
ance  in  their  midst  of  a  Wampanoag  Indian  named  Samoset.  He  ran 
into  the  village,  offered  his  hand  in  token  of  friendship,  and  bade  the 
strangers  welcome.  He  gave  an  account  of  the  numbers  and  strength  of 
the  neighboring  tribes,  and  recited  the  story  of  a  great  plague  by  which, 
a  few  years  before,  the  country  had  been  swept  of  its  inhabitants.  The 
present  feebleness  and  desolate  condition  of  the  natives  had  resulted  from 
the  fatal  malady.  Another  Indian,  by  the  name  of  Squanto,  who  had 
been  carried  away  by  Hunt  in  1614,  and  had  learned  to  speak  English, 
came  also  to  Plymouth,  and  confirmed  what  Samoset  had  said. 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

By  the  influence  of  these  two  natives  friendly  relations  were  at  once 
established  with  the  Wampanoags.  Massasoit,  the  great  sachem  of  the 
nation,  was  invited  to  visit  the  settlement,  and  came  attended  bv  a  few 
of  his  warriors.  The  Pilgrims  received  him  with  as  much  parade  and 
ceremony  as  the  colony  could  provide ;  Captain  Standish  ordered  out  his 
soldiers,  and  Squanto  acted  as  interpreter.  Then  and  there  was  ratified 
the  first  treaty  made  in  New  England.  The  terms  were  few  and  simple. 
There  should  be  peace  and  friendship  between  the  whites  and  the  red 
men.  No  injury  should  be  done  by  either  party  to  the  other.  All 
offenders  should  be  given  up  to  be  punished.  If  the  English  engaged  in 


THE  TREATY  BETWEEN  GOVERNOR  CARVER  AND  MASSASOIT. 

war,  Massasoit  should  help  them ;  if  the  Wampanoags  were  attacked  un¬ 
justly,  the  English  should  give  aid  against  the  common  enemy.  Mark 
that  word  unjustly :  it  contains  the  essence  of  Puritanism. 

The  treaty  thus  made  and  ratified  remained  inviolate  for  fifty  years. 
Other  chiefs  followed  the  example  of  the  great  sachem  and  entered  into 
friendly  relations  with  the  colony.  Nine  of  the  leading  tribes  acknow¬ 
ledged  the  sovereignty  of  the  English  king.  One  chieftain  threatened 
hostilities,  but  Standish’s  army  obliged  him  to  beg  for  mercy.  Canonicus, 
king  of  the  Narragansetts,  sent  to  William  Bradford,  who  had  been  chosen 
governor  after  the  death  of  Carver,  a  bundle  of  arrows  wrapped  in  the 
skin  of  a  rattlesnake ;  but  the  undaunted  governor  stuffed  the  skin  with 


MA SSA  CHU SETTS  —  SETTLEMENT. 


125 


powder  and  balls  and  sent  it  back  to  the  chief,  who  did  not  dare  to 
accept  the  dangerous  challenge.  The  hostile  emblem  was  borne  about 
from  tribe  to  tribe,  until  finally  it  was  returned  to  Plymouth. 

The  summer  of  1621  was  unfruitful,  and  the  Pilgrims  were  brought 
to  the  point  of  starvation.  To  make  their  condition  more  grievous, 
a  new  company  of  immigrants,  without  provisions  or  stores,  arrived, 
and  were  quartered  on  the  colonists  during  the  fall  and  winter.  For  six 
months  together  the  settlers  were  obliged  to  subsist  on  half  allowance. 
At  one  time  only  a  few  grains  of  parched  corn  remained  to  be  distri¬ 
buted,  and  at  another  there  was  absolute  destitution.  In  this  state  of 
affairs  some  English  fishing-vessels  came  to  Plymouth  and  charged 
the  starving  colonists  two  prices  for  food  enough  to  keep  them  alive. 

The  intruding  immigrants  just  mentioned  had  been  sent  to  Amer¬ 
ica  by  Thomas  Weston,  of  London,  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  colony. 
They  remainecbwith  the  people  of  Plymouth  until  the  summer  of  1622, 
then  removed  to  the  south  side  of  Boston  Harbor  and  began  a  new 
settlement  called  Weymouth.  Instead  of  working  with  their  might 
to  provide  against  starvation,  they  wasted  the  fall  in  idleness,  and  at¬ 
tempted  to  keep  up  their  stock  of  provisions  by  defrauding  the  Indians. 
Thus  provoked  to  hostility,  the  natives  formed  a  plan  to  destroy  the 
colony  ;  but  Massasoit,  faithful  to  his  pledges,  went  to  Plymouth  and 
revealed  the  plot.  Standish  marched  to  Weymouth  at  the  head  of 
his  regiment,  now  increased  to  eight  men,  attacked  the  hostile  tribe, 
killed  several  warriors  and  carried  home  the  chief’s  head  on  a  pole. 
The  tender-hearted  John  Robinson  wrote  from  Leyden:  “  I  would 
that  you  had  converted  some  of  them  before  you  killed  any.” 

In  the  following  spring  most  of  the  Weymouth  settlers  aban¬ 
doned  the  place  and  returned  to  England.  The  summer  of  1623  brought 
a  plentiful  harvest  to  the  people  of  the  older  colony,  and  there  was  no 
longer  any  danger  of  starvation.  The  natives,  preferring  the  chase, 
became  dependent  on  the  settlement  for  corn,  and  furnished  in  ex¬ 
change  an  abundance  of  game.  The  main  body  of  Pilgrims  still  tarried 
at  Leyden.  Robinson  made  unwearied  efforts  to  bring  his  people  to 
America,  but  the  adventurers  of  London  who  had  managed  the  enter¬ 
prise  would  provide  no  further  means  either  of  money  or  transporta¬ 
tion;  and  now,  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  year,  there  were  only  a  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighty  persons  in  New  England.  The  managers  had  expected 
pi  ofitable  returns,  and  were  disappointed.  They  had  expended  thirty- 
four  thousand  dollars ;  there  was  neither  profit  nor  the  hope  of  any. 
Under  this  discouragement  the  proprietors  made  a  proposition  to  sell 
out  their  claims  to  the  colonists.  The  offer  was  accepted;  and  in 
November  of  1627  eight  of  the  leading  men  of  Plymouth  purchased 


126 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


from  the  Londoners  their  entire  interest  for  the  sum  of  nine  thousand 
dollars. 

Before  this  transfer  of  right  was  made  the  colony  had  been  much 
vexed  by  the  efforts  of  the  managers  to  thrust  on  them  a  minister  of 
the  Established  Church.  Was  it  not  to  avoid  this  very  thing  that 
they  had  come  to  the  wilds  of  the  New  World?  Should  the  tyranny 
of  the  prelates  follow  them  even  across  the  sea  and  into  the  wilder¬ 
ness?  There  was  dissension  and  strife  for  a  while;  the  English  mana¬ 
gers  withheld  support ;  oppression  was  resorted  to  ;  the  stores  intended 
for  the  colonists  were  sold  to  them  at  three  prices ;  and  they  were 
obliged  to  borrow  money  at  sixty  per  cent.  But  no  exactions  could 
break  the  spirit  of  the  Pilgrims  ;  and  the  conflict  ended  with  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  whatever  rights  the  London  proprietors  had  in  the  colony. 

The  year  1624  was  marked  by  the  founding  of  a  settlement  at 
Cape  Ann.  John  White,  a  Puritan  minister  of  Dorchester,  England, 
collected  a  small  company  of  emigrants  and  sent  them  to  America.  The 
colony  was  established,  but  after  two  years  of  discouragement  the  cape 
was  abandoned  as  a  place  unsuitable,  and  the  company  moved  farther 
south  to  Naumkeag,  afterward  called  Salem.  Here  a  settlement  was 
begun,  and  in  1628  was  made  permanent  by  the  arrival  of  a  second  col¬ 
ony,  in  charge  of  John  Endicott,  who  was  chosen  governor.  In  March 
of  the  same  year  the  colonists  obtained  a  patent  from  the  Council  of 
Plymouth;  and  in  1629  Charles  I. issued  a  charter  by  which  the  pro¬ 
prietors  were  incorporated  under  the  name  of  The  Governor  and 
Company  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England.  In  July  two 
hundred  additional  immigrants  arrived,  half  of  whom  settled  at  Ply¬ 
mouth,  while  the  other  half  removed  to  a  peninsula  on  the  north  side 
of  Boston  Harbor  and  laid  the  foundation  of  Charlestown. 

At  the  first  it  had  been  decided  that  the  charter  of  the  colony 
should  be  left  in  England,  and  that  the  governor  should  reside  there 
also.  After  further  discussion,  this  decision  was  reversed,  and  in  Sep¬ 
tember  it  was  decreed  that  the  whole  government  should  be  transferred 
to  America,  and  that  the  charter,  as  a  pledge  of  liberty,  should  be  en¬ 
trusted  to  the  colonists  themselves.  As  soon  as  this  liberal  action  was 
made  known  emigration  began  on  an  extensive  scale.  In  the  year 
1630  about  three  hundred  of  the  best  Puritan  families  in  the  kingdom 
came  to  New  England.  Not  adventurers,  not  vagabonds,  were  these 
brave  people,  but  virtuous,  well-educated,  courageous  men  and  women 
who  for  conscience’  sake  left  comfortable  homes  with  no  expectation 
of  returning.  It  was  not  the  least  of  their  good  fortune  to  choose  a 
noble  leader. 

If  ever  a  man  was  worthy  to  be  held  in  perpetual  remembrance 


MASSACHUSETTS. — SETTLEMENT. 


127 


that  man  was  John  Winthrop,  governor  of  Massachusetts.  Born  a  royalist, 
he  cherished  the  principles  of  republicanism.  Himself  an  Episcopalian 
he  chose  affliction 
with  the  Puritans. 

Surrounded  with 
affluence  and  com¬ 
fort,  he  left  all  to 
share  the  destiny 
of  the  persecuted 
Pilgrijns.  Calm, 
prudent  and  peace¬ 
able,  he  joined  the 
zeal  of  an  enthusi¬ 
ast  with  the  sub¬ 
lime  faith  of  a 
martyr. 

A  part  of 
the  new  immi¬ 
grants  settled  at 
Salem ;  others  at 
Cambridge  and 
Watertown,  on 
Charles  River; 
while  others,  going 
farther  south, 
founded  Roxbury  and  Dorchester.  The  governor,  with  a  few  of  the 
leading  families,  resided  for  a  while  at  Charlestown,  but  soon  crossed 
the  harbor  to  the  peninsula  of  Shawmut  and  laid  the  foundation  of  Bos¬ 
ton,  which  became  henceforth  the  capital  of  the  colony  and  the  metropolis 
of  New  England.  With  the  approach  of  winter  sickness  came,  and  the 
distress  was  very  great.  Many  of  the  new-comers  were  refined  and  ten¬ 
der  people  who  could  not  endure  the  bitter  blasts  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
Coarse  fare  and  scanty  provisions  added  to  the  griefs  of  disease.  Sleet 
and  snow  drifted  through  the  cracks  of  the  thin  board  huts  where  en¬ 
feebled  men  and  delicate  women  moaned  out  their  lives.  Before  mid¬ 
winter  two  hundred  had  perished.  A  few  others,  heartsick  and  despair¬ 
ing,  returned  to  England ;  but  there  was  heard  neither  murmur  nor 
repining.  Governor  Winthrop  wrote  to  his  wife :  “  I  like  so  well  to  be 
here  that  I  do  not  repent  my  coming/’ 

At  a  session  of  the  general  court  of  the  colony,  held  in  1631.  a  law 

was  passed  restricting  the  right  of  suffrage.  It  was  enacted  that  none  but 

10 


JOHN  WINTHROP. 


128 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


members  of  the  church  should  be  permitted  to  vote  at  the  colonial  eleo- 
tions.  The  choice  of  governor,  deputy-governor  and  assistant  councilors 
was  thus  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  small  minority.  Nearly  three-fourths 
of  the  people  were  excluded  from  exercising  the  rights  of  freemen.  Taxes 
were  levied  for  the  support  of  the  gospel ;  oaths  of  obedience  to  the  magis¬ 
trates  were  required  ;  attendance  on  public  worship  was  enforced  by  law ; 
none  but  church-members  were  eligible  to  offices  of  trust.  It  is  strange 
indeed  that  the  very  men  who  had  so  recently,  through  perils  by  sea  and 
land,  escaped  with  only  their  lives  to  find  religious  freedom  in  another 
continent,  should  have  begun  their  career  with  intolerance  and  proscrip¬ 
tion.  The  only  excuse  that  can  be  found  for  the  gross  inconsistency  and 
injustice  of  such  legislation  is  that  bigotry  was  the  vice  of  the  age  rather 
than  of  the  Puritans. 

One  manly  voice  was  lifted  up  against  this  odious  statute.  It  was 
the  voice  of  young  Roger  Williams,  minister  of  Salem.  To  this  man 
belongs  the  shining  honor  of  being  first  in  America  or  in  Europe  to  pro¬ 
claim  the  full  gospel  of  religious  toleration.  He  declared  to  his  people 
that  the  conscience  of  man  may  in  no  wise  be  bound  by  the  authority  of 
the  magistrate ;  that  civil  government  has  only  to  do  with  civil  matters, 
such  as  the  collection  of  taxes,  the  restraint  and  punishment  of  crime, 
and  the  protection  of  all  men  in  the  enjoyment  of  equal  rights.  For 
these  noble  utterances  he  was  obliged  to  quit  the  ministry  of  the  church 
at  Salem  and  retire  to  Plymouth.  Finally,  in  1634,  he  wrote  a  paper  in 
which  the  declaration  was  made  that  grants  of  land,  though  given  by  the 
king  of  England,  were  invalid  until  the  natives  were  justly  recompensed. 
This  was  equivalent  to  saying  that  the'  colonial  charter  itself  was  void,  and 
that  the  people  were  really  living  upon  the  lands  of  the  Indians.  Great 
excitement  was  occasioned  by  the  publication,  and  Williams  consented 
that  for  the  sake  of  public  peace  the  paper  should  be  burned.  But  he 
continued  to  teach  his  doctrines,  saying  that  compulsory  attendance  at  re¬ 
ligious  worship,  as  well  as  taxation  for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  was 
contrary  to  the  teachings  of  the  gospel.  When  arraigned  for  these  bad 
doctrines,  he  crowned  his  offences  by  telling  the  court  that  a  test  of 
church-membership  in  a  voter  or  a  public  officer  was  as  ridiculous  as  the 
selection  of  a  doctor  of  physic  or  the  pilot  of  a  ship  on  account  of  his  skill 
in  theology. 

These  assertions  raised  such  a  storm  in  court  that  Williams  was 
condemned  for  heresy  and  banished  from  the  colony.  In  the  dead  of 
winter  he  left  home  and  became  an  exile  in  the  desolate  forest.  For  four¬ 
teen  weeks  he  wandered  on  through  the  snow,  sleeping  at  night  on  the 
ground  or  in  a  hollow  tree,  living  on  parched  corn,  acorns  and  roots.  He 


Canonicus,  king  of  the  Narragansetts,  received  him  as  a  friend  and 
brother.  On  the  left  bank  of  Blackstone  River,  near  the  head  of  Narra- 
gansett  Bay,  a  resting-place  was  at  last  found ;  the  exile  pitched  his  tent, 
and  with  the  opening  of  spring  planted  a  field  and  built  the  first  house  in 
the  village  of  Seekonk.  Soon  the  information  came  that  he  was  still 
within  the  territory  of  Plymouth  colony,  and  another  removal  became 
necessary.  With  five  companions  who  had  joined  him  in  banishment, 
he  embarked  in  a  canoe,  passed  down  the  river  and  crossed  to  the  west 
side  of  the  bay.  Here  he  was  safe;  his  enemies  could  hunt  him  no 
farther.  A  tract  of  land  was  honorably  purchased  from  Canonicus ;  and 
in  June  of  1636,  the  illustrious  founder  of  Rhode  Island  laid  out  the  city 
of  Providence. 

Meanwhile,  his  teachings  were  bearing  fruit  in  Massachusetts.  In 
1634  a  representative  form  of  government  was  established  against  the 
opposition  of  the  clergy.  On  election-day  the  voters,  now  numbering 
between  three  and  four  hundred,  were  called  together,  and  the  learned 


MASS  A  CHUSETTS  — SETTLEMENT.  129 

carried  with  him  one  precious  treasure — a  private  letter  from  Governor 
Winthrop,  giving  him  words  of  cheer  and  encouragement.  Nor  did  the 
Indians  fail  to  show  their  gratitude  to  the  man  who  had  so  nobly  de¬ 
fended  their  rights.  In  the  country  of  the  Wampanoags  he  was  kindly 
entertained.  Massasoit  invited  him  to  his  cabin  at  Pokanoket,  and 


ROGER  WILLIAMS’  RECEPTION  BY  THE  INDIANS. 


130 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Cotton  preached  powerfully  and  long  against  the  proposed  change.  The 
assembly  listened  attentively,  and  then  went  on  with  the  election.  To 
make  the  reform  complete,  a  ballot-box  was  substituted  for  the  old 
method  of  public  voting.  The  restriction  on  the  right  of  suffrage  was 
the  only  remaining  bar  to  a  perfect  system  of  self-government  in  New 
England. 

During  the  next  year  three  thousand  new  immigrants  arrived.  It 
was  worth  while — so  thought  the  people  of  England — to  come  to  a  country 
where  the  principles  of  freedom  were  spreading  with  such  rapidity.  The 
new-comers  were  under  the  leadership  of  Hugh  Peters  and  Sir  Henry 
V ane ;  the  former  the  Puritan  pastor  of  some  English  exiles  at  Rotter¬ 
dam,  in  Holland,  and  the  latter  a  young  nobleman  who  afterward  played 
an  important  part  in  the  history  of  England.  Such  was  his  popularity 
with  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  and  such  his  zeal  and  piety,  that  in  less 
than  a  year  after  his  arrival  he  was  chosen  governor  of  the  colony. 

By  this  time  the  settlements  around  Massachusetts  Bay  were 
thickly  clustered.  Until  new  homes  should  be  found  there  was  no  room 
for  the  immigrants  who  were  constantly  coming.  To  enlarge  the  frontier, 
to  plunge  into  the  wilderness  and  find  new  places  of  abode,  became  a 
necessity.  One  little  company  of  twelve  families,  led  by  Simon  Willard 
and  Peter  Bulkeley,  marched  through  the  woods  until  they  came  to  some 
open  meadows  sixteen  miles  from  Boston,  and  there  laid  the  foundations 
of  Concord.  A  little  later  in  the  same  year,  another  colony  of  sixty  per¬ 
sons  left  the  older  settlements  and  pressed  their  way  westward  as  far  as 
the  Connecticut  River.  The  march  itself  was  a  grievous  hardship,  but 
greater  toils  and  sufferings  were  in  store  for  the  adventurous  company. 
A  dreadful  winter  overtook  them  in  their  new  homes  but  half  provided. 
Some  died ;  others,  disheartened,  waded  back  through  the  dreary  untrod¬ 
den  snows  and  came  half  famished  to  Plymouth  and  Boston;  but  the 
rest,  with  true  Puritan  heroism,  outbraved  the  winter  and  triumphed  over 
the  pangs  of  starvation.  Spring  brought  a  recompense  for  hardship :  the 
heroic  pioneers  crept  out  of  their  miserable  huts  to  become  the  founders 
of  Windsor,  Hartford  and  Wethersfield,  the  oldest  towns  in  the  Con¬ 
necticut  valley. 

The  banishment  of  Roger  Williams,  instead  of  bringing  peace, 
brought  strife  and  dissension  to  the  people  of  Massachusetts.  The  minis¬ 
ters  were  stern  and  exacting.  Every  shade  of  popular  belief  was  closely 
scrutinized;  the  slightest  departure  from  orthodox  doctrines  was  met 
with  a  charge  of  heresy,  and  to  be  a  heretic  was  to  become  an  outcast. 
Still,  the  advocates  of  free  opinion  multiplied.  The  clergy,  notwithstand¬ 
ing  their  great  influence  among  the  people,  felt  insecure.  Religious  de- 


MA  SSA  CHUSETTS.—SE  T  TL  EM  ENT. 


131 


bates  became  the  order  of  the  day.  Every  sermon  had  to  pass  the  ordeal 
of  review  and  criticism. 

Most  prominent  among  those  who  were  said  to  be  “as  bad  as 
Roger  Williams,  or  worse,”  was  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson,  a  woman  of 
genius  who  had  come  over  in  the  ship  with  Sir  Henry  Vane.  She  de¬ 
sired  the  privilege  of  speaking  at  the  weekly  debates,  and  was  refused. 
Women  had  no  business  at  these  assemblies,  said  the  elders.  Indignant 
at  this,  she  became  the  champion  of  her  sex,  and  declared  that  the  minis¬ 
ters  who  were  defrauding  women  of  the  gospel  were  no  better  than  Phari¬ 
sees.  She  called  meetings  of  her  friends,  spoke  much  in  public,  and 
pleaded  with  great  fervor  for  the  full  freedom  of  conscience.  The  liberal 
doctrines  of  the  exiled  Williams  were  reaffirmed  with  more  power  and 
eloquence  than  ever.  Many  of  the  magistrates  were  converted  to  the  new 
beliefs;  the  governor  himself  espoused  the  cause  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson; 
and  a  majority  of  the  people  of  Boston  inclined  to  her  opinions. 

For  a  while  there  was  a  reign  of  discord ;  but  as  soon  as  Sir 
Henry’s  term  of  office  expired  a  call  was  issued  for  a  meeting  of  the 
synod  of  New  England.  The  body  convened  in  August  of  1637 ;  a 


132 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


decree  was  proposed;  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  friends  were  declared 
unfit  for  the  society  of  Christians,  and  banished  from  the  territory  of 
Massachusetts.  With  a  large  number  of  friends  the  exiles  wended  their 
way  toward  the  home  of  Roger  Williams.  Miantonomoh,  a  Narragansett 
chieftain,  made  them  a  gift  of  the  beautiful  island  of  Rhode  Island; 
there,  in  the  month  of  March,  1641,  a  little  republic  was  established,  in 
whose  constitution  freedom  of  conscience  was  guaranteed  and  persecution 
for  opinion’s  sake  forbidden. 

The  year  1636  was  an  important  epoch  in  the  history  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts.  The  general  court  of  the  colony  passed  an  act  appropriating 
between  one  and  two  thousand  dollars  to  found  and  endow  a  college. 
The  measure  met  with  popular  favor;  the  Puritans  were  an  educated 
people,  and  were  quick  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  learning.  New¬ 
town  was  selected  as  the  site  of  the  proposed  school.  Plymouth  and 
Salem  gave  gifts  to  help  the  enterprise ;  and  from  villages  in  the  Con¬ 
necticut  valley  came  contributions  of  corn  and  wampum.  In  1638,  John 
Harvard,  a  young  minister  of  Charlestown,  died,  bequeathing  his  library 
and  nearly  five  thousand  dollars  to  the  school.  To  perpetuate  the  memory 
of  the  noble  benefactor  the  new  institution  was  named  Harvard  Col¬ 
lege  ;  and  in  honor  of  the  place  where  the  leading  men  of  Massachusetts 
had  been  educated,  the  name  of  Newtown  was  changed  to  Cambridge. 
Thus  early  did  the  people  of  New  England  stamp  their  approval  on  the 
cause  of  education.  In  spite  of  sterile  soil  and  desolate  landscapes — 
in  spite  of  destroying  climate  and  wasting  diseases — in  spite  even  of 
superstition  and  bigotry — the  people  who  educate  will  ever  be  great 
and  free. 

The  printing-press  came  also.  In  1638,  Stephen  Daye,  an 
English  printer,  arrived  at  Boston,  bringing  a  font  of  types,  and  in  the 
following  year  set  up  a  press  at  Cambridge.  The  first  American  publica¬ 
tion  was  an  almanac  calculated  for  New  England,  and  bearing  date  of 
1639.  During  the  next  year,  Thomas  Welde  and  John  Eliot,  two  minis¬ 
ters  of  Roxbury,  and  Richard  Mather,  of  Dorchester,  translated  the 
Hebrew  Psalms  into  English  verse,  and  published  their  rude  work  in 
a  volume  of  three  hundred  pages — the  first  book  printed  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic. 

The  rapid  growth  of  Massachusetts  now  became  a  source  of  alarm 
to  the  English  government.  Those  liberal  principles  of  religion  and 
politics  which  were  openly  avowed  and  gloried  in  by  the  citizens  of  the 
new  commonwealth  were  hateful  to  Charles  I.  and  his  ministers.  The 
archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  much  offended.  Something  must  be 
done  to  check  the  further  growth  of  the  Puritan  colonies.  The  first 


MASSACHUSETTS.— THE  UNION. 


133 


measure  which  suggested  itself  was  to  stop  emigration.  For  this  purpose 
an  edict  was  issued  as  early  as  1634,  but  was  of  no  effect.  The  officers 
of  the  government  neglected  to  enforce  the  law.  Four  years  later,  more 
vigorous  measures  were  adopted.  A  squadron  of  eight  vessels,  ready  to 
sail  from  London,  was  detained  by  the  royal  authority.  Many  of  the 
most  prominent  Puritan  families  in  England  were  on  board  of  these 
ships.  Historians  of  high  rank  have  asserted — but  without  sufficient 
proof — that  John  Hampden  and  Oliver  Cromwell  were  of  the  number 
who  were  turned  back  by  the  detention.  At  all  events,  it  would  have 
been  the  part  of  wisdom  in  King  Charles  to  allow  all  Puritans  to  leave 
his  realm  as  fast  as  possible.  By  detaining  them  in  England  he  only 
made  sure  the  Revolution,  and  by  so  much  hastened  his  own  downfall. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— THE  UNION. 

A T" EW  ENGLAND  was  fast  becoming  a  nation.  Wellnigh  fifty  towns 
-L '  and  villages  dotted  the  face  of  the  country.  Nearly  a  million  of 
dollars  had  been  spent  in  settling  and  developing  the  new  State.  Enter¬ 
prises  of  all  kinds  were  rife.  Manufactures,  commerce  and  the  arts  were 
rapidly  introduced.  William  Stephens,  a  shipbuilder  who  came  with 
Governor  Winthrop  to  Boston,  had  already  built  and  launched  an  Ameri¬ 
can  vessel  of  four  hundred  tons  burden.  Before  1640,  two  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  emigrant  ships  had  anchored  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  Twenty- 
one  thousand  two  hundred  people,  escaping  from  English  intolerance  ot 
Church  or  State,  had  found  home  and  rest  between  Plymouth  Rock  and 
the  Connecticut  valley.  It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  colonists  began  to 
cast  about  them  for  better  political  organization  and  more  ample  forms 
of  government. 

Many  circumstances  impelled  the  colonies  to  union.  First  of  all, 
there  was  the  natural  desire  of  men  to  have  a  regular  and  permanent 
government.  England,  torn  and  distracted  with  civil  war,  could  do 
nothing  for  or  against  her  colonies ;  they  must  take  care  of  themselves. 
Here  was  the  western  frontier  exposed  to  the  hostilities  of  the  Dutch 
towns  on  the  Hudson;  Connecticut  alone  could  not  defend  herself. 
Similar  trouble  was  apprehended  from  the  French  on  the  north'  the 


134 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


English  settlements  on  the  Piscataqua  were  weak  and  defenceless.  In¬ 
dian  tribes  capable  of  mustering  a  thousand  warriors  were  likely  at  any 
hour  to  fall  upon  remote  and  helpless  villages ;  the  prevalence  of  common 
interests  and  the  necessities  of  common  defence  made  a  union  of  some  sort 
indispensable. 

The  first  effort  to  consolidate  the  colonies  was  ineffectual.  Two 
years  later,  in  1639,  the  project  was  renewed,  but  without  success. 
Again,  in  1643,  a  measure  of  union  was  brought  forward  and  finally 
adopted.  By  the  terms  of  this  compact,  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  Con¬ 
necticut  and  New  Haven  were  joined  in  a  loose  confederacy,  called  The 
United  Colonies  of  New  England.  The  chief  authority  was  con¬ 
ferred  upon  a  general  assembly,  or  congress,  composed  of  two  representa¬ 
tives  from  each  colony.  These  delegates  were  chosen  annually  at  an 
election  where  all  the  freemen  voted  by  ballot.  There  was  no  president 
other  than  the  speaker  of  the  assembly,  and  he  had  no  executive  powers. 
Each  community  retained,  as  before,  its  separate  local  existence ;  and  all 
subordinate  questions  of  legislation  were  reserved  to  the  respective  colo¬ 
nies.  Only  matters  of  general  interest — such  as  Indian  affairs,  the  levy¬ 
ing  of  troops,  the  raising  of  revenues,  declarations  of  war  and  treaties  of 
peace — were  submitted  to  the  assembly. 

Provision  was  made  for  the  admission  of  other  colonies  into  the 
union,  but  none  were  ever  admitted.  The  English  settlement  on  the 
Piscataqua  was  rejected  because  of  heterodoxy  in  religion.  The  Provi¬ 
dence  Plantations  were  refused  for  similar  reasons.  Should  Roger  Wil¬ 
liams  return  to  plague  an  assembly  where  an  approved  church-member¬ 
ship  was  the  sole  qualification  for  office?  The  little  island  of  Rhode 
Island,  with  its  Jewish  republic,  also  knocked  for  admission;  Anne 
Hutchinson’s  commonwealth  was  informed  that  Plymouth  colony  had 
rightful  jurisdiction  there,  and  that  heresy  was  a  bar  to  all  petitions. 

Until  the  year  1641  the  people  of  Massachusetts  had  had  no  regular 
code  of  laws.  At  a  meeting  of  the  assembly  in  December  of  this  year, 
Nathaniel  Ward  brought  forward  a  written  instrument  which;  after  ma¬ 
ture  deliberation,  was  adopted  as  the  constitution  of  the  State.  This 
fundamental  statute  was  called  the  Body  of  Liberties,  and  was  ever 
afterward  esteemed  as  the  great  charter  of  colonial  freedom.  It  may  be 
doubted  whether  any  other  primitive  constitution,  either  ancient  or 
modern,  contains  more  wisdom  than  this  early  code  of  Massachusetts. 

A  further  modification  in  the  government  was  effected  in  1644. 
Until  this  time  the  representatives  of  the  people  had  sat  and  voted  in  the 
same  hall  with  the  governor  and  his  assistant  magistrates.  It  was  now 
decreed  that  the  two  bodies  should  sit  apart,  each  with  its  own  officers 


MASSACHUSETTS.— THE  UNION. 


135 


and  under  its  own  management.  By  this  measure  the  people’s  branch  of 
the  legislature  was  made  independent  and  of  equal  authority  with  the 
governor’s  council.  Thus  step  by  step  were  the  safeguards  of  liberty 
established  and  regular  forms  of  government  secured. 

The  people  of  Massachusetts  were  little  grieved  ou  account  of  the 
English  Revolution.  It  was  for  them  a  vindication  and  a  victory.  The 
triumph  of  Parliament  over  King  Charles  was  the  triumph  of  Puritanism 
both  in  England  and  America.  Massachusetts  had  no  cause  to  fear  so 
long  as  the  House  of  Commons  was  crowded  with  her  friends  and  patrons. 
But  in  the  hour  of  victory  the  American  Puritans  showed  themselves 
more  magnanimous  than  those  of  the  mother-country;  when  Charles  I., 
the  enemy  of  all  colonial  liberties,  was  brought  to  the  block,  the  people 
of  New  England,  whose  fathers  had  been  exiled  by  his  father,  lamented 
his  tragic  fate  and  preserved  the  memory  of  his  virtues. 

During  the  supremacy  of  the  Long  Parliament  several  acts  were 
passed  which  put  in  peril  the  interests  of  Massachusetts,  but  by  a  prudent 
and  far-sighted  policy  all  evil  results  were  avoided.  Powerful  friends, 
especially  Sir  Henry  Vane,  stood  up  in  Parliament  and  defended  the 
colony  against  the  intrigues  of  her  enemies.  Ambassadors,  men  of  age 
and  experience,  went  often  to  London  to  plead  for  colonial  rights.  Soon 
after  the  abolition  of  monarchy  a  statute  was  made  which  threatened  for 
a  while  the  complete  subversion  of  the  new  State.  Massachusetts  was  in¬ 
vited  to  surrender  her  charter,  to  receive  a  new  instrument  instead,  and 
to  hold  courts  and  issue  writs  in  the  name  of  Parliament.  The  measure 
seemed  fair  enough,  but  the  people  of  New  England  were  too  cautious  to 
stake  their  all  on  the  fate  of  a  Parliament  whose  power  was  already 
waning.  The  requisition  was  never  complied  with.  Cromwell  did  not 
insist  on  the  surrender ;  no  one  else  had  power  to  enforce  the  act ;  and 
Massachusetts  retained  her  charter. 

The  Protector  was  the  constant  friend  of  the  American  colonies. 
Even  Virginia,  though  slighting  his  authority,  found  him  just  as  well  as 
severe.  The  people  of  New  England  were  his  special  favorites.  To  them 
he  was  bound  by  every  tie  of  political  and  religious  sympathy.  For  more 
than  ten  years,  when  he  might  have  been  an  oppressor,  he  continued  the 
benefactor,  of  the  English  in  America.  During  his  administration  the 
northern  colonies  were  left  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  coveted  rights. 
In  commerce,  in  the  industry  of  private  life,  and  especially  in  religion, 
the  people  of  Massachusetts  were  as  free  as  the  people  of  England. 

In  the  year  1652,  it  was  decreed  by  the  general  court  at  Boston 
that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  province  extended  as  far  north  as  three  miles 
above  the  most  northerly  waters  of  the  river  Merrimac.  This  declaration, 


136 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


which  was  in  strict  accordance  with  the  charter  of  the  colony,  was  made 
for  the  purpose  of  annexing  Maine  to  Massachusetts.  By  this  measure 
the  territory  of  the  latter  State  was  extended  to  Casco  Bay.  Settlements 
had  been  made  on  the  Piscataqua  as  early  as  1626,  but  had  not  flourished. 
Thirteen  years  later  a  royal  charter  was  issued  to  Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges, 
a  member  of  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  who  became  proprietor  of  the 
province.  His  cousin,  Thomas  Gorges,  was  made  deputy-governor.  A 
high-sounding  constitution,  big  enough  for  an  empire,  was  drawn  up,  and 
the  little  village  of  Gorgeana,  afterward  York,  became  the  capital  of  the 
kingdom.  Meanwhile,  in  1630,  the  Plymouth  Council  had  granted  to 
another  corporation  sixteen  hundred  square  miles  of  the  territory  around 
Casco  Bay,  and  this  claim  had  been  purchased  by  Rigby,  a  republican 
member  of  Parliament.  Between  his  deputies  and  those  of  Gorges  violent 
disputes  arose.  The  villagers  of  Maine,  sympathizing  with  neither  party, 
and  emulous  of  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  southern  colonies,  laid 
their  grievances  before  the  court  at  Boston,  and  the  annexation  of  the 
province  followed. 

In  July  of  1656,  the  Quakers  began  to  arrive  at  Boston.  The 
first  who  came  were  Ann  Austin  and  Mary  Fisher.  The  introduction  of 
the  plague  would  have  occasioned  less  alarm.  The  two  women  were  caught 
and  searched  for  marks  of  witchcraft,  their  trunks  were  broken  open, 
their  books  were  burned  by  the  hangman,  and  they  themselves  thrown 
into  prison.  After  several  weeks’  confinement  they  were  brought  forth 
and  banished  from  the  colony.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  eight  others 
had  been  arrested  and  sent  back  to  England.  The  delegates  of  the  union 
were  immediately  convened,  and  a  rigorous  law  was  passed,  excluding  all 
Quakers  from  the  country.  Whipping,  the  loss  of  one  ear  and  banish¬ 
ment  were  the  penalties  for  the  first  offence ;  after  a  second  conviction  the 
other  ear  should  be  cut  off;  and  should  the  criminal  again  return,  his 
tongue  should  be  bored  through  witli  a  red-hot  iron. 

In  1657,  Ann  Burden,  who  had  come  from  London  to  preach 
against  persecution,  was  seized  and  beaten  with  twenty  stripes.  Others 
came,  were  whipped  and  exiled.  As  the  law  became  more  cruel  and 
proscriptive,  fresh  victims  rushed  forward  to  brave  its  terrors.  The 
assembly  of  the  four  colonies  again  convened,  and  advised  the  authorities 
of  Massachusetts  to  pronounce  the  penalty  of  death  against  the  fanatical 
disturbers  of  the  public  peace.  When  the  resolutions  embodying  this  ad¬ 
vice  was  put  before  the  assembly,  to  his  everlasting  honor,  the  younger 
Winthrop,  delegate  from  Connecticut,  voted  No !  Massachusetts  ac¬ 
cepted  the  views  of  the  greater  number,  and  the  death-penalty  was  passed 
by  a  majority  of  one  vote. 


MASSACHUSETTS.— THE  UNION. 


137 


In  September  of  1659,  four  persons  were  arrested  and  brought  to 
trial  under  this  law.  The  prisoners  were  given  the  option  of  going  into 
exile  or  of  being  hanged.  Two  of  them  (Mary  Dyar  and  Nicholas  Davis) 
chose  banishment;  but  the  other  two  (Marmaduke  Stephenson  and  Wil¬ 
liam  Robinson)  stood  firm,  denounced  the  wickedness  of  the  court,  and 
were  sentenced  to  death.  Mary  Dyar,  in  whom  the  love  of  martyrdom 
had  triumphed  over  fear,  now  returned,  and  was  also  condemned.  On 
the  27th  of  October  the  three  were  led  forth  to  execution.  The  men 
were  hanged  without  mercy ;  and  the  woman,  after  the  rope  had  been 
adjusted  to  her  neck,  was  reprieved  only  to  be  banished.  She  was  con¬ 
veyed  beyond  the  limits  of  the  colony,  but  immediately  returned  and  was 
executed.  William  Leddra  was  next  seized,  tried  and  sentenced.  As  in 
the  case  of  the  others,  he  was  offered  perpetual  exile  instead  of  death. 
He  refused,  and  was  hanged. 

Before  the  trial  of  Leddra  was  concluded,  Wenlock  Christison, 
who  had  already  been  banished,  rushed  into  the  court-room  and  began  to 
upbraid  the  judges  for  shedding  the  blood  of  the  innocent.  When  put  on 
his  second  trial,  he  spoke  boldly  in  his  own  defence ;  but  the  jury  brought 
in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  and  he  was  condemned  to  die.  Others,  eager  for 
the  honor  of  martyrdom,  came  forward  in  crowds,  and  the  jails  were  filled 
with  voluntary  prisoners.  But  before  the  day  arrived  for  Christison’s  exe¬ 
cution,  the  public  conscience  was  aroused;  the  law  was  repealed,  the  prison- 
doors  were  opened,  and  Christison,  with  twenty-seven  companions,  came 
forth  free.  The  bloody  reign  of  proscription  had  ended,  but  not  until  four 
innocent  enthusiasts  had  given  their  lives  for  liberty  of  conscience. 

But  let  a  veil  be  drawn  over  this  sorrowful  event.  The  history  of 
all  times  is  full  of  scenes  of  violence  and  wrong.  It  could  not  be  ex¬ 
pected  that  an  American  colony,  founded  by  exiles,  pursued  with  malice 
and  beset  with  dangers,  should  be  wholly  exempt  from  the  shame  of  evil 
deeds.  The  Puritans  established  a  religious  rather  than  a  civil  common¬ 
wealth  ;  whatever  put  the  faith  of  the  people  in  peril  seemed  to  them 
more  to  be  dreaded  than  pestilence  or  death.  To  ward  off  heresy,  even 
by  destroying  the  heretic,  seemed  only  a  natural  self-defence.  A  nobler 
lesson  lias  been  learned  in  the  light  of  better  times. 

The  English  Revolution  had  now  run  its  course.  Cromwell  was 
dead.  The  Commonwealth  tottered  and  fell.  Charles  II.  was  restored  to 
the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  Tidings  of  the  Restoration  reached  Boston 
on  the  27th  of  July,  1660.  In  the  same  vessel  that  bore  the  news  came 
Edward  Whalley  and  William  Goffe,  two  of  the  judges  who  had  passed 
sentence  of  death  on  Charles  I.  It  was  now  their  turn  to  save  their  lives 
by  flight.  Governor  Endicott  received  them  with  courtesy ;  the  agents 


138 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES . 


from  the  British  government  came  in  hot  pursuit  with  orders  to  arrest 
them.  For  a  while  the  fugitives,  aided  by  the  people  of  Boston,  baffled 
the  officers,  and  then  escaped  to  New  Haven.  Here  for  many  weeks 
they  lay  in  concealment ;  not  even  the  Indians  would  accept  the  reward 
which  was  offered  for  their  apprehension.  At  last  the  exiles  reached  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut  and  found  refuge  at  the  village  of  Hadley, 
where  they  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  It  was  in  October  of  this 
same  fatal  year  that  Hugh  Peters,  the  old  friend  of  the  colony,  the  father- 
in-law  of  the  younger  Winthrop,  was  hanged  at  London.  The  noble  Sir 
Henry  Vane  was  hunted  down  in  Holland,  surrendered  to  the  English 
government,  condemned  and  beheaded. 

Owing  to  the  partiality  of  Cromwell,  the  restrictions  on  colonial 
commerce  which  bore  so  heavily  on  ATirginia  were  scarcely  felt  by  Massa¬ 
chusetts.  On  the  restoration  of  monarchy  a  severer  policy  was  at  once 
adopted.  All  vessels  not  bearing  the  English  flag  were  forbidden  to 
enter  the  harbors  of  New  England.  A  law  of  exportation  was  enacted 
by  which  all  articles  produced  in  the  colonies  and  demanded  in  England 
should  be  shipped  to  England  only.  Such  articles  of  American  produc¬ 
tion  as  the  English  merchants  did  not  desire  might  be  sold  in  any  of  the 
ports  of  Europe.  The  law  of  importation  was  equally  odious;  such 
articles  as  were  produced  in  England  should  not  be  manufactured  in 
America,  and  should  be  bought  from  England  only.  Free  trade  between 
the  colonies  was  forbidden ;  and  a  duty  of  five  per  cent.,  levied  for  the 
benefit  of  the  English  king,  was  put  on  both  exports  and  imports. 
Human  ingenuity  could  hardly  have  invented  a  set  of  measures  better 
calculated  to  produce  an  American  Revolution. 

In  1664,  war  broke  out  between  England  and  Holland.  It  became 
a  part  of  the  English  military  plans  to  reduce  the  Dutch  settlements  on 
the  Hudson ;  and  for  this  purpose  a  fleet  was  sent  to  America.  But  there 
was  another  purpose  also.  Charles  II.  was  anxious  to  obtain  control  of 
the  New  England  colonies,  that  he  might  govern  them  according  to  the 
principles  of  arbitrary  power.  The  chief  obstacle  to  this  undertaking 
was  the  charter  of  Massachusetts — an  instrument  given  under  the  great 
seal  of  England,  and  not  easily  revoked.  To  accomplish  the  same  end  by 
other  means  was  now  the  object  of  the  king ;  and  with  this  end  in  view 
four  commissioners  were  appointed  with  instructions  to  go  to  America,  to 
sit  in  judgment  upon  all  matters  of  complaint  that  might  arise  in  New 
England,  to  settle  colonial  disputes,  and  to  take  such  other  measures  as 
might  seem  most  likely  to  establish  peace  and  good  order  in  the  country. 
The  royal  commissioners  embarked  in  thf*  British  fleet,  and  in  July  ar 
rived  at  Boston. 


MASSACHUSETTS.— KING  PHILIP'S  WAR. 


139 


They  were  not  wanted  at  Boston.  The  people  of  Massachusetts 
knew  very  well  that  the  establishment  of  this  supreme  judgeship  in  their 
midst  was  a  flagrant  violation  of  their  chartered  right  of  self-government. 
Before  the  commissioners  landed  the  patent  was  put  into  the  hands  of  a 
committee  for  safe  keeping.  A  decree  of  the  general  court  forbade  the 
citizens  to  answer  any  summons  issued  by  the  royal  judges.  A  powerful 
letter,  full  of  loyalty  and  manly  prc  tests,  was  sent  directly  to  the  king. 
The  commissioners  became  disgusted  with  the  treatment  which  they  re¬ 
ceived  at  the  hands  of  the  refractory  colony,  and  repaired  to  Maine  and 
"New  Hampshire.  Here  they  were  met  with  some  marks  of  favor;  but 
their  official  acts  were  disregarded  and  soon  forgotten.  In  Bhode  Island 
the  judges  were  received  with  great  respect,  and  their  decisions  accepted 
as  the  decisions  of  the  king.  The  towns  of  Connecticut  were  next 
visited ;  but  the  people  were  cold  and  indifferent,  and  the  commissioners 
retired.  Meanwhile,  the  English  monarch,  learning  how  his  grand  judges 
had  been  treated,  sent  a  message  of  recall,  and  before  the  end  of  the  year 
they  gladly  left  the  country.  After  a  gallant  fight,  Massachusetts  had 
preserved  her  liberties.  Left  in  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  her  civil 
rights,  she  entered  upon  a  new  career  of  prosperity  which,  for  a  period 
of  ten  years,  was  marked  with  no  calamity. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— KING  PHILIP'S  WAR. 

MASSASOIT,  the  old  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags,  died  in  1662.  Foj 
forty-one  years  he  had  faithfully  kept  the  treaty  made  by  himself 
with  the  first  settlers  at  Plymouth.  His  elder  son,  Alexander,  now  be¬ 
came  chief  of  the  nation,  but  died  within  the  year ;  and  the  chieftainship 
descended  to  the  younger  brother,  Philip  or  Mount  Hope.  It  was 
the  fate  of  this  brave  and  able  man  to  lead  his  people  in  a  final  and  hope¬ 
less  struggle  against  the  supremacy  of  the  whites.  Causes  of  war  had 
existed  for  many  years,  and  the  time  had  come  for  the  conflict. 

The  unwary  natives  of  New  England  had  sold  their  lands.  The 
English  were  the  purchasers ;  the  chiefs  had  signed  the  deeds ;  the  price 
had  been  fairly  paid.  Year  by  year  the  territory  of  the  tribes  had  nar¬ 
rowed  ;  the  old  men  died,  but  the  deeds  remained  and  the  lands  could 
not  be  recovered.  There  were  at  this  time  in  the  country  east  of  the 


140 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Hudson  not  more  than  twenty-five  thousand  Indians;  the  English  had 
increased  to  fully  twice  that  number.  A  new  generation  had  arisen  who 
could  not  understand  the  validity  of  the  old  titles.  The  young  warriors 
sighed  for  the  freedom  of  their  fathers’  hunting-grounds.  They  looked 
with  ever-increasing  jealousy  on  the  growth  of  English  villages  and  the 
spread  of  English  farms.  The  ring  of  the  foreigner’s  axe  had  scared  the 
game  out  of  the  forest,  and  the  foreigner’s  net  had  scooped  the  fishes  from 
the  red  man’s  river.  Of  all  their  ancient  domain,  the  Wampanoags  had 
nothing  left  but  the  two  narrow  peninsulas  of  Bristol  and  Tiverton,  on 
the  eastern  coast  of  Narragansett  Bay. 

There  were  personal  grievances  also.  While  Alexander  lived  he 
had  been  arrested,  tried  by  an  English  jury  and  imprisoned.  He  had 
caught  his  death-fever  in  a  Boston  jail.  Another  chieftain  was  appre¬ 
hended  in  a  similar  way ;  and  then  the  Indian  witness  who  appeared  at 
the  trial  was  murdered  for  giving  testimony.  The  perpetrators  of  this 
crime  were  seized  by  the  English,  convicted  and  hanged.  Perhaps  King 
Philip,  if  left  to  himself,  would  have  still  sought  peact  He  was  not  a 
rash  man,  and  clearly  foresaw  the  inevitable  issue  of  the  struggle.  He 
hesitated,  and  was  affected  with  great  grief  when  the  news  came  that  an 
Englishman  had  been  killed.  But  the  young  men  of  the  tribe  were 
thirsting  for  bloody  revenge,  and  could  no  longer  be  restrained.  The 
women  and  children  were  hastily  sent  across  the  bay  and  put  under  the 

protection  of  Canonchet,  king  of  the 
Narragansetts.  On  the  24th  of  J une, 
1675,  the  village  of  Swanzey  was 
attacked ;  eight  Englishmen  were 

Within  a  week  the  militia  of 
Plymouth,  joined  by  volunteer  com¬ 
panies  from  Boston,  entered  the 
enemy’s  country.  A  few  Indians 
were  overtaken  and  killed.  The 
troops  marched  into  the  peninsula 
of  Bristol,  reached  Mount  Hope, 
and  compelled  Philip  to  fly  for  his 
life.  With  a  band  of  fugitives 
numbering  five  or  six  hundred,  he 
escaped  to  Tiverton,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  bay.  Here,  a  few  days 
afterward,  they  were  attacked ;  but  lying  concealed  in  a  swamp,  they  beat 
back  their  assailants  with  considerable  loss.  The  place  was  then  sur- 


killed ;  and  the  alarm  of  war  sound¬ 
ed  through  the  colonies. 


FIRST  SCENE  OF  KING  PHILIP'S  WAR. 


MASSACHUSETTS.— KING  PHILIP'S  WAR. 


141 


rounded  and  besieged  for  two  weeks;  but  Philip  and  his  men,  whea 
brought  to  the  point  of  starvation,  managed  to  escape  in  the  night,  crossed 
the  bay  and  fled  to  the  country  of  the  Nipmucks,  in  Central  Massa¬ 
chusetts.  Here  the  king  and  his  warriors  became  the  heralds  of  a  general 
war.  The  slumbering  hatred  of  the  savages  was  easily  kindled  into  opefc 
hostility.  For  a  whole  year  the  scattered  settlements  of  the  frontier  be¬ 
came  a  scene  of  burning,  massacre  and  desolation. 

After  Philip’s  flight  from  Tiverton,  the  English  forces  marched 
into  the  country  of  the  Narragansetts.  Here  the  women  and  children  of 
the  Wampanoags  had  been  received  and  sheltered.  The  wavering  Canon- 
chet  was  given  his  choice  of  peace  or  war.  He  cowered  before  the  Eng¬ 
lish  muskets  and  signed  a  treaty,  agreeing  that  his  nation  should  observe 
neutrality  and  deliver  up  all  fugitives  from  the  hostile  tribe.  Still,  it 
was  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  Narragansetts  would  break  their 
covenant  and  espouse  the  cause  of  Philip. 

The  war  was  now  transferred  to  the  Connecticut  valley.  It  had 
been  hoped  that  the  Nipmucks  would  remain  loyal  to  the  English ;  but 
the  influence  of  the  exiled  chieftain  prevailed  with  them  to  take  up  arms. 
As  usual  with  savages,  treachery  was  added  to  hos¬ 
tility.  Captains  Wheeler  and  Hutchinson,  with  a 
company  of  twenty  men,  were  sent  to  Brookfield  to 
hold  a  conference  with  ambassadors  from  the  Nip- 
muck  nation.  Instead  of  preparing  for  the  council, 
the  Indians  laid  an  ambush  near  the  village,  and 
when  the  English  were  well  surrounded,  fired  upon 
them,  killing  nearly  the  whole  company.  A  few 
survivors,  escaping  to  the  settlement,  gave  the  alarm, 
and  the  people  fled  to  their  block-house  just  in 
time  to  save  their  lives. 

For  two  days  the  place  was  assailed  with  every 
missile  that  savage  ingenuity  could  invent.  Finally, 
the  house  was  fired  with  burning  arrows,  and  the 
destruction  of  all  seemed  certain;  but  just  as  the  roof 
began  to  blaze,  the  friendly  clouds  poured  down  a  shower  of  rain,  and 
the  flames  were  extinguished.  Then  came  reinforcements  from  Spring- 
field,  and  the  Indians  fled.  The  people  of  Brookfield  now  abandoned 
their  homes  and  sought  refuge  in  the  towns  along  the  river.  On  the 
26th  of  August,  a  battle  was  fought  in  the  outskirts  of  Deerfield.  The 
whites  were  successful ;  but  a  few  days  afterward  the  savages  succeeded 
in  firing  the  village,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  was  burned  to  the  ground. 
A  storehouse  containing  the  recently-gathered  harvests  was  saved,  and 


142 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Captain  Lathrop,  with  a  company  of  eighty  picked  men,  undertook  the 
dangerous  task  of  removing  the  stores  to  Hadley.  A  train  of  wagons, 
loaded  with  wheat  and  corn  and  guarded  by  the  soldiers,  left  Deerfield  on 
the  18th  of  September,  and  had  proceeded  five  miles,  when  they  were 
suddenly  surrounded  by  eight  hundred  Indians  who  lay  in  ambush  at 
the  ford  of  a  small  creek.  The  whites  fought  desperately,  and  were 
killed  almost  to  a  man.  Meanwhile,  Captain  Mosely,  at  the  head  of 
seventy  militia,  arrived,  and  the  battle  continued,  the  English  retreating 
until  they  were  reinforced  by  a  band  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  English  and 
Mohegans.  The  savages  were  then  beaten  back  with  heavy  losses.  The 
little  stream  where  this  fatal  engagement  occurred,  was  henceforth  called 
Bloody  Brook. 

On  the  same  day  of  the  burning  of  Deerfield,  Hadley  was  attacked 
while  the  people  were  at  church.  Everything  was  in  confusion,  and  the 
barbarians  had  already  begun  their  work  of  butchery,  when  the  gray¬ 
haired  General  GofFe,  who  was  concealed  in  the  village,  rushed  forth  from 
his  covert,  and  by  rallying  and  directing  the  flying  people  saved  them 
from  destruction.  After  the  Indians  hail  been  driven  into  the  woods,  the 
aged  veteran  went  back  to  his  hiding-place,  and  was  seen  no  more.  Late 
in  the  autumn,  a  battle  was  fought  at  Springfield ;  the  town  was  assaulted 
and  most  of  the  dwellings  burned.  Another  attack  was  made  on  Hadley, 
and  a  large  part  of  the  village  was  left  in  ashes.  Hatfield  was  the  next 
object  of  savage  vengeance ;  but  here  the  English  were  found  prepared, 
and  the  Indians  were  repulsed  with  heavy  losses.  The  farms  and  the 
weaker  settlements  were  now  abandoned,  and  the  people  sought  shelter  in 
the  stronger  towns  near  the  river. 

Philip,  finding  that  he  could  do  no  further  harm  on  the  northern 
frontier,  gathered  his  warriors  together  and  repaired  to  the  Narragansetts. 
By  receiving  them,  Canonchet  openly  violated  his  treaty  with  the  Eng¬ 
lish,  but  to  refuse  them  was  contrary  to  the  savage  virtues  of  his  race. 
To  share  the  dubious  fate  of  Philip  was  preferred  to  the  longer  con¬ 
tinuance  of  a  hateful  alliance  with  foreigners.  The  authorities  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  immediately  declared  war  against  the  Narragansett  nation,  and 
Rhode  Island  was  invaded  by  a  thousand  men  under  command  of  Colonel 
Josiah  Winslow.  It  was  the  determination  to  crush  the  Wampanoags 
and  the  Narragansetts  at  one  blow;  the  manner  of* defence  adopted  by 
the  savages  favored  such  an  undertaking.  In  the  middle  of  an  immense 
cedar  swamp,  a  short  distance  south-west  of  Kingston,  in  the  county  of 
Washington,  the  Indians  collected  to  the  number  of  three  thousand. 
Into  this  place  was  gathered  the  whole  wealth  of  the  Narragansett  nation. 
A  village  of  wigwams  extended  over  several  acres  of  land  that  rose  out 


MASSACHUSETTS.— KING  PHILIP'S  WAR. 


143 


of  the  surrounding  morasses.  A  fort  was  built  on  the  island,  and  fortified 
with  a  palisade  and  a  breastwork  of  felled  timber.  Here  the  savages  be¬ 
lieved  themselves  secure  from  assault.  The  English  regiment  arrived  at 
the  swamp  at  daybreak  on  the  19th  of  December,  and  struggling  through 
the  bogs,  reached  the  fort  at  noonday.  The  attack  was  made  imme¬ 
diately.  The  only  entrance  to  the  camp  was  by  means  of  a  fallen  tree 
that  lay  from  an  opening  in  the  palisade  to  the  opposite  bank  of  a  pond. 
Over  this  hazardous  passage  a  brave 
few  sprang  forward,  but  were  in¬ 
stantly  swept  off  by  the  fire  of  the 
Indians.  Another  company,  made 
cautious  by  the  fate  of  their  com¬ 
rades,  crept  around  the  defences,  un¬ 
til,  finding  a  point  unguarded,  they 
charged  straight  into  the  enclosure. 

The  work  of  death  and  destruction 


now  began  in  earnest.  The  wigwams  third  scene  of  king  philip’s  war. 


were  set  on  fire,  and  the  kindling 

flames  swept  around  the  village.  The  yells  of  the  combatants  mingled 
with  the  roar  of  the  conflagration.  But  the  superior  discipline  and 
valor  of  the  whites  soon  decided  the  battle.  The  Indians,  attempting 
to  escape  from  the  burning  fort,  ran  everywhere  upon  the  loaded  muskets 
of  the  English.  A  thousand  warriors  were  killed  and  hundreds  more 
were  captured.  Nearly  all  the  wounded  perished  in  the  flames.  There, 
too,  the  old  men,  the  women  and  babes  of  the  nation  met  the  horrors 
of  death  by  fire.  The  pride  of  the  Narragansetts  had  perished  in  a  day. 
But  the  victory  was  dearly  purchased ;  eighty  English  soldiers,  including 
six  captains  of  the  regiment,  were  killed,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  others 
were  wounded. 

A  few  of  the  savages,  breaking  through  the  English  lines,  escaped. 
Led  by  Philip,  they  again  repaired  to  the  Nipmucks,  and  with  the  open¬ 
ing  of  spring  the  war  was  renewed  with  more  violence  than  ever.  As 
their  fortunes  declined  the  Indians  grew  desperate;  they  had  nothing 
more  to  lose.  Around  three  hundred  miles  of  frontier,  extending  from 
Maine  to  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut,  there  was  massacre  and  devasta¬ 
tion.  Lancaster,  Medfield,  Groton  and  Marlborough  were  laid  in  ashes. 
Weymouth,  within  twenty  miles  of  Boston,  met  the  same  fate.  Every¬ 
where  were  seen  the  traces  of  rapine  and  murder. 

But  the  end  was  near  at  hand.  The  resources  of  the  savages  were 
wasted,  and  their  numbers  grew  daily  less.  In  April,  Canonchet  was 
overtaken  and  captured  on  the  banks  of  the  Blackstone.  He  was  offered 
11 


144 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


his  life  if  he  would  procure  a  treaty  of  peace ;  but  the  haughty  chieftain 
rejected  the  proposal  with  disdain,  and  was  put  to  death.  Philip  was  still 
at  large,  but  his  company  had  dwindled  to  a  handful.  In  the  early  sum¬ 
mer,  his  wife  and  son  were  made  prisoners ;  the  latter  was  sold  as  a  slave, 
and  ended  his  life  under  the  lash  of  a  taskmaster  in  the  Bermudas.  The 
savage  monarch  was  heartbroken  now,  and  cared  no  longer  for  his  life. 
Repairing  secretly  to  his  old  home  at  Mount  Hope,  his  place  of  conceal¬ 
ment  was  revealed  to  the  whites.  A  company  of  soldiers  was  sent  to  sur¬ 
round  him.  A  treacherous  Indian  guided  the  party  to  the  spot,  and  then 
himself,  stealing  nearer,  took  a  deadly  aim  at  the  breast  of  his  chieftain. 
The  report  of  a  musket  rang  through  the  forest,  and  the  painted  king 
of  the  Wampanoags  sprang  forward  and  fell  dead. 

New  England  suffered  terribly  in  this  war.  The  expenses  and 
losses  of  the  war  amounted  to  fully  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Thirteen  towns  and  six  hundred  dwellings  lay  smouldering  in  ashes. 
Almost  every  family  had  heard  the  war-whoop  of  the  savages.  Six 
hundred  men,  the  flower  and  pride  of  the  country,  had  fallen  in  the  field. 
Hundreds  of  families  had  been  butchered  in  cold  blood.  Gray-haired 
sire,  mother  and  babe  had  sunk  together  under  the  vengeful  blow  of  the 
red  man’s  gory  tomahawk.  Now  there  was  peace  again.  The  Indian 
race  was  swept  out  of  New  England.  The  tribes  beyond  the  Connecticut 
came  humbly  submissive,  and  pleaded  for  their  lives.  The  colonists  re¬ 
turned  to  their  desolated  farms  and  villages  to  build  new  homes  in  the 
ashes  of  old  ruins. 

The  echo  of  King  Philip’s  war  had  hardly  died  away  before  the 
country  was  involved  in  troubles  of  a  different  sort.  It  had  been  ex¬ 
pected  that  the  English  government  would  do  something  to  repair  the 
heavy  losses  which  the  colonists  had  sustained ;  but  not  so.  Instead  of 
help  came  Edward  Randolph,  a  royal  emissary,  with  authority  to  collect 
duties  and  abridge  colonial  liberties.  Governor  Leverett  received  him 
coldly,  and  told  him  in  plain  words  that  not  even  the  king  could  right¬ 
fully  restrict  the  freedom  of  his  American  subjects;  that  the  people  of  the 
colonies  had  finished  the  Indian  war  without  a  cent  of  expease  to  the 
English  treasury,  and  that  they  were  now  fairly  entitled  to  the  enjoyment 
of  their  chartered  rights.  After  a  six  weeks’  sojourn  at  Boston,  Randolph 
sailed  back  to  London,  bearing  to  the  ministry  an  exaggerated  account 
of  colonial  arrogance.  The  king  was  already  scheming  to  revoke  all  the 
New  England  charters ;  Randolph’s  reception  furnished  a  further  pretext 
for  such  a  course  of  action. 

The  next  trouble  was  concerning  the  jurisdiction  of  Maine.  Sir 
Ferdinand  Gorges,  the  old  proprietor  of  that  province,  was  now  dead ; 


DEATH  OF  KING  PHILIP, 


MASSACHUSETTS.— KING  PHILIP'S  WAR. 


145 


but  his  heirs  had  never  relinquished  their  claims  to  the  territory.  The 
people  of  Maine  had  meanwhile  put  themselves  under  the  authority  of 
Massachusetts ;  but  the  representatives  of  Gorges  carried  the  matter  before 
the  privy  council,  and  in  1677  a  decision  was  rendered  in  their  favor. 
Thereupon  the  Boston  government  made  a  proposition  to  the  Gorges 
family  to  purchase  their  claims ;  the  proposition  was  accepted,  and  on  the 
6th  of  May  the  heirs  signed  a  deed  by  which,  in  consideration  of  twelve 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  sterling,  the  soil  and  jurisdiction  of  the  province 
were  transferred  to  Massachusetts. 

A  similar  difficulty  arose  in  regard  to  New  Hampshire.  As  far 
back  as  1622  the  Plymouth  council  had  granted  this  territory  to  two  of 
their  own  number — Gorges,  just  mentioned,  and  Captain  John  Mason. 
Seven  years  after  the  grant  was  made,  Gorges  surrendered  his  claim  to 
Mason,  who  thus  became  sole  proprietor.  But  this  territory  was  also 
■covered  by  the  charter  of  Massachusetts.  Mason  died;  and  now,  in  1679, 
his  son  Robert  came  forward  and  claimed  the  province.  This  cause  was 
.also  taken  before  the  ministers,  who  decided  that  the  title  of  the  younger 
Mason  was  valid.  To  the  great  disappointment  of  the  people  of  both 
provinces,  the  two  governments  were  arbitrarily  separated.  The  king’s 
policy  was  now  made  manifest.  A  royal  government,  the  first  in  New 
England,  was  immediately  established  over  New  Hampshire;  Mason 
nominated  Edward  Cranfield  as  governor,  the  king  confirmed  the  ap¬ 
pointment,  and  received  in  return  one-fifth  of  all  the  rents. 

But  the  people  took  care  that  the  rents  should  not  amount  to  much. 
They  refused  to  recognize  Cranfield’s  commission,  and  thwarted  his  plans 
in  every  way  possible.  Being  in  despair,  he  wrote  to.  the  English  govern¬ 
ment  that  he  would  esteem  it  the  greatest  happiness  to  return  home  and 
leave  the  unreasonable  people  of  New  Hampshire  to  themselves.  The 
king  attributed  all  this  trouble  to  the  influence  of  Massachusetts.  He 
could  not  forget  how  that  commonwealth  had  treated  his  custom-house 
officer  Randolph.  The  hostility'  of  the  English  government  to  the  exist¬ 
ing  order  of  things  in  New  England  became  more  bitter  than  ever.  To 
carry  out  his  plan  of  subverting  the  colonial  governments,  the  king 
directed  his  judges  to  make  an  inquiry  as  to  whether  Massachusetts  had 
not  forfeited  her  charter.  The  proceedings  were  protracted  until  the 
summer  of  1684,  when  the  royal  court  gave  a  decision  in  accordance  with 
the  monarch’s  wishes.  The  patent  was  forfeited,  said  the  judges ;  and 
the  English  crown  might  justly  assume  entire  control  of  the  colony.  The 
plan  of  the  king  was  thus  on  the  point  of  realization,  but  the  shadow  of 
death  was  already  at  his  door.  On  the  6th  of  February,  1685,  his  evil 
reign  of  twenty-five  years  ended  with  his  life. 


146 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  new  sovereign,  James  II.,  immediately  adopted  his  brother’s 
colonial  policy.  In  the  next  year  after  his  accession,  the  scheme  so  long 
entertained  was  successfully  carried  out.  The  charter  of  Massachusetts 
was  formally  revoked ;  all  the  colonies  between  Nova  Scotia  and  Narra- 
gansett  Bay  were  consolidated,  and  Joseph  Dudley  appointed  president. 
New  England  was  not  prepared  for  open  resistance;  the  colonial  assembly 
was  dissolved  by  its  own  act,  and  the  members  returned  sullenly  to  their 
homes.  In  the  winter  following,  Dudley  was  superseded  by  Sir  Edmund 
Andros,  who  had  been  appointed  royal  governor  of  all  New  England. 
His  commission  ought  to  have  been  entitled  An  Aeticle  foe  the 
Desteuction  of  Colonial  Libeety.  If  James  II.  had  searched  his 
kingdom,  he  could  hardly  have  found  a  tool  better  fitted  to  do  his  will. 
The  scarlet-coated  despot  landed  at  Boston  on  the  20th  of  December,  and 
at  once  began  the  work  of  demolishing  the  cherished  institutions  of  the 
people.  Randolph  was  made  chief  secretary  and  censor  of  the  press; 
nothing  might  be  printed  without  his  sanction.  Popular  representation 
was  abolished.  Voting  by  ballot  was  prohibited.  Town  meetings  were 
forbidden.  The  Church  of  England  was  openly  encouraged.  The  public 
schools  were  allowed  to  go  to  ruin.  Men  were  arrested  without  warrant 
of  law ;  and  when  as  prisoners  they  arose  in  court  to  plead  the  privileges 
of  the  great  English  charter  which  had  stood  unquestioned  for  four  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  years,  they  were  told  that  the  Great  Charter  was  not  made 
for  the  perverse  people  of  America.  Dudley,  who  had  been  continued  in 
office  as  chief-justice,  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  to  his  packed  juries,  at 
the  close  of  each  trial :  “  Now,  worthy  gentlemen,  we  expect  a  good  verc 
diet  from  you  to-day ;”  and  the  verdicts  were  rendered  accordingly. 

Thus  did  Massachusetts  lose  her  liberty;  and  Plymouth  fared  no 
better.  If  the  stronger  colony  fell  prostrate,  what  could  the  weaker  do  ? 
The  despotism  of  Andros  was  quickly  extended  from  Cape  Cod  Bay  to 
the  Piscataqua.  New  Hampshire  was  next  invaded  and  her  civil  rights 
completely  overthrown.  Rhode  Island  suffered  the  same  calamity.  In 
May  of  1686  her  charter  was  taken  away  with  a  writ,  and  her  constitu¬ 
tional  rights  subverted.  Some  of  the  colonists  brought  forward  Indian 
deeds  for  their  lands ;  the  royal  judges  replied,  with  a  sneer,  that  the  sig¬ 
nature  of  Massasoit  was  not  worth  as  much  as  the  scratch  of  a  bear’s  paw. 
The  seal  of  Rhode  Island  was  broken,  and  an  irresponsible  council  ap¬ 
pointed  to  conduct  the  government.  Attended  by  an  armed  guard,  Andros 
proceeded  to  Connecticut.  Arriving  at  Hartford  in  October  of  1687,  he 
found  the  assembly  of  the  province  in  session,  and  demanded  the  surren¬ 
der  of  the  colonial  charter.  The  instrument  was  brought  in  and  laid  upon 
the  table.  A  spirited  debate  ensued,  and  continued  until  evening.  When 


MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 


147 


it  was  about  to  be  decided  that  the  charter  should  be  given  up,  the  lamps 
were  suddenly  dashed  out.  Other  lights  were  brought  in ;  but  the  char¬ 
ter  had  disappeared.  Joseph  Wadsworth,  snatching  up  the  precious 
parchment,  bore  it  off  through  the  darkness  and  concealed  it  in  a  hollow 
tree,  ever  afterward  remembered  with  affection  as  The  Charter  Oak. 
But  the  assembly  was  overawed  and  the  free  government  of  Connecticut 
subverted.  Thus  was  the  authority  of  Andros  established  throughout 
the  country.  The  people  gave  vent  to  their  feelings  by  calling  him  The 
Tyrant  of  New  England. 

But  his  dominion  ended  suddenly.  The  English  Revolution  of 
1688  was  at  hand.  James  II.  was  driven  from  his  throne  and  kingdom. 
The  entire  system  of  arbitrary  rule  which  that  monarch  had  established 
fell  with  a  crash,  and  Andros  with  the  rest.  The  news  of  the  revolution 
and  of  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary  reached  Boston  on  the  4th  of 
April,  1689.  A  few  days  afterward,  the  governor  had  occasion  to  write 
a  note  to  his  colonel  of  militia,  telling  him  to  keep  the  soldiers  under 
arms,  as  there  was  “a  general  buzzing  among  the  people.”  On  the  18th 
of  the  month,  the  citizens  of  Charlestown  and  Boston  rose  in  open  rebel¬ 
lion.  Andros  and  his  minions,  attempting  to  escape,  were  seized  and 
marched  to  prison.  The  insurrection  spread  through  the  country;  and 
before  the  10th  of  May  every  colony  in  New  England  had  restored  its 
former  liberties. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 

IN  1689,  war  was  declared  between  France  and  England.  This  con¬ 
flict,  known  in  American  history  as  King  William’s  War,  grew 
out  of  the  English  Revolution  of  the  preceding  year.  When  James  II. 
escaped  from  his  kingdom,  he  found  refuge  at  the  court  of  Louis  XIV. 
of  France.  The  two  monarchs  were  both  Catholics,  and  both  held  the 
same  despotic  theory  of  government.  On  this  account,  and  from  other 
considerations,  an  alliance  was  made  between  them,  by  the  terms  of  which 
Louis  agreed  to  support  James  in  his  effort  to  recover  the  English  throne. 
Parliament,  meanwhile,  had  settled  the  crown  on  William  of  Orange. 
By  these  means  the  new  sovereign  was  brought  into  conflict  not  only 
with  the  exiled  James,  but  also  with  his  confederate,  the  king  of  France 


148 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  war  which  thus  originated  in  Europe  soon  extended  to  the  American 
colonies  of  the  two  nations ;  New  England  and  New  France  entered  the 
conflict  under  the  flags  of  their  respective  countries. 

The  struggle  began  on  the  north-eastern  frontier  of  New  Hamp¬ 
shire.  On  the  27th  of  June,  a  party  of  Indians  in  alliance  with  the 
French  made  an  attack  on  Dover.  The  venerable  magistrate  of  the 
town,  Richard  Waldron,  now  eighty  years  of  age,  was  inhumanly  mur¬ 
dered.  Twenty-three  others  were  killed,  and  twenty-nine  dragged  off 
captive  into  the  wilderness. 

In  August  a  war-party  of  a  hundred  Abenakis  embarked  in  a  fleet 
of  canoes,  floated  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot,  and  steered  down 
the  coast  to  Pemaquid,  now  Bremen.  The  inhabitants  were  taken  by 
surprise ;  a  company  of  farmers  were  surrounded  in  the  harvest-field  and 
murdered.  The  fort  was  besieged  for  two  days  and  compelled  to  sur¬ 
render.  A  few  of  the  people  escaped  into  the  woods,  but  the  greater 
number  were  killed  or  carried  away  captive.  A  month  later  an  alliance 
was  effected  between  the  English  and  the  ^powerful  Mohawks  west  of  the 
Hudson ;  but  the  Indians  refused  to  make  war  upon  their  countrymen  of 
Maine.  The  Dutch  settlements  of  New  Netherland,  having  now  passed 
under  the  dominion  of  England,  made  common  cause  against  the  French. 

In  January  of  1690  a  regiment  of  French  and  Indians  left  Montreal 
and  directed  their  march  to  the  south.  Crossing  the  Mohawk  River,  they 
arrived  on  the  8th  of  February  at  the  village  of  Schenectady.  Lying 
concealed  in  the  forest  until  midnight,  they  stole  through  the  unguarded 
gates,  raised  the  war-whoop  and  began  the  work  of  death.  The  town  was 
soon  in  flames.  Sixty  people  were  killed  and  scalped ;  the  rest,  escaping 
half  clad  into  the  darkness,  ran  sixteen  miles  through  the  snow  to  Albany. 
The  settlement  of  Salmon  Falls,  on  the  Piscataqua,  was  next  attacked  and 
destroyed  by  a  war-party  led  by  the  Frenchman  Hertel.  Joining  another 
company  from  Quebec,  under  command  of  Portneuf,  the  savages  pro¬ 
ceeded  against  the  colony  at  Casco  Bay.  The  English  fort  at  that  place 
was  taken  and  the  settlements  broken  up.  Thus  far  the  fortunes  of  the 
war  had  been  wholly  on  the  side  of  the  French  and  their  allies. 

But  New  England  was  now  thoroughly  aroused.  In  order  to  pro¬ 
vide  the  ways  and  means  of  war,  a  colonial  congress  was  convened  at  New 
York.  Here  it  was  resolved  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  march¬ 
ing  an  army  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain  against  Montreal.  At  the  same 
time,  Massachusetts  was  to  co-operate  with  the  land  forces  by  sending  a 
fleet  by  way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  for  the  reduction  of  Quebec.  ’  Thirty- 
four  vessels,  carrying  two  thousand  troops,  were  accordingly  fitted  out,  and 
the  command  given  to  Sir  William  Phipps.  Proceeding  first  against  Port 


MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 


149 


Royal,  he  compelled  a  surrender;  the  whole  of  Nova  Scotia  submitted 
without  a  struggle.  If  the  commander  had  sailed  at  once  against  Quebec, 
that  place  too  Avould  have  been  forced  to  capitulate ;  but  vexatious  delays 
retarded  the  expedition  until  the  middle  of  October.  Meanwhile,  an 
Abenaki  Indian  had  carried  the  news  of  the  coming  armament  to  Fronte- 
nac,  governor  of  Canada ;  and  when  the  fleet  came  in  sight  of  the  town, 
the  castle  of  St.  Louis  was  so  well  garrisoned  and  provisioned  as  to  bid 
defiance  to  the  English  forces.  The  opportunity  was  lost,  and  it  only 
remained  for  Phipps  to  sail  back  to  Boston.  To  meet  the  expenses  of 
this  unfortunate  expedition,  Massachusetts  was  obliged  to  issue  bills  of 
credit  which  were  made  a  legal  tender  in  the  payment  of  debt.  Such 
was  the  origin  of  paper  money  in  America. 

Meanwhile,  the  land  forces  had  proceeded  from  Albany  as  far  as 
Lake  Champlain.  Here  dissensions  arose  among  the  commanders. 
Colonel  Leisler  of  New  York  charged  Winthrop  of  Connecticut  with 
treachery;  and  the  charge  was  returned  that  Leisler’s  commissary  had 
furnished  no  supplies  for  the  Connecticut  soldiers.  The  quarrel  became 
so  violent  that  the  expedition  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  troops 
marched  gloomily  homeward.  The  great  campaign  had  resulted  in  com¬ 
plete  humiliation. . 

Sir  William  Phipps  had  as  little  success  in  civil  matters  as  in  the 
command  of  a  fleet.  Shortly  after  his  return  from  Quebec  he  was  sent  as 
ambassador  to  England.  The  objects  of  his  mission  were,  in  the  first 
place,  to  procure  aid  from  the  English  government  in  the  further  prose¬ 
cution  of  the  Avar ;  and  secondly,  to  secure,  if  possible,  a  reissue  of  the  old 
colonial  charter.  To  the  first  of  these  requests  the  ministers  replied  that 
the  armies  and  navies  of  England  could  not  be  spared  to  take  part  in 
a  petty  Indian  Avar ;  and  the  second  Avas  met  with  coldness  and  refusal. 
King  William  Avas  secretly  opposed  to  the  liberal  provisions  of  the  former 
charter,  and  looked  Avith  disfavor  on  the  project  of  reneAving  it.  It  is 
eATen  doubtful  Avhether  Phipps  himself  desired  the  restoration  of  the  old 
patent;  for  Avhen  he  returned  to  Boston  in  the  spring  of  1692,  he  bore  a 
neAv  instrument  from  the  king,  and  a  commission  as  royal  governor  of  the 
province.  By  the  terms  of  this  new  constitution,  Plymouth,  Maine  and 
No\Ta  Scotia  Avere  consolidated  Avith  Massachusetts;  Avliile  New  Hamp¬ 
shire,  against  the  protests  and  petitions  of  her  people,  Avas  forcibly  sepa¬ 
rated  from  the  mother  colony. 

The  Avar  still  continued,  but  Avithout  decisi\re  results.  In  1694,  the 
village  of  Oyster  River,  iioav  Durham,  Avas  destroyed  by  a  band  of  savages 
led  by  the  French  captain  Villieu.  The  inhabitants,  to  the  number  of 
ninety-four,  were  either  killed  or  carried  into  captivity.  Tavo  years  later 


150 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  English  lortress  at  Pemaquid  was  a  second  time  surrendered  to  the 
French  and  Indians,  under  command  of  Baron  Castin.  The  captives 
were  sent  to  Boston  and  exchanged  for  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the 
English.  In  the  following  March,  the  town  of  Haverhill,  on  the  Merri- 
mac,  was  captured  under  circumstances  of  special  atrocity.  Nearly  forty 
persons  were  butchered  in  cold  blood ;  only  a  few  were  spared  for  cap¬ 
tivity.  Among  the  latter  was  Mrs.  Hannah  Dustin.  Her  child,  only 
a  week  old,  was  snatched  out  of  her  arms  and  dashed  against  a  tree.  The 
heartbroken  mother,  with  her  nurse  and  a  lad  named  Leonardson,  from 
Worcester,  was  taken  by  the  savages  to  an  island  in  the  Merrimac,  a  short 
distance  above  Concord.  Here,  while  their  captors,  twelve  in  number, 
were  asleep  at  night,  the  three  prisoners  arose,  silently  armed  themselves 
with  tomahawks,  and  with  one  deadly  blow  after  another  crushed  in  the 
temples  of  the  sleeping  savages,  until  ten  of  them  lay  still  in  death ; 
then,  embarking  in  a  canoe,  the  captives  dropped  down  the  river  and 
reached  the  English  settlement  in  safety.  Mrs.  Dustin  carried  home  with 
her  the  gun  and  tomahawk  of  the  savage  who  had  destroyed  her  family, 
and  a  bag  containing  the  scalps  of  her  neighbors.  It  is  not  often  that  the 
mother  of  a  murdered  babe  has  found  such  ample  vengeance. 

But  the  war  was  already  at  an  end.  Early  in  1697,  commissioners 
of  France  and  England  assembled  at  the  town  of  Ryswick,  in  Holland; 
And  on  the  10th  of  the  following  September,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  con¬ 
cluded.  King  William  was  acknowledged  as  the  rightful  sovereign  of 
England,  and  the  colonial  boundary-lines  of  the  two  nations  in  America 
were  established  as  before. 

Massachusetts  had  in  the  mean  time  been  visited  with  a  worse 
calamity  than  war.  The  darkest  page  in  the  history  of  New  England  is 
that  which  bears  the  record  of  the  Salem  Witchcraft.  The  same 
town  which  fifty-seven  years  previously  had  cast  out  Roger  Williams  was 
now  to  become  the  scene  of  the  most  fatal  delusion  of  modern  times.  In 
February  of  1692,  in  that  part  of  Salem  afterward  called  Danvers,  a 
daughter  and  a  niece  of  Samuel  Parris,  the  minister,  were  attacked  with 
a  nervous  disorder  which  rendered  them  partially  insane.  Parris  be¬ 
lieved,  or  affected  to  believe,  that  the  two  girls  were  bewitched,  and  that 
Tituba,  an  Indian  maid-servant  of  the  household,  was  the  author  of  the 
affliction.  He  had  seen  her  performing  some  of  the  rude  ceremonies  of 
her  own  religion,  and  this  gave  color  to  his  suspicions.  He  tied  Tituba, 
and  whipped  the  ignorant  creature  until,  at  his  own  dictation,  she  con¬ 
fessed  herself  a  witch.  Here,  no  doubt,  the  matter  would  have  ended 
had  not  other  causes  existed  for  the  continuance  and  spread  of  the  miser¬ 
able  delusion. 


MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 


151 


But  Parris  had  had  a  quarrel  in  his  church.  A  part  of  the  congre¬ 
gation  desired  that  George  Burroughs,  a  former  minister,  should  be  rein¬ 
stated,  to  the  exclusion  of  Parris.  Burroughs  still  lived  at  Salem ;  and 
there  was  great  animosity  between  the  partisans  of  the  former  and  the 
present  pastor.  Burroughs  disbelieved  in  witchcraft,  and  openly  ex¬ 
pressed  his  contempt  of  the  system.  Here,  then,  Parris  found  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  turn  the  confessions  of  the  foolish  Indian  servant  against  his 
enemies,  to  overwhelm  his  rival  with  the  superstitions  of  the  community, 
and  perhaps  to  have  him  put  to  death.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that 
the  whole  murderous  scheme  originated  in  the  personal  malice  of  Parris. 

But  there  were  others  ready  to  aid  him.  First  among  these  was 
the  celebrated  Cotton  Mather,  minister  of  Boston.  He,  being  in  high  re¬ 
pute  for  wisdom,  had  recently  preached  much  on  the  subject  of  witchcraft, 
teaching  the  people  that  witches  were  dangerous  and  ought  to  be  put  to 
death.  He  thus  became  the  natural  confederate  of  Parris,  and  the  chief 
author  of  the  terrible  scenes  that  ensued.  Sir  William  Phipps,  the  royal 
governor,  who  had  just  arrived  from  England,  was  a  member  of  Mather’s 
church.  Increase  Mather,  the  father  of  Cotton,  had  nominated  Phipps  to 
his  present  office.  Stoughton,  the  deputy-governor,  who  was  appointed 
judge  and  presided  at  the  trials  of  the  witches,  was  the  tool  of  Parris  and 
the  two  Mathers.  To  these  men,  more  especially  to  Parris  and  Mather, 
must  be  charged  the  full  infamy  of  what  followed. 

By  the  laws  of  England  witchcraft  was  punishable  with  death. 
The  code  of  Massachusetts  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  mother-country. 
In  the  early  history  of  the  colony,  one  person  charged  with  being  a 
wizard  had  been  arrested  at  Charlestown,  convicted  and  executed.  But 
with  the  progress  and  enlightenment  of  the  people,  many  had  grown  bold 
enough  to  denounce  and  despise  the  baleful  superstition.  Something, 
therefore,  had  to  be  done  to  save  the  tottering  fabric  of  witchcraft  from 
falling  into  contempt.  A  special  court  was  accordingly  appointed  by 
Governor  Phipps  to  go  to  Salem  and  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  persons 
accused  by  Parris.  Stoughton  was  the  presiding  judge,  Parris  himself 
the  prosecutor,  and  Cotton  Mather  a  kind  of  bishop  to  decide  when  the 
testimony  was  sufficient  to  condemn. 

On  the  21st  of  March,  the  horrible  proceedings  began.  Mary  Cory 
was  arrested,  not  indeed  for  being  a  witch,  but  for  denying  the  reality  of 
witchcraft.  When  brought  before  the  church  and  court,  she  denied  all 
guilt,  but  was  convicted  and  hurried  to  prison.  Sarah  Cloyce  and 
Rebecca  Nurse,  two  sisters  of  the  most  exemplary  lives,  were  next  appre¬ 
hended  as  witches.  The  only  witnesses  against  them  were  Tituba,  her  half¬ 
witted  Indian  husband  and  the  simple  girl  Abigail  Williams,  the  niece 


152 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  Parris.  The  victims  were  sent  to  prison,  protesting  their  innocence. 
Giles  Cory,  a  patriarch  of  eighty  years,  was  next  seized ;  he  also  was  one 
of  those  who  had  opposed  Parris.  The  Indian  accuser  fell  down  before 
Edward  Bishop  pretending  to  be  in  a  fit  under  satanic  influence;  the 
sturdy  farmer  cured  him  instantly  with  a  sound  flogging,  and  said  that 
he  could  restore  the  rest  of  the  afflicted  in  the  same  manner.  He  and  his 
wife  were  immediately  arrested  and  condemned.  George  Burroughs,  the 
rival  of  Parris,  was  accused  and  hurried  to  prison.  And  so  the  work 
went  on,  until  seventy-five  innocent  people  were  locked  up  in  dungeons. 
Not  a  solitary  partisan  of  Parris  or  Mather  had  been  arrested. 

In  the  hope  of  saving  their  lives,  some  of  the  terrified  prisoners 
now  began  to  confess  themselves  witches,  or  bewitched.  It  was  soon 
found  that  a  confession  was  almost  certain  to  procure  liberation.  It  be¬ 
came  evident  that  the  accused  were  to  be  put  to  death,  not  for  being 
witches  or  wizards,  but  for  denying  the  reality  of  witchcraft.  The  special 
court  was  already  in  session ;  convictions  followed  fast ;  the  gallows  stood 
waiting  for  its  victims.  The  truth  of  Mather’s  preaching  was  to  be  estab 
lished  by  hanging  whoever  denied  it ;  and  Parris  was  to  save  hi?  pastorate 
by  murdering  his  rival.  When  the  noble  Burroughs  mounted  the  scaffold, 
he  stood  composedly  and  repeated  correctly  the  test-prayer  which  it  was 
said  no  wizard  could  utter.  The  people  broke  into  sobs  and  moans,  and 
would  have  rescued  their  friend  from  death ;  but  the  tyrant  Mather  dashed 
among  them  on  horseback,  muttering  imprecations,  and  drove  the  hang¬ 
man  to  his  horrid  work.  Old  Giles  Cory,  seeing  that  conviction  was  cer¬ 
tain,  refused  to  plead,  and  was  pressed  to  death.  Five  women  were  hanged 
in  one  day.  Between  the  10th  of  June  and  the  2  2d  of  September,  twenty 
victims  were  hurried  to  their  doom.  Fifty-five  others  had  been  tortured 
into  the  confession  of  abominable  falsehoods.  A  hundred  and  fifty  lay  in 
prison  awaiting  their  fate.  Two  hundred  were  accused  or  suspected,  and 
ruin  seemed  to  impend  over  New  England.  But  a  reaction  at  last  set  in 
among  the  people.  Notwithstanding  the  vociferous  clamor  and  denuncia¬ 
tions  of  Mather,  the  witch  tribunals  were  overthrown.  The  representative 
assembly  convened  early  in  October,  and  the  hated  court  which  Phipps 
had  appointed  to  sit  at  Salem  was  at  once  dismissed.  The  spell  was  dis¬ 
solved.  The  thralldom  of  the  popular  mind  was  broken.  Reason  shook 
off  the  terror  that  had  oppressed  it.  The  prison  doors  were  opened,  and 
the  victims  of  malice  and  superstition  went  forth  free.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  next  year  a  few  persons  charged  with  witchcraft  were  again 
arraigned  and  brought  before  the  courts.  Some  were  even  convicted,  but 
the  conviction  went  for  nothing ;  not  another  life  was  sacrificed  to  passion 
and  fanaticism. 


MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS  OF  ANNE  AND  GEORGE.  153 


Most  of  those  who  had  participated  in  the  terrible  deeds  of  the 
preceding  summer  confessed  the  great  wrong  which  they  had  done ;  but 
confessions  could  not  restore  the  dead.  The  bigoted  Mather,  in  a  vain 
attempt  to  justify  himself  before  the  world,  wrote  a  treatise  in  which  he 
expressed  his  great  thankfulness  that  so  many  witches  had  met  their  just 
loom.  It  is  not  the  least  humiliating  circumstance  of  this  sad  business 
that  Mather’s  hypocritical  and  impudent  book  received  the  approbation 
of  the  president  of  Harvard  College.  In  all  this  there  is  to  the  American 
student  one  consoling  reflection — the  pages  of  his  country’s  history  will 
never  again  be  blotted  with  so  dark  a  stain. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS  OF  ANNE  AND  GEORGE. 

THE  peace  which  followed  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  was  of  short  dura¬ 
tion.  Within  less  than  four  years  France  and  England  were  again 
involved  in  a  conflict  which,  beginning  in  Europe,  soon  extended  to  the 
American  colonies.  In  the  year  1700,  Charles  II.,  king  of  Spain,  died, 
having  named  as  his  successor  Philip  of  Anjou,  a  grandson  of  Louis 
XIV.  This  measure  pointed  clearly  to  a  union  of  the  crowns  of  France 
and  Spain.  The  jealousy  of  all  Europe  was  aroused;  a  league  was 
formed  between  England,  Holland  and  Austria;  the  archduke  Charles 
of  the  latter  country  was  put  forward  by  the  allied  powers  as  a  candidate 
for  the  Spanish  throne;  and  war  was  declared  against  Louis  XIV.  for 
supporting  the  claims  of  Philip. 

England  had  against  France  another  cause  of  offence.  In  Septem¬ 
ber  of  1701,  James  II.,  the  exiled  king  of  Great  Britain,  died  at  the  court 
of  Louis,  who  now,  in  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Ryswick,  recognized  the 
son  of  James  as  the  rightful  sovereign  of  England.  This  action  was  re¬ 
garded  as  an  open  insult  to  English  nationality.  King  William  led  his 
armies  to  the  field  not  less  to  thwart  the  ambition  of  France  than  to  save 
his  own  crown  and  kingdom.  But  the  English  monarch  did  not  live  to 
carry  out  his  plans.  While  yet  the  war  was  hardly  begun,  the  king  fell 
from  his  horse,  was  attacked  with  fever,  and  died  in  May  of  1702. 
Parliament  had  already  settled  the  crown  on  Anne,  the  sister-in-law 
of  William  and  daughter  of  James  II.  The  new  sovereign  adopted  the 


154 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


policy  of  her  predecessor.  From  the  circumstance  of  her  reign,  the  con¬ 
flict  with  France,  which  lasted  for  nearly  thirteen  years,  is  known  in  his¬ 
tory  as  Queen  Anne’s  War  ;  but  a  better  name  is  The  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession. 

In  America  the  field  of  operations  was  limited  to  New  England 
and  South  Carolina.  The  central  colonies  were  scarcely  aware  that  war 
existed.  The  military  operations  of  both  parties  were  conducted  in  a 
feeble  and  desultory  manner.  The  more  influential  Indian  tribes  held 
aloof  from  the  struggle.  In  August,  1701,  the  powerful  Five  Nations, 
whose  dominions  south  of  Lake  Ontario  and  the  river  St.  Lawrence  formed 
a  barrier  between  Canada  and  New  York,  made  a  treaty  of  neutrality 
with  both  the  French  and  the  English.  The  Abenakis  of  Maine  did  the 
same;  but  the  French  Jesuits  prevailed  with  the  latter  to  break  their 
compact.  The  first  notice  of  treachery  which  the  English  had,  was  a 
fearful  massacre.  In  one  day  the  whole  country  between  the  town  of 
Wells  and  the  Bay  of  Casco  was  given  up  to  burning  and  butchery. 

In  midwinter  of  1703-4  the  town  of  Deerfield  was  destroyed.  A 
war-party  of  three  hundred  French  and  Indians,  setting  out  from  Canada, 
marched  on  the  snow-crust  into  the  Connecticut  valley.  On  the  last 
night  of  February,  the  savages  lay  in  the  pine  forest  that  surrounded  the 
ill-fated  village.  J ust  before  daybreak  they  rushed  from  their  covert  and 
fired  the  houses.  Forty-seven  of  the  inhabitants  were  tomahawked.  A 
hundred  and  twelve  were  dragged  into  captivity.  The  prisoners,  many 
of  them  women  and  children,  were  obliged  to  march  to  Canada.  The 
snow  lay  four  feet  deep.  The  poor  wretches,  haggard  with  fear  and 
starvation,  sank  down  and  died.  The  deadly  hatchet  hung  ever  above 
the  heads  of  the  feeble  and  the  sick.  Eunice  Williams,  the  minister’s 
wife,  fainted  by  the  wayside ;  in  th<  presence  of  her  husband  and  five 
captive  children,  her  brains  were  dashed  out  with  a  tomahawk.  Those 
who  survived  to  the  end  of  the  journey  were  afterward  ransomed  and 
permitted  to  return  to  their  desolated  homes.  A  daughter  of  Mr.  Wil¬ 
liams  remained  with  the  savages,  grew  up  among  the  Mohawks,  married 
a  chieftain,  and  in  after  years  returned  in  Indian  garb  to  Deerfield.  No 
entreaties  could  induce  her  to  remain  with  her  friends.  The  solitude  of 
the  woods  and  the  society  of  her  tawny  husband  had  prevailed  over  the 
charms  of  civilization. 

In  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  the  war  was  marked  with  similar 
barbarities.  Farms  were  devastated;  towns  were  burned  ;  the  inhabitants 
were  murdered  or  carried  to  Canada.  Prowling  bands  of  savages,  led  on 
by  French  officers,  penetrated  at  times  into  the  heart  of  Massachusetts. 
Against  the  treacherous  barbarians  and  their  bloodthirsty  leaders  there 


MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS  OF  ANNE  AND  GEORGE. 


155 


was  no  security  either  at  home  or  abroad.  Along  the  desolated  frontier 
ruin  prevailed,  as  in  the  days  of  King  Philip. 

In  1707,  the  reduction  of  Port  Royal  was  undertaken  by  Massa¬ 
chusetts.  A  fleet,  bearing  a  thousand  soldiers,  was  equipped  and  sent 
against  the  town.  But  Baron  Castin,  who  commanded  the  French  garri¬ 
son,  conducted  the  defence  with  so  much  skill  that  the  English  were 
obliged  to  abandon  the  undertaking.  From  this  costly  and  disastrous 
expedition  Massachusetts  gained  nothing  but  discouragement  and  debt. 
Nevertheless,  after  two  years  of  preparation,  the  enterprise  was  renewed ; 
and  in  1710  an  English  and  American  fleet  of  thirty-six  vessels,  having 
on  board  four  regiments  of  troops,  anchored  before  Port  Royal.  The 
garrison  was  weak;  Subercase,  the  French  commander,  had  neither 
talents  nor  courage;  famine  came;  and  after  a  feeble  defence  of  eleven 
days,  the  place  surrendered  at  discretion.  By  this  conquest  all  of  Nova 
Scotia  passed  under  the  dominion  of  the  English.  The  flag  of  Great 
Britain  was  hoisted  over  the  conquered  fortress,  and  the  name  of  Port 
Royal  gave  place  to  Annapolis,  in  honor  of  Queen  Anne. 

Vast  preparations  were  now  made  for  the  invasion  of  Canada.  A 
land  force  under  command  of  General  Nicholson  was  to  march  against 
Montreal,  while  Quebec,  the  key  to  the  French  dominions  in  America, 
was  to  be  reduced  by  an  English  fleet.  For  this  purpose  fifteen  men-of- 
war  and  forty  transports  were  placed  under  command  of  Sir  Hovenden 
Walker.  Seven  regiments  of  veterans,  selected  from  the  armies  of  Europe, 
were  added  to  the  colonial  forces  and  sent  with  the  expedition.  Before 
such  an  armament  the  defences  of  Quebec  could  hardly  hold  out  an  hour. 
But  for  the  utter  incompetency  of  the  admiral,  success  would  have  been 
assured. 

For  six  weeks  in  midsummer  the  great  fleet  lay  idly  in  Boston  Har¬ 
bor.  Sir  Hovenden  was  getting  ready  to  sail.  The  Abenaki  Indians 
carried  the  news  leisurely  to  Quebec ;  and  every  day  added  to  the  strength 
of  the  ramparts.  At  last,  on  the  30th  of  July,  when  no  further  excuse 
could  be  invented,  tho  ships  set  sail  for  the  St.  Lawrence.  At  the  Bay 
of  Gaspe  the  admiral  thought  it  necessary  to  loiter  a  while;  then  he 
busied  himself  with  devising  a  plan  to  save  his  ships  from  the  ice  during 
the  next  winter.  Proceeding  slowly  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  fleet,  on 
the  22d  of  August,  was  enveloped  in  a  thick  fog.  The  wind  blew  hard 
from  the  east.  The  commander  was  cautioned  to  remain  on  deck,  but 
went  quietly  to  bed.  A  messenger  aroused  him  just  in  time  to  see  eight 
of  his  best  vessels  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks.  Eight  hundred  and 
eighty-four  men  went  down  in  the  foaming  whirlpools.  A  council  of  war 
was  held,  and  all  voted  that  it  was  impossible  to  proceed.  In  a  letter  to 


156 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  English  government,  Walker  expressed  great  gratitude  that  by  the 
loss  of  a  thousand  men  the  rest  had  been  saved  from  freezing  to  death  at 
Quebec.  The  fleet  sailed  back  to  England,  and  the  colonial  troops  were 
disbanded  at  Boston. 

Meanwhile,  the  army  of  General  Nicholson  had  marched  against 
Montreal.  But  when  news  arrived  of  the  failure  of  the  fleet,  the  land 
expedition  was  also  abandoned.  The  dallying  cowardice  of  Walker  had 
brought  the  campaign  of  1711  to  a  shameful  end.  France  had  already 
made  overtures  for  peace.  Negotiations  were  formally  begun  in  the  early 
part  of  1712;  and  on  the  11th  of  April  in  the  following  year  a  treaty 
was  concluded  at  Utrecht,  a  town  of  Holland.  By  the  terms  of  the  settle¬ 
ment,  England  obtained  control  of  the  fisheries  of  Newfoundland.  Labra¬ 
dor,  the  Bay  of  Hudson  and  the  whole  of  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  were 
ceded  to  Great  Britain.  On  the  13th  of  July  the  chiefs  of  the  hostile 
Indian  tribes  met  the  ambassadors  of  New  England  at  Portsmouth,  and  a 
second  treaty  was  concluded,  by  which  peace  was  secured  throughout  the 
American  colonies. 

For  thirty-one  years  after  the  close  of  Queen  Anne’s  war,  Massa¬ 
chusetts  was  free  from  hostile  invasion.  This  was  not,  however,  a  period 
of  public  tranquillity.  The  people  were  dissatisfied  with  the  royal  govern¬ 
ment  which  King  William  had  established,  and  were  at  constant  variance 
with  their  governors.  Phipps  and  his  administration  had  been  heartily 
disliked.  Governor  Shute  was  equally  unpopular.  Burnett,  who  suc¬ 
ceeded  him,  and  Belcher  afterward,  were  only  tolerated  because  they 
could  not  be  shaken  off.  The  opposition  to  the  royal  officers  took  the 
form  of  a  controversy  about  their  salaries.  The  general  assembly  in¬ 
sisted  that  the  governor  and  his  councilors  should  be  paid  in  proportion 
to  the  importance  of  their  several  offices,  and  for  actual  service  only. 
But  the  royal  commissions  gave  to  each  officer  a  fixed  salary,  which  was 
frequently  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  services  required.  After  many 
years  of  antagonism,  the  difficulty  was  finally  adjusted  with  a  compromise 
in  which  the  advantage  was  wholly  on  the  side  of  the  people.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  salaries  of  the  governor  and  his  assistants  should  be  an¬ 
nually  allowed,  and  the  amount  fixed  by  vote  of  the  assembly.  The 
representatives  of  popular  liberty  had  once  more  triumphed  over  the 
principles  of  arbitrary  rule. 

On  the  death  of  Charles  VI.  of  Austria,  in  1740,  there  were 
two  principal  claimants  to  the  crown  of  the  empire — Maria  Theresa, 
daughter  of  the  late  emperor,  and  Charles  Albert  of  Bavaria.  Each 
claimant  had  his  party  and  his  army ;  Avar  followed ;  and  nearly  all  the 
nations  of  Europe  Avere  swept  into  the  conflict.  As  usually  happened  in 


MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS  OF  ANNE  AND  GEORGE.  157 


such  struggles,  England  and  France  were  arrayed  against  each  other. 
The  contest  that  ensued  is  generally  known  as  the  War  of  the  Austrian 
Succession,  but  in  American  history  is  called  Xing  George’s  War; 
for  George  II.  was  now  king  of  England. 

In  America  the  only  important  event  of  the  war  was  the  capture 
of  Louisburg,  on  Cape  Breton  Island.  This  place  had  been  fortified  at 
vast  expense  by  th  French.  Standing  at  the  principal  entrance  to  the 
gulf  and  river  of  St.  Lawrence,  the  fortress  was  regarded  as  a  key  to  the 
Canadian  provinces.  New  England  was  quick  to  note  that  both  New¬ 
foundland  and  Nova  Scotia  were  threatened  so  long  as  the  French  flag 
floated  over  Louisburg.  Governor  Shirley  brought  the  matter  before  the 
legislature  of  Massachusetts,  and  it  was  resolved  to  attempt  the  capture 
of  the  enemy’s  stronghold. 

The  other  colonies  were  invited  to  aid  the  enterprise.  Connecticut 
responded  by  sending  more  than  five  hundred  troops ;  New  Hampshire 
and  Rhode  Island  each  furnished  three  hundred;  a  park  of  artillery 
was  sent  from  New  York ;  and  Pennsylvania  contributed  a  supply  of 
provisions.  The  forces  of  Massachusetts  alone  numbered  more  than  three 
thousand.  It  only  remained  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  English 
fleet  then  cruising  in  the  West  Indies.  An  earnest  invitation  was  sent  to 
Commodore  Warren  to  join  his  armament  with  the  colonial  forces;  but 
having  no  orders,  he  declined  the  request.  Everything  devolved  on  the 
army  and  navy  of  New  England,  but  there  was  no  quailing  under  the 
responsibility.  William  Pepperell,  of  Maine,  was  appointed  commander- 
in-chief;  and  on  the  4th  of  April,  1745,  the  fleet  sailed  for  Cape  Breton. 

At  Canseau,  the  eastern  cape  of  Nova  Scotia,  the  expedition  was 
detained  for  sixteen  days.  The  sea  was  thick  with  ice-drifts  floating 
from  the  north.  But  the  delay  was  fortunate,  for  in  the  mean  time  Com¬ 
modore  Warren  had  received  instructions  from  England  to  proceed  to 
Massachusetts  and  aid  Governor  Shirley  in  the  contemplated  reduction 
of  Cape  Breton.  Sailing  to  the  north,  Warren  brought  his  fleet  safely  to 
Canseau  on  the  23d  of  April.  On  the  last  day  of  the  month  the  arma¬ 
ment,  now  numbering  a  hundred  vessels,  entered  the  Bay  of  Gabarus  in 
sight  of  Louisburg.  A  landing  was  effected  four  miles  below  the  city. 
On  the  next  day  a  company  of  four  hundred  volunteers,  led  by  William 
Vaughan,  marched  across  the  peninsula  and  attacked  a  French  battery 
which  had  been  planted  on  the  shore  two  miles  beyond  the  town.  The 
French,  struck  with  terror  at  the  impetuosity  of  the  unexpected  charge, 
spiked  their  guns  and  fled.  Before  morning  the  cannons  were  re-drilled 
and  turned  upon  the  fortress.  An  English  battery  was  established  on 
the  east  side  of  the  harbor,  but  the  sea-walls  of  Louisburg  were  so  strong 
12 


158 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


that  little  damage  was  clone  by  the  guns  across  the  bay.  An  attack  in 
the  rear  of  the  town  seemed  impossible  on  account  of  a  large  swamp 
which  lay  in  that  direction ;  but  the  resolute  soldiers  of  New  England 
lashed  their  heavy  guns  upon  sledges,  and  dragged  them  through  the 
marsh  to  a  tract  of  solid  ground  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy’s 
bastions.  Notwithstanding  the  advantage  of  this  position,  the  walls  of 
the  fort  stood  firm,  and  the  siege  progressed  slowly. 

On  the  18th  of  May  a  French  ship  of  sixty-four  guns,  laden  with 
stores  for  the  garrison,  was  captured  by  Warren’s  fleet.  The  French 
were  greatly  discouraged  by  this  event,  and  the  defence  grew  feeble. 
The  English  were  correspondingly  elated  with  the  prospect  of  success. 
On  the  26th  of  the  month  an  effort  was  made  to  capture  the  French  bat¬ 
tery  in  the  harbor.  A  company  of  daring  volunteers  undertook  the 
hazardous  enterprise  by  night.  Embarking  in  boats,  they  drew  near  the 
island  where  the  battery  was  planted,  but  were  discovered  and  repulsed 
with  the  loss  of  a  hundred  and  seventy-six  men.  It  was  now  determined 
to  carry  the  town  by  storm.  The  assault  was  set  for  the  18th  of  June; 
but  on  the  day  previous  the  desponding  garrison  sent  out  a  flag  of  truce ; 
terms  of  capitulation  were  proposed  and  accepted,  and  the  English  flag 
rose  above  the  conquered  fortress. 

By  the  terms  of  this  surrender  not  only  Louisburg,  but  the  whole 
of  Cape  Breton,  was  given  up  to  England.  The  rejoicing  at  Boston  and 

throughout  the  colonies  was  only 
equaled  by  the  indignation  and  alarm 
of  the  French  government.  Louis¬ 
burg  must  be  retaken  at  all  hazards, 
said  the  ministers  of  France.  For 
this  purpose  a  powerful  fleet,  under 
command  of  Duke  d’Anville,  was  sent 
out  in  the  following  year.  Before 
reaching  America  the  duke  died  of  a 
pestilence.  His  successor  went  mad 
siege  of  louisburg,  1745.  and  killed  himself.  Storms  and  ship¬ 

wrecks  and  disasters  drove  the  ill- 
fated  expedition  to  utter  ruin.  The  renewal  of  the  enterprise,  in  1747, 
was  attended  with  like  misfortune.  Commodores  Warren  and  Anson 
overtook  the  French  squadron  and  compelled  a  humiliating  surrender. 

In  1748,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  a 
town  of  \\  estern  Germany.  After  eight  years  of  devastating  warfare, 
nothing  was  gained  but  a  mutual  restoration  of  conquests.  By  the  terms 
of  settlement,  Cape  Breton  was  surrendered  to  France.  With  grief  and 


MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS  OF  ANNE  AND  GEORGE. 


159 


shame  the  fishermen  and  farmers  of  New  England  saw  the  island  which 
had  been  subdued  by  their  valor  restored  to  their  enemies.  Of  all  the 
disputed  boundary-lines  between  the  French  and  English  colonies  in 
America,  not  a  single  one  was  settled  by  this  treaty.  The  European 
nations  had  exhausted  themselves  with  fighting ;  what  cared  they  for  the 
welfare  of  distant  and  feeble  provinces?  The  real  war  between  France 
and  England  for  colonial  supremacy  in  the  West  was  yet  to  be  fought 
Within  six  years  after  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  two  great  powers 
were  involved  in  the  final  and  decisive  conflict. 

The  history  of  Massachusetts  has  now  been  traced  through  a  period 
of  a  hundred  and  thirty  years.  A  few  words  on  the  Character  of 
the  Puritans  may  be  appropriately  added.  They  were  in  the  begin¬ 
ning  a  vigorous  and  hardy  peoplej  firm-set  in  the  principles  of  honesty 
and  the  practices  of  virtue.  They  were  sober,  industrious,  frugal ;  reso¬ 
lute,  zealous  and  steadfast.  They  esteemed  honor  above  preferment,  and 
truth  more  than  riches.  Loving  home  and  native  land,  they  left  both 
for  the  sake  of  freedom ;  and  finding  freedom,  they  cherished  it  with  the 
zeal  and  devotion  of  martyrs.  Without  influence,  they  became  influential ; 
without  encouragement,  great.  Despised  and  mocked  and  hated,  they 
rose  above  their  revilers.  In  the  school  of  evil  fortune  they  gained  the 
discipline  of  patience.  Suffering  without  cause  brought  resignation  with¬ 
out  despair.  Themselves  the  victims  of  persecution,  they  became  the 
founders  of  a  colony — a  commonwealth — a  nation.  They  were  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  adversity  and  the  fathers  of  renown. 

The  gaze  of  the  Puritan  was  turned  ever  to  posterity.  He  believed 
in  the  future.  His  affections  and  hopes  were  with  the  coming  ages.  For 
his  children  he  toiled  and  sacrificed ;  for  them  the  energies  of  his  life  were 
cheerfully  exhausted.  The  system  of  free  schools  is  the  enduring  monu¬ 
ment  of  his  love  and  devotion.  The  printing-press  is  his  memorial. 
Almshouses  and  asylums  are  the  tokens  of  his  care  for  the  unfortunate. 
With  him  the  outcast  found  sympathy,  and  the  wanderer  a  home.  He 
was  the  earliest  champion  of  civil  rights,  and  the  builder  of  the  Union, 

The  fathers  of  New  England  have  been  accused  of  bigotry.  The 
charge  is  true :  it  is  the  background  of  the  picture.  In  matters  of  re¬ 
ligion  they  were  intolerant  and  superstitious.  Their  religious  faith  was 
gloomy  and  foreboding.  Human  life  was  deemed  a  sad  and  miserable 
journey.  To  be  mistaken  was  to  sin.  To  fail  in  trifling  ceremonies  was 
reckoned  a  grievous  crime.  In  the  shadow  of  such  belief  the  people  be¬ 
came  austere  and  melancholy.  Escaping  from  the  splendid  formality  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  they  set  up  a  colder  and  severer  form  of  worship; 
and  the  form  was  made  like  iron.  Dissenters  themselves,  they  could  not 


160 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


tolerate  the  dissent  of  others.  To  restrain  and  punish  error  seemed 
right  and  necessary.  Williams  and  Hutchinson  were  banished;  the 
Quakers  were  persecuted  and  the  witches  hanged.  But  Puritanism 
contained  within  itself  the  power  to  correct  its  own  abuses.  Within 
the  austere  and  gloomy  fabric  dwelt  the  very  soul  and  genius  of  Free 
Thought.  Under  the  ice-bound  rigors  of  the  faith  flowed  a  current 
which  no  fatalism  could  congeal,  no  superstition  poison.  The  heart 
of  a  mighty,  tumultuous,  liberty-loving  life  throbbed  within  the  cold, 
stiff*  body  of  formalism.  A  powerful  vitality,  which  no  disaster  could 
subdue,  no  persecution  quench,  warmed  and  energized  and  quickened. 
The  tyranny  of  Phipps,  the  malice  of  Parris,  and  the  bigotry  of  Mather 
are  far  outweighed  by  the  sacrifices  of  Winthrop,  the  beneficence  of 
Harvard,  and  the  virtues  of  Sir  Henry  Vane.  The  evils  of  the  sys¬ 
tem  may  well  be  forgotten  in  the  glory  of  its  achievements.  Without 
the  Puritans,  America  would  have  been  a  delusion  and  liberty  only  a 
name. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

NEW  YORK.— SETTLEMENT. 

ILLUSTRIOUS  Sir  Henry  Hudson  I  Indomitable  explorer,  daunt¬ 
less  cavalier  of  the  ocean !  Who  so  worthy  to  give  a  name  to  the 
great  inland  sea  of  the  frozen  North  as  he  who  gave  his  life  in  heroic 
combat  with  its  terrors  ?  Who  so  fit  to  become  the  father  of  a  colony 
in  the  New  World  as  he  who  braved  its  perils  and  revealed  its  mys¬ 
teries  ?  And  where  should  the  new  State  be  planted  unless  by  the 
broad  haven — broadest  and  best  on  the  American  coast — and  among 
the  beautiful  hills  and  landscapes 

Where  The  Hudson  came  rolling  through  valleys  a-smoke 
From  the  lands  of  the  Iroquois? 

It  was  the  good  fortune  of  the  American  colonies  to  be  founded  by 
men  whose  lives,  like  the  setting  suns  of  summer,  cast  behind  them 
a  long  and  glorious  twilight.  But  for  the  name  and  genius  of  Hud¬ 
son  the  province  of  New  Netherland  had  never  been. 

For  ten  years  after  the  founding  of  New  Amsterdam  the  colony 
was  governed  by  directors.  These  officers  were  appointed  and  sent 


NEW  YORK.— SETTLEMENT. 


161 


out  by  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  in  accordance  with  the  char¬ 
ter  of  that  corporation.  The  settlement  on  Manhattan  Island  was  a* 
yet  only  a  village  of  traders.  Not  until  1623  was  an  actual  colony 
sent  from  Holland 
to  New  Netherland. 

Two  years  previous¬ 
ly,  the  Dutch  West 
India  Company  had 
been  organized,  with 
the  exclusive  privi¬ 
lege  of  planting  set¬ 
tlements  in  America. 

The  charter  of  this 
company  was  grant¬ 
ed  for  a  period  of 
twenty-four  years, 
with  the  privilege 
(tf  renewal ;  and  the 
territory  to  be  colo¬ 
nized  extended  from 
the  Strait  of  Magel¬ 
lan  to  Hudson’s  Bay. 

Manhattan  Island, 

..i  ,  c  SIR  HENRY  HUDSON. 

with  its  cluster  of 

huts,  passed  at  once  under  the  control  of  the  new  corporation. 

In  April  of  1623,  the  ship  New  Netherland,  having  on  board  a 
colony  of  thirty  families,  arrived  at  New  Amsterdam.  The  colonists, 
called  Walloons,  were  Dutch  Protestant  refugees  from  Flanders,  in 
Belgium.  They  were  of  the  same  religious  faith  with  the  Huguenots  of 
France,  and  came  to  America  to  find  repose  from  the  persecutions  of  their 
own  country.  Cornelius  May  was  the  leader  of  the  company.  The 
greater  number  of  the  new  immigrants  settled  with  their  friends  on  Man¬ 
hattan  Island ;  but  the  captain,  with  a  party  of  fifty,  passing  down  the 
coast  of  New  Jersey,  entered  and  explored  the  Bay  of  Delaware.  Sailing 
up  the  bay  and  river,  the  company  landed  on  the  eastern  shore ;  here,  at 
a  point  a  few  miles  below  Camden,  where  Timber  Creek  falls  into  the 
Delaware,  a  site  was  selected  and  a  block-house  built  named  Fort  Nassau. 
The  natives  were  won  over  by  kindness ;  and  when  shortly  after  the  fort 
was  abandoned  and  the  settlers  returned  to  New  Amsterdam,  the  Indians 
witnessed  their  departure  with  affectionate  regret.  In  the  same  year 
Joris,  another  Dutch  captain,  ascended  the  Hudson  to  Castle  Island, 


u 


162 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


where,  nine  years  previously,  Christianson  had  built  the  older  Fort 
Nassau.  A  flood  in  the  river  had  swept  the  island  bare.  Not  deeming 
it  prudent  to  restore  the  works  in  a  place  likely  to  be  deluged,  Joris 
sailed  up  stream  a  short  distance  and  rebuilt  the  fortress  on  the  present 
site  of  Albany.  The  name  of  this  northern  outpost  was  changed  to  Fort 
Orange ;  and  here  the  eighteen  families  of  Joris’s  company  were  per¬ 
manently  settled. 

In  1624  civil  government  began  in  New  Netherland.  Cornelius 
May  was  first  governor  of  the  colony.  His  official  duties,  however,  were 
only  such  as  belonged  to  the  superintendent  of  a  trading-post.  In  the 
next  year  William  Verhulst  became  director  of  the  settlement.  Herds 
of  cattle,  swine  and  sheep  were  brought  over  from  Holland  and  distributed 
among  the  settlers.  In  January  of  1626,  Peter  Minuit,  of  Wesel,  was 
regularly  appointed  by  the  Hutch  West  India  Company  as  governor  of 
New  Netherland.  Until  this  time  the  natives  had  retained  the  owner¬ 
ship  of  Manhattan  Island ;  but  on  Minuit’s  arrival,  in  May,  an  offer  of 
purchase  was  made  and  accepted.  The  whole  island,  containing  more 
than  twenty  thousand  acres,  was  sold  to  the  Dutch  for  twenty-four  dol¬ 
lars.  The  southern  point  of  land  was  selected  as  a  site  for  fortifications ; 
there  a  block-house  was  built  and  surrounded  with  a  palisade.  New 
Amsterdam  was  already  a  town  of  thirty  houses.  In  the  first  year  of 
Minuit’s  administration  were  begun  the  settlements  of  Wallabout  and 
Brooklyn,  on  Long  Island. 

The  Dutch  of  New  Amsterdam  and  the  Pilgrims  of  New  Plymouth 
were  early  and  fast  friends.  The  Puritans  themselves  had  but  recently 
arrived  from  Holland,  and  could  not  forget  the  kind  treatment  which 
they  had  had  in  that  country.  They  and  the  Walloons  were  alike  exiles 
fleeing  from  persecution  and  tyranny.  On  two  occasions,  in  1627,  a 
Dutch  embassy  was  sent  to  Plymouth  with  an  expression  of  good  will. 
The  English  were  cordially  invited  to  remove  without  molestation  to  the 
more  fertile  valley  of  the  Connecticut.  Governor  Bradford  replied  with 
words  of  cheer  and  sympathy.  The  Dutch  were  honestly  advised  of  the 
claims  of  England  to  the  country  of  the  Hudson ;  and  the  people  of  New 
Netherland  were  cautioned  to  make  good  their  titles  by  accepting  new 
deeds  from  the  council  of  Plymouth.  A  touch  of  jealousy  was  manifested 
when  the  Dutch  were  warned  not  to  send  their  trading-boats  into  the 
Bay  of  Narragansett. 

In  1628  the  population  of  Manhattan  numbered  two  hundred  and 
seventy.  The  settlers  devoted  their  whole  energies  to  the  fur-trade. 
Every  bay,  inlet  and  river  between  Rhode  Island  and  the  Delaware  was 
visited  by  their  vessels.  The  colony  gave  promise  of  rapid  development 


NEW  YORK.— SETTLEMENT. 


163 


and  of  great  profit  to  the  proprietors.  If  the  houses  were  rude  and 
thatched  with  straw,  there  were  energy  and  thrift  within.  If  only  wooden 
chimneys  carried  up  the  smoke,  the  fires  of  the  hearthstones  were  kindled 
with  laughter  and  song.  If  creaking  windmills  flung  abroad  their  un¬ 
gainly  arms  in  the  winds  of  Long  Island  Sound,  it  was  proof  that  the 
people  had  families  to  feed  and  meant  to  feed  them. 

The  West  India  Company  now  came  forward  with  a  new  and  pecu¬ 
liar  scheme  of  colonization.  In  1629,  the  corporation  created  a  Charted 
of  Privileges,  under  which  a  class  of  proprietors  called  patroons  wen- 
authorized  to  possess  and  colonize  the  country.  Each  patroon  might 
select  anywhere  in  New  Netherland  a  tract  of  land  not  more  than  sixteen 
miles  in  length,  and  of  a  breadth  to  be  determined  by  the  location.  On 
the  banks  of  a  navigable  river  not  more  than  eight  miles  might  be  ap¬ 
propriated  by  one  proprietor.  Each  district  was  to  be  held  in  fee  simple 
by  the  patroon,  who  was  empowered  to  exercise  over  his  estate  and  its 
inhabitants  the  same  authority  as  did  the  hereditary  lords  of  Europe. 
The  conditions  were  that  the  estates  should  be  held  as  dependencies  of 
Holland  ;  that  each  patroon  should  purchase  his  domain  of  the  Indians  • 
and  that  he  should,  within  four  years  from  the  date  of  his  title,  establish 
on  his  manor  a  colony  of  not  less  than  fifty  persons.  Education  and  re¬ 
ligion  were  commended  in  the  charter,  but  no  provision  was  made  for 
the  support  of  either. 

Under  the  provisions  of  this  instrument  five  estates  were  imme¬ 
diately  established.  Three  of  them,  lying  contiguous,  embraced  a  district 
of  twenty-four  miles  in  the  valley  of  the  Hudson  above  and  oelow  Fort 
Orange.  The  fourth  manor  was  laid  out  by  Michael  Pauw  on  Staten 
Island ;  and  the  fifth,  and  most  important,  included  the  southern  half  of 
the  present  State  of  Delaware.  To  this  estate  a  colony  was  sent  out  from 
Holland  in  the  spring  of  1631.  Samuel  Godyn  was  patroon  of  the  do¬ 
main,  but  the  immediate  management  was  entrusted  to  David  Peterson  de 
Vries.  With  a  company  of  thirty  immigrants,  he  reached  the  entrance 
to  Delaware  Bay,  and  anchored  within  Cape  Henlopen.  Landing  five 
miles  up  the  bay,  at  the  mouth  of  Lewis  Creek,  the  colony  selected  a  site 
and  laid  the  foundations  of  Lewistown,  the  oldest  settlement  in  Delaware. 

After  a  year  of  successful  management,  De  Vries  returned  to  Hol¬ 
land,  leaving  the  settlement  in  charge  of  Gillis  Hosset.  The  latter,  a  4 
man  of  no  sagacity,  soon  brought  the  colony  to  ruin.  An  Indian  cliief 
who  offended  him  was  seized  and  put  to  death.  The  natives,  who  thus 
far  had  treated  the  strangers  with  deference  and  good  faith,  were  aroused 
to  vengeance.  Rising  suddenly  out  of  an  ambuscade  upon  the  terrified 
colonists,  they  left  not  a  man  alive.  The  houses  and  palisades  were 


164 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


burned  to  the  ground ;  nothing  but  bones  and  ashes  remained  tc  testify 
of  savage  passion.  When  De  Vries  returned,  in  December  of  1632,  he 
found  only  the  blackened  ruins  of  his  flourishing  hamlet.  He  sailed  first 
to  Virginia  for  a  cargo  of  supplies,  and  thence  to  New  Amsterdam;  but 
before  the  colony  could  be  re-established,  Lord  Baltimore  had  received 
from  the  English  government  a  patent  which  embraced  the  whole  of 
Delaware ;  the  weaker,  though  older,  claim  of  the  Dutch  patroon  gave 
way  before  the  charter  of  his  more  powerful  rival. 

In  April  of  1633,  Minuit  was  superseded  in  the  government  of  New 
Netherland  by  Wouter  van  Twiller.  Three  months  previously  the  Dutch 
had  purchased  of  the  natives  the  soil  around  Hartford,  and  had  erected  a 
block-house  within  the  present  limits  of  the  city.  This  was  the  first 
fortress  built  on  the  Connecticut  River ;  but  the  Puritans,  though  pro¬ 
fessing  friendship,  were  not  going  to  give  up  the  valley  without  a  struggle. 
In  October  of  the  same  year  an  armed  vessel,  sent  out  from  Plymouth, 
sailed  up  the  river  and  openly  defied  the  Dutch  commander  at  Hartford. 
Passing  the  fortress,  the  English  proceeded  up  stream  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Farmington,  where  they  landed  and  built  Fort  Windsor.  Two 
years  later,  by  the  building  of  Saybrook,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut, 
the  English  obtained  command  of  the  river  both  above  and  below  the 
Dutch  fort.  The  block -house  at  Hartford,  being  thus  cut  off,  was  com¬ 
paratively  useless  to  the  authorities  of  New  Netherland ;  English  towns 
multiplied  in  the  neighborhood ;  and  the  Dutch  finally  surrendered  their 
eastern  outpost  to  their  more  powerful  rivals. 

Four  of  the  leading  European  nations  had  now  established  perma¬ 
nent  colonies  in  America.  The  fifth  to  plant  an  American  State  was 
Sweden.  As  early  as  1626,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  the  Protestant  king 
of  that  country  and  the  hero  of  his  age,  had  formed  the  design  of  estab¬ 
lishing  settlements  in  the  West.  For  this  purpose  a  company  of  mer¬ 
chants  had  been  organized,  to  whose  capital  the  king  himself  contributed 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  objects  had  in  view  were  to  form  a 
refuge  for  persecuted  Protestants  and  to  extend  Swedish  commerce.  But 
before  his  plans  of  colonization  could  be  carried  into  effect,  Gustavus  be¬ 
came  involved  in  the  Thirty  Years’  War,  then  raging  in  Germany.  The 
company  was  disorganized,  and  the  capital  wasted  in  the  purchase  of  mili¬ 
tary  stores.  In  November  of  1632  the  Swedish  king  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Liitzen.  For  a  while  it  seemed  that  the  plan  of  colonizing 
America  had  ended  in  failure,  but  Oxenstiern,  the  great  Swedish  minis¬ 
ter,  took  up  the  work  which  his  master  had  left  unfinished.  The  charter 
of  the  company  was  renewed,  and  after  four  years  of  preparation  the 
enterprise  was  brought  to  a  successful  issue. 


DEVRIES  REVISITS  HIS  RUINED  SETTLEMENT, 


NEW  YORK.— SETTLEMENT. 


165 


In  the  mean  time,  Peter  Minuit,  the  recent  governor  of  New 
Netherland,  had  left  the  service  of  Holland  and  entered  that  of  Sweden. 
To  him  was  entrusted  the  management  of  the  first  Swedish  colony  which 
was  sent  to  America.  Late  in  the  year  1637,  a  company  of  Swedes  and 
Finns  left  the  harbor  of  Stockholm,  and  in  the  following  February 
arrived  in  Delaware  Bay.  Never  before  had  the  Northerners  beheld  so 
beautiful  a  land.  They  called  Cape  Henlopen  the  Point  of  Paradise. 
The  whole  country,  sweeping  around  the  west  side  of  the  bay  and  up  the 
river  to  the  falls  at  Trenton,  was  honorably  purchased  of  the  Indians. 
In  memory  of  native  land,  the  name  of  New  Sweden  was  given  to  this 
fine  territory.  The  colony  landed  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Brandy¬ 
wine,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  present  State  of  Delaware.  On  the  left 
bank  of  a  small  tributary,  at  a  point  about  six  miles  from  the  bay,  a  spot 
was  chosen  for  the  settlement.  Here  the  foundations  of  a  fort  were  laid, 
and  the  immigrants  soon  provided  themselves  with  houses.  The  creek 
and  the  fort  were  both  named  in  honor  of  Christiana,  the  maiden  queen 
of  Sweden. 

The  colony  prospered  greatly.  By  each  returning  ship  letters  were 
borne  to  Stockholm,  describing  the  loveliness  of  the  country.  Immigra¬ 
tion  became  rapid  and  constant.  At  one  time,  in  1640,  more  than  a  hun¬ 
dred  families,  unable  to  find  room  on  the  crowded  vessels  which  were 
leaving  the  Swedish  capital,  were  turned  back  to  their  homes.  The 
banks  of  Delaware  Bay  and  River  were  dotted  with  pleasant  hamlets. 
On  every  hand  appeared  the  proofs  of  well-directed  industry.  Of  all 
the  early  settlers  in  America,  none  were  more  cheerful,  intelligent  and 
virtuous  than  the  Swedes. 

From  the  first,  the  authorities  of  New  Amsterdam  were  jealous 
of  the  colony  on  the  Delaware.  Sir  William  Kieft,  who  had  succeeded 
the  incompetent  Van  T wilier  in  the  governorship,  sent  an  earnest  remon¬ 
strance  to  Christiana,  warning  the  settlers  of  their  intrusion  on  Dutch 
territory.  But  the  Swedes,  giving  little  heed  to  the  complaints  of  their 
neighbors,  went  on  enlarging  their  borders  and  strengthening  their  out¬ 
posts.  Governor  Kieft  was  alarmed  and  indignant  at  these  aggressions, 
and  as  a  precautionary  measure  sent  a  party  to  rebuild  Fort  Nassau,  on 
the  old  site  below  Camden.  The  Swedes,  regarding  this  fortress  as  a 
menace  to  their  colony,  adopted  active  measures  of  defence.  Ascending 
the  river  to  within  six  miles  of  the  mouth  of  the  Schuylkill,  they  landed 
ob  the  island  of  Tinicum,  and  built  an  impregnable  fort  of  hemlock 
logs.  Here,  in  1643,  Governor  Printz  established  his  residence.  To 
Pennsylvania,  as  well  as  to  Delaware,  Sweden  contributed  the  earliest 
colony. 


166 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


In  1640,  New  Nether  land  became  involved  in  a  war  with  the 
Indians  of  Long  Island  and  New  Jersey.  The  natives  of  the  lower 
Hudson  were  a  weak  and  unwarlike  people;  under  just  treatment  they 
would  have  faithfully  kept  the  peace.  But  dishonest  traders  had  mad- 
iened  them  with  rum  and  then  defrauded  and  abused  them.  Burning 
with  resentment  and  hate,  the  savages  of  the  Jersey  shore  crossed  over  to 
Staten  Island,  laid  waste  the  farms  and  butchered  the  inhabitants.  New 
Amsterdam  was  for  a  while  endangered,  but  was  soon  put  in  a  state 
of  defence.  A  company  of  militia  was  organized  and  sent  against  the 
Delawares  of  New  Jersey,  but  nothing  resulted  from  the  expedition.  A 
large  bounty  was  offered  for  every  member  of  the  tribe  of  the  Raritans, 
and  many  were  hunted  to  death.  On  both  sides  the  war  degenerated 
into  treachery  and  murder.  Through  the  mediation  of  Roger  Williams, 
the  great  peacemaker  of  Rhode  Island,  a  truce  was  obtained,  and  imme¬ 
diately  broken.  A  chieftain’s  son,  who  had  been  made  drunk  and  robbed, 
went  to  the  nearest  settlement  and  killed  the  first  Hollander  whom  he 
met.  Governor  Kieft  demanded  the  criminal,  but  the  sachems  refused 
to  give  him  up.  They  offered  to  pay  a  heavy  fine  for  the  wrong  done, 
but  Kieft  would  accept  nothing  less  than  the  life  of  the  murderer. 

While  the  dispute  was  still  unsettled,  a  party  of  the  terrible  Mo¬ 
hawks  came  down  the  river  to  claim  and  enforce  their  supremacy  over 
the  natives  of  the  coast.  The  timid  Algonquins  in  the  neighborhood  of 
New  Amsterdam  cowered  before  the  mighty  warriors  of  the  North, 
huddled  together  on  the  bank  of  the  Hudson,  and  begged  assistance  of 
the  Dutch.  Here  the  vindictive  Kieft  saw  an  opportunity  of  wholesale 
destruction.  A  company  of  soldiers  set  out  secretly  from  Manhattan, 
crossed  the  river  and  discovered  the  lair  of  the  Indians.  The  place  was 
surrounded  by  night,  and  the  first  notice  of  danger  given  to  the  savages 
was  the  roar  of  muskets.  Nearly  a  hundred  of  the  poor  wretches  were 
killed  before  daydawn.  Women  who  shrieked  for  pity  were  mangled  to 
death,  and  children  were  thrown  into  the  river. 

When  it  was  known  among  the  tribes  that  the  Dutch,  and  not  the 
Mohawks,  were  the  authors  of  this  outrage,  the  war  was  renewed  with 
fury.  The  Indians  were  in  a  frenzy.  Dividing  into  small  war-parties, 
they  concealed  themselves  in  the  woods  and  swamps ;  then  rose,  without  a 
moment’s  warning,  upon  defenceless  farmhouses,  burning  and  butchering 
without  mercy.  At  this  time  that  noted  woman  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson 
was  living  with  her  son-in-law  in  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic.  Her 
house  was  surrounded  and  set  on  fire  by  the  savages ;  every  member  of 
the  family  except  one  child  was  cruelly  murdered.  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
herself  was  burned  alive. 


NEW  YORK.— ADMINISTRATION  OF  STUYVESANT.  167 


In  1643,  Captain  John  Underhill,  a  fugitive  from  Massachusetts, 
was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Dutch  forces.  At  the  head  of  a 
regiment  raised  by  Governor  Kieft  he  invaded  New  Jersey,  and  brought 
the  Delawares  into  subjection.  A  decisive  battle  was  fought  on  Long 
Island;  and  at  Greenwich,  in  Western  Connecticut,  the  power  of  the  In-' 
dians  was  finally  broken.  Again  the  ambassadors  of  the  Iroquois  came 
forward  with  proposals  for  peace.  Both  parties  were  anxious  to  rest  from 
the  ruin  and  devastation  of  war.  On  the  30th  of  August,  1645,  a  treaty 
was  concluded  at  Fort  Amsterdam. 

Nearly  all  of  the  bloodshed  and  sorrow  of  these  five  years  of  war 
may  be  charged  to  Governor  Kieft.  He  was  a  revengeful  and  cruel  man, 
whose  idea  of  government  was  to  destroy  whatever  opposed  him.  The 
people  had  many  times  desired  to  make  peace  with  the  Indians,  but  the 
project  had  always  been  defeated  by  the  headstrong  passions  of  the 
governor.  A  popular  party,  headed  by  the  able  De  Vries,  at  last  grew 
powerful  enough  to  defy  his  authority.  As  soon  as  the  war  was  ended, 
petitions  for  his  removal  were  circulated  and  signed  by  the  people.  Two 
years  after  the  treaty,  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  revoked  his  com¬ 
mission  and  appointed  Peter  Stuyvesant  to  succeed  him.  In  1647,  Kieft 
embarked  for  Europe;  but  the  heavy-laden  merchantman  in  which  he 
sailed  was  dashed  to  pieces  by  a  storm  on  the  coast  of  Wales,  and  the 
guilty  governor  of  New  Netherland  found  a  grave  in  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

NEW  YORK— ADMINISTRATION  OF  STUYVESANT. 

rriHE  honest  and  soldierly  Peter  Stuyvesant  was  the  last  and 
-L  greatest  of  the  governors  of  New  Netherland.  He  entered  upon  his 
duties  on  the  11th  of  May,  1647,  and  continued  in  office  for  more  than 
seventeen  years.  His  first  care  was  to  conciliate  the  Indians.  By  the 
wisdom  arid  liberality  of  his  government  the  wayward  red  men  were  re¬ 
claimed  from  hostility  and  hatred.  So  intimate  and  cordial  became  the 
relations  between  the  natives  and  the  Dutch  that  they  were  suspected  of 
making  common  cause  against  the  English;  even  Massachusetts  was 
alarmed  lest  such  an  alliance  should  be  formed.  But  the  policy  of 
Governor  Stuyvesant  was  based  on  nobler  principles. 

Until  now  the  West  India  Company  had  had  exclusive  control  of 


168 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  commerce  of  New  Netherland.  In  the  first  year  of  the  new  adminis¬ 
tration  this  monopoly  was  abolished,  and  regular  export  duties  were  sub¬ 
stituted.  The  benefit  of  the  change  was  at  once  apparent  in  the  improve¬ 
ment  of  the  Dutch  province.  In  one  of  the  letters  written  to  Stuyvesant 
by  the  secretary  of  the  company,  the  remarkable  prediction  is  made  that 
the  commerce  of  New  Amsterdam  should  cover  every  ocean  and  the  ships 
of  all  nations  crowd  into  her  harbor.  But  for  many  years  the  growth  of 
the  city  was  slow.  As  late  as  the  middle  of  the  century,  the  better  parts 
of  Manhattan  Island  were  still  divided  among  the  farmers.  Central  Park 
was  a  forest  of  oaks  and  chestnuts. 

In  1650,  a  boundary-line  was  fixed  between  New  England  and  New 
Netherland.  The  Dutch  were  fearful  lest  the  English  should  reach  the 
Hudson  and  cut  otf  the  fur-trade  between  Fort  Orange  and  New  Amster¬ 
dam.  Governor  Stuyvesant  met  the  ambassadors  of  the  Eastern  colonies 
at  Hartford,  and  after  much  discussion  an  eastern  limit  was  set  to  the 
Dutch  possessions.  The  line  there  established  extended  across  Long 
Island  north  and  south,  passing  through  Oyster  Bay,  and  thence  to  Green¬ 
wich,  on  the  other  side  of  the  sound.  From  this  point  northward  the 
dividing-line  was  nearly  identical  with  the  present  boundary  of  Connec¬ 
ticut  on  the  west.  This  treaty  was  ratified  by  the  colonies,  by  the  West 
India  Company  and  by  the  states-general  of  Holland;  but  the  English 
government  treated  the  matter  with  indifference  and  contempt. 

Stuyvesant  had  less  to  fear  from  the  colony  of  New  Sweden.  The 
people  of  New  Netherland  outnumbered  the  Swedes  as  ten  to  one,  and 
the  Dutch  claim  to  the  country  of  the  Delaware  had  never  been  re¬ 
nounced.  In  1651,  an  armament  left  New  Amsterdam,  entered  the  bay 
and  came  to  anchor  at  a  point  on  the  western  shore  five  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Brandywine.  On  the  present  site  of  New  Castle,  Fort  Cas- 
imir  was  built  and  garrisoned  with  Dutch  soldiers.  This  act  was 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war.  The  Swedish  settlement  of  Christiana 
was  almost  in  sight  of  the  hostile  fortress,  and  a  conflict  could  hardly  be 
avoided.  Rising,  the  governor  of  the  Swedes,  looked  on  quietly  until 
Fort  Casimir  was  completed,  then  captured  the  place  by  stratagem,  over¬ 
powered  the  garrison  and  hoisted  the  flag  of  Sweden. 

It  was  a  short-lived  triumph.  The  West  India  Company  were 
secretly  pleased  that  the  Swedes  had  committed  an  act  of  open  violence. 
Orders  were  at  once  issued  to  Stuyvesant  to  visit  the  Swedish  colonists 
with  vengeance,  and  to  compel  their  submission  or  drive  them  from  the 
Delaware.  In  September  of  1655  the  orders  of  the  company  were  car¬ 
ried  out  to  the  letter.  The  old  governor  put  himself  at  the  head  of  more 
than  six  hundred  troops — a  number  almost  equal  to  the  entire  population 


NEW  YORK.  —  ADMINISTRATION  OF  STUYVESANT.  169 


of  New  Sweden,  and  sailed  to  Delaware  Bay.  Resistance  was  hope¬ 
less.  The  Dutch  forces  were  landed  at  New  Castle,  and  the  Swe’des 
gave  way.  Before  the  25th  of  the  month  every  fort  belonging  to  the 
colony  had  been  forced  to  capitulate.  Governor  Rising  was  captured, 
but  was  treated  with  great  respect.  Honorable  terms  were  granted 
to  all,  and  in  a  few  days  the  authority  of  New  Netherland  was  estab¬ 
lished  throughout  the  country.  Except  a  few  turbulent  spirits  who 
removed  to  Maryland  and  Virginia,  submission  was  universal.  After 
an  existence  of  less  than  eighteen  years,  the  little  State  of  New  Swe¬ 
den  had  ceased  to  be.  The  American  possessions  and  territorial  claims 
of  France,  England,  Holland,  Sweden  and  Spain  will  be  best  under¬ 
stood  from  the  accompanying  map,  drawn  for  the  year  1655. 

Ho  iv  hardly  can  the  nature  of  savages  be  restrained  1  While  Gov¬ 
ernor  Stuyvesant  was  absent  on  his  expedition  against  the  Swedes,  the 
Algonquin  tribes  rose  in  rebellion.  The  poor  creatures  were  going  to 
take  New  Amsterdam.  In  a  fleet  of  sixty-four  canoes  they  appeared  be¬ 
fore  the  town,  yelling  and  discharging  arrows.  What  could  their  puny 
missiles  do  against  the  walls  of  a  European  fortress?  After  paddling 
about  until  their  rage,  but  not  their  hate,  was  spent,  the  savages  went  on 
shore  and  began  their  old  work  of  burning  and  murder.  The  return  of 
the  Dutch  forces  from  the  Delaware  induced  the  sachems  to  sue  for  peace, 
which  Stuyvesant  granted  on  better  terms  than  the  Indians  had  deserved. 
The  captives  were  ransomed,  and  the  treacherous  tribes  were  allowed  to 
go  with  trifling  punishments. 

For  eight  years  after  the  conquest  of  New  Sweden  the  peace  of  New 
Netherland  was  unbroken.  In  1663  the  natives  of  the  county  of  Ulster, 
on  the  Hudson,  broke  out  in  war.  The  town  of  Esopus,  now  Kingston, 
was  attacked  and  destroyed.  Sixty-five  of  the  inhabitants  were  either 
tomahawked  or  carried  into  captivity.  To  punish  this  outrage  a  strong 
force  was  sent  from  New  Amsterdam.  The  Indians  fled,  hoping  to  find 
refuge  in  the  woods;  but  the  Dutch  soldiers  pursued  them  to  their  vil¬ 
lages,  burned  their  wigwams  and  killed  every  warrior  who  could  be  over¬ 
taken.  As  winter  came  on,  the  humbled  tribe  began  to  beg  for  mercy . 
In  December  a  truce  was  granted;  and  in  May  of  the  following  year 
a  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded. 

Governor  Stuyvesant  had  great  difficulty  in  defending  his  province 
beyond  the  Delaware,  The  queen  of  Sweden  and  her  ministers  at  Stock¬ 
holm  still  looked  fondly  to  their  little  American  colony,  and  cherished 
the  hope  of  recovering  the  conquered  territory.  A  more  dangerous  com¬ 
petitor  was  found  in  Lord  Baltimore,  of  Maryland,  whose  patent,  given 
under  the  great  seal  of  England,  covered  all  the  territory  between  the 


170 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Bay,  as  far  north  as  the  latitude  of  Phila¬ 
delphia.  Berkeley,  of  Virginia,  also  claimed  New  Sweden  as  a  part  of 
his  dominions.  Connecticut  pushed  her  settlements  westward  on  Long 
Island,  and  purchased  all  the  remaining  Indian  claims  between  her 
western  frontier  and  the  Hudson.  Massachusetts  boldly  declared  her  in¬ 
tention  to  extend  her  boundaries  to  Fort  Orange.  The  indignant  Stuy- 
vesant  asked  the  agents  of  Connecticut  where  the  province  of  New 
Netherland  could  shortly  be  found ;  and  the  agents  coolly  answered  that 
they  did  not  know. 

Discord  at  home  added  to  the  governor’s  embarrassments.  For 
many  years  the  Dutch  had  witnessed  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
English  colonies.  Boston  had  outgrown  New  Amsterdam.  The  schools 
of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  flourished;  the  academy  on  Man¬ 
hattan,  after  a  sickly  career  of  two  years,  was  discontinued.  In  New 
Netherland  heavy  taxes  were  levied  for  the  support  of  the  poor ;  New 
England  had  no  poor.  Liberty  and  right  were  the  subjects  of  debate  in 
every  English  village ;  to  the  Dutch  farmers  and  traders  such  words  had 
little  meaning.  The  people  of  New  Netherland  grew  emulous  of  the 
progress  of  their  powerful  neighbors,  and  attributed  their  own  abasement 
to  the  mismanagement  and  selfish  greed  of  the  West  India  Company. 
Without  actual  disloyalty  to  Holland,  the  Dutch  came  to  prefer  the  laws 
and  customs  of  England.  Under  these  accumulating  troubles  the  faithful 
Stuyvesant  was  wellnigh  overwhelmed. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  at  the  beginning  of  1664.  Eng¬ 
land  and  Holland  were  at  peace.  Neither  nation  had  reason  to  appre¬ 
hend  an  act  of  violence  from  the  other.  In  all  that  followed,  the  arbi¬ 
trary  principles  and  unscrupulous  disposition  of  the  English  king  were 
fully  manifested.  On  the  12th  of  March  in  this  year  the  duke  of  York 
received  at  the  hands  of  his  brother,  Charles  II.,  two  extensive  patents 
for  American  territory.  The  first  grant  included  the  district  reaching 
from  the  Kennebec  to  the  St.  Croix  River,  and  the  second  embraced  the 
whole  country  between  the  Connecticut  and  the  Delaware.  Without  re¬ 
gard  to  the  rights  of  Holland,  in  utter  contempt  of  the  West  India  Com¬ 
pany,  through  whose  exertions  the  valley  of  the  Hudson  had  been  peopled, 
with  no  respect  for  the  wishes  of  the  Dutch,  or  even  for  the  voice  of  his 
own  Parliament,  the  English  monarch  in  one  rash  hour  despoiled  a  sister 
kingdom  of  a  well-earned  province. 

The  duke  of  York  made  haste  to  secure  his  territory.  No  time 
must  be  left  for  the  states-general  to  protest  against  the  outrage.  An 
English  squadron  was  immediately  equipped,  put  under  command  of 
Richard  Nicolls  and  sent  to  America.  In  July  the  armament  reached 


NEW  YORK.— ADMINISTRATION  OF  STUYVESANT. 


Boston,  and  thence  proceeded  against  New  Amsterdam.  On  the  28th  of 
August,  the  fleet  passed  the  Narrows,  and  anchored  at  Gravesend  Bay. 
The  English  camp  was  pitched  at  Brooklyn  Ferry;  and  before  the  Dutch 
had  recovered  from  their  surprise,  the  whole  of  Long  Island  was  sub¬ 
dued.  An  embassy  came  over  from  New  Amsterdam.  Governor  Stuy- 
vesant,  ever  true  to  his  employers,  demanded  to  know  the  meaning  of  all 
this  hostile  array.  To 
receive  the  surrender 
of  New  Nether  land 
was  the  quiet  answer 
of  Nicolls.  There 
must  be  an  immediate 
acknowledgment  of  the 
sovereignty  of  Eng¬ 
land.  Those  who  sub¬ 
mitted  should  have  the 
rights  of  Englishmen ; 
those  who  ref  u  s  e  d 
should  hear  the  crash 
of  cannon-balls.  The 
Dutch  council  of  New 
Amsterdam  was  im¬ 
mediately  convened. 

It  was  clear  that  the 
burgomasters  meant  to 

surrender.  The  stormy  pkter  stuyvesant. 

old  governor  exhorted 

them  to  rouse  to  action  and  fight;  some  one  replied  that  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company  was  not  worth  fighting  for.  Burning  with  indig¬ 
nation,  Stuyvesant  snatched  up  the  written  proposal  of  Nicolls  and  tore 
it  to  tatters  in  the  presence  of  his  council.  It  was  all  in  vain.  The 
brave  old  man  was  forced  to  sign  the  capitulation ;  and  on  the  8th  of 
September,  1664,  New  Netherland  ceased  to  exist.  The  English  flag 
was  hoisted  over  the  fort  and  town,  and  the  name  of  New  York  was 
substituted  for  New  Amsterdam.  The  surrender  of  Fort  Orange,  now 
named  Albany,  followed  on  the  24th ;  and  on  the  1st  of  October  the 
Swedish  and  Dutch  settlements  on  the  Delaware  capitulated.  The  con¬ 
quest  was  complete.  The  supremacy  of  Great  Britain  in  America  was 
finally  established.  From  the  north-east  corner  of  Maine  to  the  southern 
limits  of  Georgia,  every  mile  of  the  American  coast  was  under  the  flag 
of  England. 

IS 


172 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 

% 

RICHARD  NICOLLS,  the  first  English  governor  of  New  York, 
began  his  duties  by  settling  the  boundaries  of  his  province.  It  was 
d  work  full  of  trouble  and  vexation.  As  early  as  1623  the  whole  of  Long 
Island  had  been  granted  to  the  earl  of  Stirling.  Connecticut  also  claimed 
and  occupied  all  that  part  of  the  island  included  in  the  present  county  of 
Suffolk.  Against  both  of  these  claimants  the  patent  of  the  duke  of  York 
was  now  to  be  enforced  by  his  deputy  Nicolls.  The  claim  of  Stirling  was 
fairly  purchased  by  the  governor,  but  the  pretensions  of  Connecticut  were 
arbitrarily  set  aside.  This  action  was  the  source  of  so  much  discontent 
that  the  duke  was  constrained  to  compensate  Connecticut  by  making  a 
favorable  change  in  her  south-west  boundary-line. 

Two  months  before  the  conquest  of  New  Netherland  by  the  Eng¬ 
lish,  the  irregular  territory  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware,  as  far 
north  as  a  point  on  the  latter  river  in  the  latitude  of  forty-one  degrees 
and  forty  minutes,  wTas  granted  to  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret. 
This  district,  corresponding,  except  on  the  northern  boundary,  with  the 
present  State  of  New  Jersey,  wTas  now  wrested  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
New  York,  and  a  separate  government  established  by  the  proprietors. 
Die  country  below  the  Delaware,  until  recently  called  Newr  Sweden,  but 
10 w  named  The  Territories,  was  consolidated  with  New  York  and 
:-uled  by  deputies  appointed  by  the  governors  of  that  province.  Finally, 
the  new  name  conferred  by  Nicolls  on  his  capital  was  extended  to  all 
the  country  formerly  called  New  Netherland. 

At  the  first  the  people  were  deluded  with  many  promises  of  civil 
liberty.  To  secure  this,  the  Dutch,  against  the  passionate  appeals  of  the 
patriotic  Stuyvesant,  had  voluntarily  surrendered  themselves  to  the  Eng¬ 
lish  government.  But  it  was  a  poor  sort  of  civil  liberty  that  any  province 
was  likely  to  obtain  from  one  of  the  Stuart  kings  of  England.  The 
promised  right  of  representation  in  a  general  assembly  of  the  people  was 
evaded  and  withheld.  To  this  was  added  a  greater  grief  in  the  annulling 
of  the  old  titles  by  which,  for  half  a  century,  the  Dutch  farmers  had  held 
their  lands.  The  people  were  obliged  to  accept  new  deeds  at  the  hands 


NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 


173 


of  the  English  governor,  and  to  pay  him  therefor  such  sums  as  yielded  an 
immense  revenue.  The  evil  done  to  the  province,  however,  was  less  than 
might  have  been  ‘expected  from  so  arbitrary  and  despotic  a  government. 

In  1667,  Nicolls  was  superseded  by  Lovelace.  With  less  ability 
and  generosity  than  his  predecessor,  he  proved  a  greater  tyrant.  The  bad 
principles  of  the  system  established  by  the  duke  of  York  were  now  fully 
developed.  The  people  became  dissatisfied  and  gloomy.  Protests  against 
the  government  and  petitions  for  redress  were  constantly  presented,  and 
constantly  rejected  with  contempt.  The  discontent  was  universal.  The 
towns  of  Southold,  Southampton  and  Easthampton  resisted  the  tax- 
gatherers.  The  people  of  Huntington  voted  that  they  were  robbed  of  the 
privileges  of  Englishmen.  The  villagers  of  Jamaica,  Flushing  and  Hemp¬ 
stead  passed  a  resolution  that  the  governor’s  decree  of  taxation  was  contrary 
to  the  laws  of  the  English  nation.  The  only  attention  which  Lovelace 
and  his  council  paid  to  these  resolutions  was  to  declare  them  scandalous, 
illegal  and  seditious,  and  to  order  them  to  be  publicly  burnt  before  the 
town-house  of  New  York.  When  the  Swedes,  naturally  a  quiet  and 
submissive  people,  resisted  the  exactions  of  the  government,  they  were 
visited  with  additional  severity.  “  If  there  is  any  more  murmuring  against 
the  taxes,  make  them  so  heavy  that  the  people  can  do  nothing  but  think 
how  to  pay  them,”  said  Lovelace  in  his  instructions  to  his  deputy. 

The  Dutch  and  the  English  colonists  were  always  friends.  Not 
once  in  the  whole  history  of  the  country  did  they  lift  the  sword  against 
each  other.  Even  while  England  and  Holland  were  at  war,  as  they  were 
in  1652-54,  the  American  subjects  of  the  two  nations  remained  at  peace. 
Another  war  followed  that  act  of  violence  bv  which,  in  1664,  the  duke 
of  York  possessed  himself  of  New  Netherland ;  but  the  conflict  did  not 
extend  to  America.  A  third  time,  in  1672,  Charles  II.  was  induced  by 
the  king  of  France  to  begin  a  contest  with  the  Dutch  government.  This 
time,  indeed,  the  struggle  extended  to  the  colonies,  and  New  York  was 
revolutionized,  but  not  by  the  action  of  her  own  people.  In  1673  a  small 
squadron  was  fitted  out  by  Holland  and  placed  under  connnaud  of  the 
gallant  Captain  Evertsen.  The  fleet  sailed  for  America,  an 4  arrived  be¬ 
fore  Manhattan  on  the  30th  of  July.  The  governor  of  New  York  was 
absent,  and  Manning,  the  deputy-governor,  was  a  coward.  The  defences 
of  the  city  were  dilapidated,  and  the  people  refused  to  strengthen  them. 
Within  four  hours  after  the  arrival  of  the  squadron  the  fort  was  sur¬ 
rendered.  The  city  capitulated,  and  the  whole  province  yielded  without 
a  struggle.  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  sent  in  their  submission;  the 
name  of  New  Netherland  was  revived  ;  and  the  authority  of  Holland  was 
restored  from  Connecticut  to  Maryland. 


174 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  reconquest  of  New  York  by  the  Dutch  was  only  a  brief  mili¬ 
tary  occupation  of  the  country.  The  civil  authority  of  Holland  was  never 
reestablished.  In  1674,  Charles  II.  was  obliged  by  his  Parliament  to 
conclude  a  treaty  of  peace.  There  was  the  usual  clause  requiring  the 
restoration  of  all  conquests  made  during  the  war.  New  York  reverted 
to  the  English  government,  and  the  rights  of  the  duke  were  again  recog¬ 
nized  in  the  province.  To  make  his  authority  doubly  secure  for  the 
future,  he  obtained  from  his  brother,  the  king,  a  new  patent  confirming 
the  provisions  of  the  former  charter.  The  man  who  now  received  the 
appointment  of  deputy-governor  of  New  York  was  none  other  than  Sir 
Edmund  Andros.  On  the  last  day  of  October  the  Dutch  forces  were 
finally  withdrawn,  and  Andros  assumed  the  government. 

It  was  a  sad  sort  of  government  for  the  people.  The  worst  prac¬ 
tices  of  Lovelace’s  administration  were  revived.  The  principles  of  arbi¬ 
trary  rule  were  openly  avowed.  Taxes  were  levied  without  authority  of 
law,  and  the  appeals  and  protests  of  the  people  were  treated  with  derision. 
The  clamor  for  a  popular  legislative  assembly  had  become  so  great  that 
Andros  was  on  the  point  of  yielding.  He  even  wrote  a  letter  to  the  duke 
of  York  advising  that  thick-headed  prince  to  grant  the  people  the  right 
of  electing  a  colonial  legislature.  The  duke  replied  that  popular  assem¬ 
blies  were  seditious  and  dangerous ;  that  they  only  fostered  discontent  and 
disturbed  the  peace  of  the  government ;  and  finally,  that  he  did  not  see 
any  use  for  them.  To  the  people  of  New  York  the  civil  liberty  of  the 
New  England  colonies  seemed  farther  off  than  ever. 

By  the  terms  of  his  grant  the  duke  of  York  claimed  jurisdiction 
over  all  the  territory  between  the  Connecticut  River  and  Maryland.  To 
assert  and  maintain  this  claim  of  his  master  was  a  part  of  the  deputy- 
governor’s  business  in  America.  The  first  effort  to  extend  the  duke’s 
territorial  rights  to  the  limits  of  his  charter  was  made  in  July  of  1675. 
With  some  armed  sloops  and  a  company  of  soldiers,  Andros  proceeded  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  in  the  hope  of  establishing  his  jurisdiction. 
The  general  assembly  of  the  colony  had  heard  of  his  coming,  and  had 
sent  word  to  Captain  Bull,  who  commanded  the  fort  at  Saybrook,  to  re¬ 
sist  Andros  in  the  name  of  the  king.  When  the  latter  came  in  sight  and 
hoisted  the  flag  of  England,  the  same  colors  were  raised  within  the  fortress. 
The  royal  governor  was  permitted  to  land ;  but  when  he  began  to  read 
his  commission,  he  was  ordered  in  the  king’s  name  to  desist.  Overawed 
by  the  threatening  looks  of  the  Saybrook  militia,  Andros  retired  to  his 
boats  and  set  sail  for  Long  Island. 

Notwithstanding  the  grant  of  New  Jersey  to  Carteret  and  Berkeley, 
the  attempt  was  now  made  to  extend  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York  over 


NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 


175 


the  lower  province.  Andros  issued  a  decree  that  ships  sailing  to  and 
from  the  ports  of  New  Jersey  should  pay  a  duty  at  the  custom-house 
of  New  York.  This  tyrannical  action  was  openly  resisted.  Andros 
attempted  to  frighten  the  assembly  of  New  Jersey  into  submission,  and 
proceeded  so  far  as  to  arrest  Philip  Carteret,  the  deputy-governor.  But 
it  was  all  of  no  use.  The  representatives  of  the  people  declared  them 
selves  to  be  under  the  protection  of  the  Great  Charter,  which  not  even  the 
duke  of  York,  or  his  brother  the  king,  could  alter  or  annul.  In  August 
of  1682  the  territories  beyond  the  Delaware  were  granted  by  the  duke  t- 
William  Penn.  This  little  district,  first  settled  by  the  Swedes,  afterward 
conquered  by  the  Dutch,  then  transferred  to  England  on  the  conquest  of 
New  Netherland,  was  now  finally  separated  from  the  jurisdiction  of  New 
York  and  joined  to  Pennsylvania.  The  governors  of  the  latter  province 
continued  to  exercise  authority  over  the  three  counties  on  the  Delaware 
until  the  American  Revolution. 

At  the  close  of  Andros’s  administration,  in  1683,  Thomas  Dongan, 
a  Catholic,  became  governor  of  New  York.  For  thirty  years  the  people 
had  been  clamoring  for  a  general  assembly.  Just  before  Andros  left  the 
province,  the  demand  became  more  vehement  than  ever.  The  retiring 
governor,  himself  of  a  despotic  disposition,  counseled  the  duke  to  concede 
the  right  of  representation  to  the  people.  At  last  James  yielded,  not  so 
much  with  the  view  of  extending  popular  rights,  as  with  the  hope  of  in¬ 
creasing  his  revenues  from  the  improved  condition  of  his  province. 
Dongan,  the  new  governor,  came  with  full  instructions  to  call  an  assem¬ 
bly  of  all  the  freeholders  of  New  York,  by  whom  certain  persons  of  their 
own  number  should  be  elected  to  take  part  in  the  government.  Seventy 
years  had  passed  since  the  settlement  of  Manhattan  Island ;  and  now  for 
the  first  time  the  people  were  permitted  to  choose  their  own  rulers  and  to 
frame  their  own  laws. 

The  first  act  of  the  new  assembly  was  to  declare  that  the  supreme 
legislative  power  of  the  province  resided  in  the  governor,  the  council  and 
the  people.  All  freeholders  were  granted  the  right  of  suffrage;  trial 
by  jury  was  established ;  taxes  should  no  more  be  levied  except  by  con¬ 
sent  of  the  assembly;  soldiers  should  not  be  quartered  on  the  people; 
martial  law  should  not  exist;  no  person  accepting  the  general  doctrines 
of  religion  should  be  in  any  wise  distressed  or  persecuted.  All  the  rights? 
and  privileges  of  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  were  carefully  written  by 
the  zealous  law-makers  of  New  York  in  their  first  charter  of  liberties. 

In  July  of  1684  an  important  treaty  was  conclflded  at  Albany. 
The  governors  of  New  York  and  Virginia  were  met  in  convention  by  the 
sachems  of  the  Iroquois,  and  the  terms  of  .a  lasting  peace  were  settled 


176 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


A  long  war  ensued  between  the  Five  Nations  and  the  French.  The 
Jesuits  of  Canada  employed  every  artifice  and  intrigue  to  induce  the 
Indians  to  break  their  treaty  with  the  English,  but  all  to  no  purpose ; 
the  alliance  was  faithfully  observed.  In  1684,  and  again  in  1687,  the 
French  invaded  the  territory  of  the  Iroquois;  but  the  mighty  Mohawks 
and  Oneidas  drove  back  their  foes  with  loss  and  disaster.  By  the  barrier 
of  the  friendly  Five  Nations  on  the  north,  the  English  and  Dutch  colo¬ 
nies  were  screened  from  danger. 

In  1685  the  duke  of  York  became  king  of  England.  It  was  soon 
found  that  even  the  monarch  of  a  great  nation  could  violate  his  pledges. 
King  James  became  the  open  antagonist  of  the  government  which  had 
been  established  under  his  own  directions.  The  popular  legislature  of 
New  York  was  abrogated.  An  odious  tax  was  levied  by  an  arbitrary 
decree.  Printing-presses  were  forbidden  in  the  province.  All  the  old 
abuses  were  revived  and  made  a  public  boast. 

In  December  of  1686,  Edmund  Andros  became  governor  of  all 
New  England.  It  was  a  part  of  his  plan  to  extend  his  dominion  over 
New  York  and  New  Jersey.  To  the  former  province,  Francis  Nicholson, 
the  lieutenant-general  of  Andros,  wras  sent  as  deputy.  Dongan  was  super¬ 
seded,  and  until  the  English  Revolution  of  1688,  New  York  was  ruled 
as  a  dependency  of  New  England.  When  the  news  of  that  event  and  of 
the  accession  of  William  of  Orange  reached  the  province,  there  wras  a 
general  tumult  of  rejoicing.  The  people  rose  in  rebellion  against  the  . 
government  of  Nicholson,  who  was  glad  enough  to  escape  from  New 
York  and  return  to  England. 

The  leader  of  the  insurrection  was  Jacob  Leisler,  a  captain  of  the 
militia.  A  committee  of  ten  took  upon  themselves  the  task  of  reorganizing 
the  government.  Leisler  was  commissioned  to  take  possession  of  the  fort 
of  New  York.  Most  of  the  troops  in  the  city,  together  with  five  hundred 
volunteers,  proceeded  against  the  fort,  which  was  surrendered  without  a 
struggle.  The  insurgents  published  a  declaration  in  which  they  avowed 
their  loyalty  to  the  prince  of  Orange,  their  countryman,  and  expressed 
their  determination  to  yield  immediate  obedience  to  his  authority.  A 
provisional  government  was  organized,  with  Leisler  at  the  head.  The 
provincial  councilors,  who  were  friends  and  adherents  of  the  deposed 
Nicholson,  left  the  city  and  repaired  to  Albany.  Here  the  party  who 
were  opposed  to  the  usurpation  of  Leisler  proceeded  to  organize  a  second 
provisional  government.  Both  factions  were  careful  to  exercise  authority 
in  the  name  of  William  and  Mary,  the  new  sovereigns  of  England. 

In  September  of  1689,  Milborne,  the  son-in-law  of  Leisler,  was 
sent  to  Albany  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  town  and  fort.  Court- 


NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 


177 


land  and  Bayard,  who  were  the  leaders  of  the  northern  faction,  opposed 
the  demand  with  so  much  vigor  that  Milborne  was  obliged  to  retire  with¬ 
out  accomplishing  his  object.  Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  at  the 
beginning  of  King  William’s  War.  How  the  village  of  Schenectady  was 
destroyed  by  the  French  and  Indians,  and  how  an  unsuccessful  expedition 
by  land  and  water  was  planned  against  Quebec  and  Montreal,  has  been 
narrated  in  the  history  of  Massachusetts.  Such  was  the  dispiriting  effect 
of  these  disasters  upon  the  people  of  Albany  and  the  north  that  a  second 
effort  made  by  Milborne  against  the  government  of  the  opposing  faction 
was  successful ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1690  the  authority  of  Leisler  as  tem¬ 
porary  governor  of  New  York  was  recognized  throughout  the  province. 
The  summer  was  spent  in  fruitless  preparations  to  invade  and  conquer 
Canada.  The  general  assembly  was  convened  at  the  capital ;  but  little 
was  accomplished  except  a  formal  recognition  of  the  insurrectionary 
government  of  Leisler. 

In  January  of  1691,  Richard  Ingoldsby  arrived  at  New  York. 
He  bore  a  commission  as  captain,  and  brought  the  intelligence  that  Colo¬ 
nel  Sloughter  had  been  appointed  royal  governor  of  the  province.  Leisler 
received  Ingoldsby  with  courtesy,  and  offered  him  quarters  in  the  city ; 
but  the  latter,  without  authority  from  either  the  king  or  the  governor, 
haughtily  demanded  the  surrender  of  His  Majesty’s  fort.  Leisler  refused 
to  yield,  but  expressed  his  willingness  to  submit  to  any  one  who  bore 
a  commission  from  King  William  or  Colonel  Sloughter.  On  the  19th 
of  March  the  governor  himself  arrived;  and  Leisler  on  the  same  day 
despatched  messengers,  tendering  his  service  and  submission.  The  mes¬ 
sengers  were  arrested,  and  Ingoldsby,  the  enemy  and  rival  of  Leisler,  wras 
sent  with  verbal  orders  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  Leisler  foresaw  his 
doom,  and  hesitated.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  Sloughter,  expressing  a  desire 
to  make  a  personal  surrender  of  the  post  to  the  governor.  The  letter  was 
unanswered ;  Ingoldsby  pressed  his  demand ;  Leisler  wavered,  capitu¬ 
lated,  and  with  Milborne  was  seized  and  hurried  to  prison. 

As  soon  as  the  royal  government  was  organized  the  two  prisoners 
were  brought  to  trial.  The  charge  was  rebellion  and  treason.  Dudley, 
the  chief-justice  of  New  England,  rendered  a  decision  that  Leisler  had 
been  a  usurper.  The  prisoners  refused  to  plead,  were  convicted  and  sen¬ 
tenced  to  death.  Sloughter,  however,  determined  to  know  the  pleasure 
of  the  king  before  putting  the  sentence  into  execution.  But  the  royalist 
assembly  of  New  York  had  already  come  together,  and  the  members  were 
resolved  that  the  prisoners  should  be  hurried  to  their  death.  The  governor 
was  invited  to  a  banquet ;  and  when  heated  with  strong  drink,  the  death- 

warrant  was  thrust  before  him  for  his  signature.  He  succeeded  in  affix- 
12 


178 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ing  his  name  to  the  fatal  parchment ;  and  almost  before  the  fume3  of  his 
drunken  revel  had  passed  away,  his  victims  had  met  their  fate.  On  the 
16th  of  May,  Leisler  and  Milborne  were  brought  from  prison,  led  through 
a  drenching  rain  to  the  scatfold  and  hanged.  Within  less  than  a  year 
afterward,  their  estates,  which  had  been  confiscated,  were  restored  to  their 
heirs;  and  in  1695  the  attainder  of  the  families  was  removed. 

The  same  summer  that  witnessed  the  execution  of  Leisler  and 
Milborne  was  noted  for  the  renewal  of  the  treaty  with  the  Iroquois.  At 
Albany,  Governor  Sloughter  met  the  sachems  of  the  Five  Nations,  and 
the  former  terms  of  fidelity  and  friendship  were  reaffirmed.  In  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year  the  valiant  Major  Schuyler,  at  the  head  of  the  New  York 
militia,  joined  a  war-party  of  the  Iroquois  in  a  successful  expedition 
against  the  French  settlements  beyond  Lake  Champlain.  Meanwhile, 
the  assembly  of  the  province  had  been  in  session  at  the  capital.  Although 
the  representatives  were  royalists,  a  resolution  was  passed  against  arbitrary 
taxation,  and  another  which  declared  the  people  to  be  a  part  of  the  govern¬ 
ing  power  of  the  colony.  It  was  not  long  until  one  of  the  governors  had 
occasion  to  say  that  the  people  of  New  York  were  growing  altogether  too 
big  with  the  privileges  of  Englishmen. 

Soon  after  his  return  from  Albany,  Sloughter’s  career  was  cut 
short  by  death.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  office  of  governor  by  Benjamin 
Fletcher,  a  man  of  bad  passions  and  poor  abilities.  The  new  executive 
arrived  in  September  of  1692.  One  of  the  first  measures  of  his  adminis¬ 
tration  was  to  renew  the  recent  treaty  with  the  Iroquois.  It  was  at  this 
time  the  avowed  purpose  of  the  English  monarch  to  place  under  a  com¬ 
mon  government  all  the  territory  between  the  Connecticut  River  and 
Delaware  Bay.  To  further  this  project,  Fletcher  was  armed  with  an 
ample  and  comprehensive  commission.  He  was  made  governor  of  New 
York,  and  commander-in-chief  not  only  of  the  troops  of  his  own  province, 
but  also  of  the  militia  of  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey.  In  the  latter 
province  he  met  with  little  opposition ;  but  the  Puritans  of  Hartford  re¬ 
sisted  so  stubbornly  that  the  alarmed  and  disgusted  governor  was  glad  to 
return  to  his  own  capital. 

The  next  effort  of  the  administration  was  to  establish  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  New  York.  The  Dutch  and  the  English  colonists  of  the 
province  were  still  distinct  in  nationality ;  the  former,  though  Calvinists, 
were  not  unfriendly  to  the  Episcopal  service  which  the  Puritans  so 
heartily  despised.  In  a  religious  controversy  between  Fletcher’s  council 
and  the  English,  the  Dutch,  not  being  partisans  of  either,  looked  on  with 
comparative  indifference.  But  when  the  governor  was  on  the  point  of 
succeeding  with  his  measures,  the  general  assembly  interposed,  passed  a 


NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 


179 


decree  of  toleration,  and  brought  the  pretentious  Church  to  a  level  with 
the  rest.  Fletcher  gave  vent  to  his  indignation  by  calling  his  legislators 
a  set  of  unmannerly  and  insubordinate  boors. 

In  1696  the  territory  of  New  York  was  invaded  by  the  French 
under  Frontenac,  governor  of  Canada.  The  faithful  Iroquois  made  com¬ 
mon  cause  with  the  colonial  forces,  and  the  formidable  expedition  of  the 
French  was  turned  into  confusion.  Before  the  loss  could  be  repaired 
and  a  second  invasion  undertaken,  King  William’s  War  was  ended  by  the 
treaty  of  Ryswick.  In  the  following  year,  the  earl  of  Bellomont,  an 
Irish  nobleman  of  excellent  character  and  popular  sympathies,  succeeded 
Fletcher  in  the  government  of  New  York.  His  administration  of  less 
than  four  years  was  the  happiest  era  in  the  history  of  the  colony.  His 
authority,  like  that  of  his  predecessor,  extended  over  a  part  of  New  Eng¬ 
land.  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  were  under  his  jurisdiction, 
but  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  remained  independent.  To  this  period 
belong  the  exploits  of  the  famous  pirate,  Captain  William  Kidd. 

For  centuries  piracy  had  been  the  common  vice  of  the  high  seas 
The  nations  were  just  now  beginning  to  take  active  measures  for  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  the  atrocious  crime.  The  honest  and  humane  Bellomont  was 
one  who  was  anxious  to  see  the  end  of  piratical  violence.  His  commission 
contained  a  clause  which  authorized  the  arming  of  a  vessel  to  range  the 
Ocean  in  pursuit  of  pirates.  The  ship  was  to  bear  the  English  flag,  and 
was  also  commissioned  as  a  privateer  to  prey  upon  the  commerce  of  the 
enemies  of  England.  The  vessel  was  owned  by  a  company  of  distin¬ 
guished  and  honorable  persons ;  Governor  Bellomont  himself  was  one  of 
the  proprietors ;  and  William  Kidd  received  from  the  English  admiralty 
a  commission  as  captain.  The  ship  sailed  from  England  before  Bello- 
mont’s  departure  for  New  York.  Hardly  had  the  earl  reached  his 
province  when  the  news  came  that  Kidd  himself  had  turned  pirate  and 
become  the  terror  of  the  seas.  For  two  years  he  continued  his  infamous 
career,  then  appeared  publicly  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  was  seized,  sent 
to  England,  tried,  convicted  and  hanged.  What  disposition  was  made 
of  the  enormous  treasures  which  the  pirate-ship  had  gathered  on  the  ocean 
has  never  been  ascertained.  It  has  been  thought  that  the  vast  hoard  of 
ill-gotten  wealth  was  buried  in  the  sands  of  Long  Island.  Governor 
Bellomont  was  charged  with  having  shared  the  booty,  but  an  in¬ 
vestigation  before  the  House  of  Commons  showed  the  accusation  to  be 
groundless. 

In  striking  contrast  with  the  virtues  and  wisdom  of  Bellomont 
were  the  vices  and  folly  of  Lord  Cornbury,  who  succeeded  him.  He 
arrived  at  New  York  in  the  beginning  of  May,  1702.  A  month 


180 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


previously  the  proprietors  of  New  Jersey  had  surrendered  their  rights 
in  the  province  to  the  English  Crown.  All  obstacles  being  thus  removed, 
the  two  colonies  were  formally  united  in  one  government  under  the 
authority  of  Cornbury.  For  a  period  of  thirty-six  years  the  territories, 
though  with  separate  assemblies,  continued  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a 
single  executive. 

One  of  Cornbury’s  first  acts  was  to  forge  a  clause  in  his  own  com¬ 
mission.  Desiring  to  foster  the  Established  Church,  and  finding  nothing 
to  that  effect  in  his  instructions,  he  made  instructions  for  himself.  At 
first  the  people  received  him  with  great  favor.  The  assembly  voted  two 
thousand  pounds  sterling  to  compensate  him  for  the  expenses  of  his 
voyage.  In  order  to  improve  and  fortify  the  Narrows,  an  additional  sum 
of  fifteen  hundred  pounds  was  granted.  Th§  money  was  taken  out  of  the 
treasury,  but  no  improvement  was  visible  at  the  Narrows.  The  repre¬ 
sentatives  modestly  inquired  what  had  become  of  their  revenues.  Lord 
Cornbury  replied  that  the  assembly  of  New  York  had  no  right  to  ask 
questions  until  the  queen  should  give  them  permission.  The  old  and 
oft-repeated  conflict  between  personal  despotism  and  popular  liberty  broke 
out  anew.  The  people  of  the  province  were  still  divided  on  the  subject 
of  Leisler’s  insurrection.  Cornbury  became  a  violent  partisan,  favoring 
the  enemies  and  persecuting  the  friends  of  that  unfortunate  leader ;  and  so 
from  year  to  year  matters  grew  constantly  worse,  until  between  the  gov¬ 
ernor  and  his  people  there  existed  no  relation  but  that  of  mutual  hatred. 

In  1708  the  civil  dissensions  of  the  province  reached  a  climax. 
Each  succeeding  assembly  resisted  more  stubbornly  the  measures  of  the 
governor.  Time  and  again  the  people  petitioned  for  his  removal.  The 
councilors  selected  their  own  treasurer,  refused  to  vote  appropriations, 
and  curtailed  Cornbury’s  revenues  until  he  was  impoverished  and  ruined. 
Then  came  Lord  Lovelace  with  a  commission  from  Queen  Anne,  and  the 
passionate,  wretched  governor  was  unceremoniously  turned  out  of  office. 
Left  to  the  mercy  of  his  injured  subjects,  they  arrested  him  for  debt  and 
threw  him  into  prison,  where  he  lay  until,  by  his  father’s  death,  he  be¬ 
came  a  peer  of  England  and  could  be  no  longer  held  in  confinement. 

During  the  progress  of  Queen  Anne’s  War  the  troops  of  New  York 
cooperated  with  the  army  and  navy  of  New  England.  Eighteen  hun¬ 
dred  volunteers  from  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware  composed  the  land 
forces  in  the  unsuccessful  expedition  against  Montreal  in  the  winter  of 
1709-10.  The  provincial  army  proceeded  as  far  as  South  River,  east 
of  Lake  George.  Here  information  was  received  that  the  English  fleet 
which  was  expected  to  cooperate  in  the  reduction  of  Quebec  had  been 
sent  to  Portugal;  the  armament  of  New  England  was  insufficient  of 


NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 


181 


itself  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  the  Canadian  stronghold ;  and  the  troops 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  were  obliged  to  retreat.  Again,  in  1711, 
when  the  incompetent  Sir  Hovenden  Walker  was  pretending  to  conduct 
his  fleet  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  was  in  reality  only  anxious  to  get 
away,  the  army  which  was  to  invade  Canada  by  land  was  furnished  by 
New  York.  A  second  time  the  provincial  forces  reached  Lake  George ; 
but  the  dispiriting  news  of  the  disaster  to  Walker’s  fleet  destroyed  all 
hope  of  success,  and  the  discouraged  soldiers  returned  to  their  homes. 

Failure  and  disgrace  were  not  the  only  distressing  circumstances 
of  these  campaigns ;  a  heavy  debt  remained  to  overshadow  the  prosperity 
of  New  York  and  to  consume  her  revenues.  For  many  years  the  re¬ 
sources  of  the  province  were  exhausted  in  meeting  the  extraordinary 
expenses  of  Queen  Anne’s  war.  In  1713  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  put  an 
end  to  the  conflict,  and  peace  returned  to  the  American  colonies.  In  this 
year  the  Tuscaroras  of  Carolina — a  nation  of  the  same  race  with  the  Iro¬ 
quois  and  Hurons  of  the  North — were  defeated  and  driven  from  their 
homes  by  the  Southern  colonists.  The  haughty  tribe  marched  north¬ 
ward,  crossed  the  middle  colonies  and  joined  their  warlike  kinsmen  on 
the  St.  Lawrence,  making  the  sixth  nation  in  the  Iroquois  confederacy. 
Nine  years  later  a  great  council  was  held  at  Albany.  There  the  grand 
sachems  of  the  Six  Nations  were  met  by  the  governors  of  New  York, 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  An  important  commercial  treaty  was 
formed,  by  which  the  extensive  and  profitable  fur-trade  of  the  Indians, 
which,  until  now,  had  been  engrossed  by  the  French,  was  diverted  to  the 
English.  In  order  to  secure  the  full  benefits  of  this  arrangement,  Governor 
Burnett  of  New  York  hastened  to  establish  a  trading-post  at  Oswego,  on 
the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario.  Five  years  later  a  substantial  fort 
was  built  at  the  same  place  and  furnished  with  an  English  garrison.  As 
late  as  the  middle  of  the  century,  Oswego  continued  to  be  the  only  forti¬ 
fied  outpost  of  the  English  in  the  entire  country  drained  by  the  St.  Law¬ 
rence  and  its  tributaries.  The  French,  meanwhile,  had  built  a  strong  fort 
at  Niagara,  and  another  at  Crown  Point,  on  the  western  shore  of  Lake 
Champlain.  The  struggle  for  colonial  supremacy  between  the  two  nations 
was  already  beginning. 

The  administration  of  Governor  Cosby,  who  succeeded  Burnett  in 
1732,  was  a  stormy  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  colony.  The  people  were 
in  a  constant  struggle  with  the  royal  governors.  At  this  time  the  contest 
took  the  form  of  a  dispute  about  the  freedom  of  the  press.  The  liberal 
or  democratic  party  of  the  province  held  that  a  public  journal  might  criti¬ 
cise  the  acts  of  the  administration  and  publish  views  distasteful  to  the 
government.  The  aristocratic  party  opposed  such  liberty  as  a  dangerous 


182 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


license,  which,  if  permitted,  would  soon  sap  the  foundations  of  all  au¬ 
thority.  Zenger,  an  editor  of  one  of  the  liberal  newspapers,  published 
hostile  criticisms  on  the  policy  of  the  governor,  was  seized  and  put  in 
prison.  Great  excitement  ensued.  The  people  were  clamorous  for  their 
champion.  Andrew  Hamilton,  a  noted  lawyer  of  Philadelphia,  went  to 
New  York  to  defend  Zenger,  who  was  brought  to  trial  in  July  of  1735. 
The  charge  was  libel  against  the  government ;  the  cause  was  ably  argued, 
and  the  jury  made  haste  to  bring  in  a  verdict  of  acquittal.  The  aldermen 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  order  to  testify  their  appreciation  of  Hamil¬ 
ton’s  services  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  made  him  a  present  of  an  elegant 
gold  box,  and  the  people  were  wild  with  enthusiasm  over  their  victory. 

New  York,  like  Massachusetts,  was  once  visited  with  a  fatal  delu¬ 
sion.  In  the  year  1741  occurred  what  is  known  as  the  Negro  Plot. 
Slavery  was  permitted  in  the  province,  and  negroes  constituted  a  large 
fraction  of  the  population.  Several  destructive  fires  had  occurred,  and  it 
was  believed  that  they  had  been  kindled  by  incendiaries.  The  slaves 
were  naturally  distrusted ;  now  they  became  feared  and  hated.  Some 
degraded  women  came  forward  and  gave  information  that  the  negroes 
had  made  a  plot  to  burn  the  city,  kill  all  who  opposed  them,  and  set  up 
one  of  their  own  number  as  governor.  The  whole  story  was  the  essence 
of  absurdity ;  but  the  people  were  alarmed,  and  were  ready  to  believe 
anything.  The  reward  of  freedom  was  offered  to  any  slave  who  would 
reveal  the  plot.  Many  witnesses  rushed  forward  with  foolish  and  contra¬ 
dictory  stories;  the  jails  were  filled  with  the  accused;  and  more  than 
thirty  of  the  miserable  creatures,  with  hardly  the  form  of  a  trial,  were 
convicted  and  then  hanged  or  burned  to  death.  Others  were  transported 
and  sold  as  slaves  in  foreign  lands.  As  soon  as  the  supposed  peril  had 
passed  and  the  excited  people  regained  their  senses,  it  came  to  be  doubted 
whether  the  whole  shocking  affair  had  not  been  the  result  of  terror  and 
fanaticism.  The  verdict  of  after  times  has  been  that  there  was  no  plot 
at  all. 

During  the  progress  of  King  George’s  War  the  territory  of  New 
York  was  several  times  invaded  by  the  French  and  Indians.  But  the 
invasions  were  feeble  and  easily  repelled.  Except  the  abandonment  of  a 
few  villages  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  and  the  destruction  of  a 
small  amount  of  exposed  property,  little  harm  was  done  to  the  province. 
The  alliance  of  the  fierce  Mohawks  with  the  English  always  made  the  in¬ 
vasion  of  New  York  by  the  French  an  exploit  of  more  danger  than  profit. 
The  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  concluded  in  1748,  again  brought  peace 
and  prosperity  to  the  people. 

Notwithstanding  the  central  position  of  New  York,  her  growth 


NEW  YORK  UNDER  THE  ENGLISH. 


183 


was  slow,  her  development  unsteady,  and  her  prospects  darkened  with 
much  adversity.  In  population  she  stood,  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
French  and  Indian  war,  but  sixth  in  a  list  of  the  colonies.  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  had  all 
outstripped  her  in  the  race.  But  the  elements  of  future  renown  were 
nowhere  else  more  abundantly  bestowed.  Here  at  the  foot  of  her 
principal  city  lay  the  most  convenient  and  commodious  harbor  on  the 
Atlantic.  A  magnificent  river — draining  the  country  as  far  as  where, 
at  Onondaga,  burned  the  great  council-fire  of  the  Six  Nations — rolled 
down  through  fruitful  valleys  to  join  the  waters  of  the  bay.  Best  of 
all,  the  people  who  inhabited  the  noble  province  were  ever  ready  to 
resist  oppression,  bold  to  defend  their  rights,  and  zealous  in  the  cause 
of  freedom. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  little  colony  planted  on  Manhattan 
Island.  A  hundred  and  thirty  years  have  passed  since  the  first  feeble 
settlements  were  made ;  now  the  great  valley  of  the  Hudson  is  filled  with 
beautiful  farms  and  teeming  villages.  The  Walloons  of  Flanders  and 
the  Puritans  of  New  England  have  blended  into  a  common  people.  Dis¬ 
cord  and  contention,  though  bitter  while  they  lasted,  have  borne  only  the 
peaceful  fruit  of  colonial  liberty.  There  are  other  and  greater  struggles 
through  which  New  York  must  pass,  other  burdens  to  be  borne,  other 
calamities  to  be  endured,  other  fires  in  which  her  sons  must  be  tried  and 
purified,  before  they  gain  their  freedom.  But  the  oldest  and  greatest  of 
the  middle  colonies  has  entered  upon  a  glorious  career,  and  the  ample 
foundations  of  an  Empike  State  are  securely  laid. 


COLONIAL  HISTORY — Continued. 

MINOR  EASTERN  COLONIES. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CONNECTICUT. 

THE  history  of  Connecticut  begins  with  the  year  1630.  The  first 
grant  of  the  territory  was  made  by  the  council  of  Plymouth  to  the 
earl  of  Warwick;  and  in  March  of  1631  the  claim  was  transferred  by 
him  to  Lord  Say-and-Seal,  Lord  Brooke,  John  Hampden  and  others. 
Before  a  colony  could  be  planted  by  the  proprietors,  the  Dutch  of  New 
Nether  land  reached  the  Connecticut  River  and  built  at  Hartford  their 
fort,  called  the  House  of  Good  Hope.  The  people  of  New  Plymouth 
immediately  organized  and  sent  out  a  force  to  counteract  this  movement 
of  their  rivals.  The  territorial  claim  of  the  Puritans  extended  not  only 
over  Connecticut,  but  over  New  Netherland  itself  and  onward  to  the 
west.  Should  the  intruding  Dutch  colonists  of  Manhattan  be  allowed 
to  move  eastward  and  take  possession  of  the  finest  valley  in  New  Eng¬ 
land  ?  Certainly  not. 

The  English  expedition  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  and 
sailed  up  the  river.  When  the  little  squadron  came  opposite  the  House 
of  Good  Hope,  the  commander  of  the  garrison  ordered  Captain  Holmes, 
the  English  officer,  to  strike  his  colors;  but  the  order  was  treated 
with  derision.  The  Dutch  threatened  to  tire  in  case  the  fleet  should  attempt 
to  pass ;  but  the  English  defiantly  hoisted  sails  and  proceeded  up  the  river. 
The  puny  cannons  of  the  House  of  Good  Hope  remained  cold  and  silent. 
At  a  point  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Farmington,  seven  miles  above 
Hartford,  the  Puritans  lauded  and  built  the  block-house  of  Windsor. 

In  October  of  1635  a  colony  of  sixty  persons  left  Boston,  traversed 
the  forests  of  Central  Massachusetts,  and  settled  at  Hartford,  Windsor 
and  Wethersfield.  Earlier  in  the  same  year  the  younger  Winthrop,  a 

man  who  in  all  the  virtues  of  a  noble  life  was  a  worthy  rival  of  his 
(184) 


ROGER  WILLIAMS  OPPOSING  THE  PEQUOT  EMISSARIES, 


CONNECTICUT. 


185 


father,  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  arrived  in  New  England.  He 
bore  a  commission  from  the  proprietors  of  the  Western  colony  to  build  a 
fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  River,  and  to  prevent  the  further 
encroachments  of  the  Dutch.  The  fortress  was  hastily  completed  and 
the  guns  mounted  just  in  time  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  a  Dutch 
trading-vessel  which  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Such  was  the 
founding  of  Saybrook,  so  named  in  honor  of  the  proprietors,  Lords  Say- 
and-Seal  and  Brooke.  Thus  was  the  most  important  river  of  New  Eng¬ 
land  brought  under  the  dominion  of  the  Puritans;  the  solitary  Dutch 
settlement  at  Hartford  was  cut  off  from  succor  and  left  to  dwindle  into 
insignificance. 

To  the  early  annals  of  Connecticut  belongs  the  sad  story  of  the 
Pequod  War.  The  country  west  of  the  Thames  was  more  thickly 
peopled  with  savages  than  any  other  portion  of  New  England.  The 
haughty  and  warlike  Pequods  were  alone  able  to  muster  seven  hundred 
warriors.  The  whole  effective  force  of  the  English  colonists  did  not 
amount  to  two  hundred  men.  But  the  superior  numbers  of  the  cunning 
and  revengeful  savages  were  more  than  balanced  by  the  unflinching 
courage  and  destructive  weapons  of  the  English. 

The  first  act  of  violence  was  committed  in  the  year  1633.  The 
crew  of  a  small  trading- vessel  were  ambushed  and  murdered  on  the  banks 
of  the  Connecticut.  An  Indian  embassy  went  to  Boston  to  apologize  for 
the  crime ;  the  nation  was  forgiven  and  received  in  friendship.  A  treaty 
was  patched  up,  the  Pequods  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  and  promising  to  become  civilized.  The  Narragansetts,  the  heredi¬ 
tary  enemies  of  the  Pequods,  had  already  yielded  to  the  authority  of 
Massachusetts  and  promised  obedience  to  her  laws.  A  reconciliation  was 
thus  effected  between  the  two  hostile  races  of  savages.  But  as  soon  as  the 
Pequods  were  freed  from  their  old  fear  of  the  Narragansetts,  they  began 
to  violate  their  recent  treaty  with  the  English.  Oldham,  the  worthy 
captain  of  a  trading-vessel,  was  murdered  near  Block  Island.  A  com¬ 
pany  of  militia  pursued  the  perpetrators  of  the  outrage  and  gave  them 
a  bloody  punishment.  All  the  slumbering  hatred  and  suppressed  rage 
of  the  nation  burst  forth,  and  the  war  began  in  earnest. 

In  this  juncture  of  affairs  the  Pequods  attempted  a  piece  of  danger¬ 
ous  diplomacy.  A  persistent  effort  was  made  to  induce  the  Narragansetts 
and  the  Mohegans  to  join  in  a  war  of  extermination  against  the  English ; 
and  the  plot  was  wellnigh  successful.  But  the  heroic  Roger  Williams, 
faithful  in  his  misfortunes,  sent  a  letter  to  Sir  Henry  Vane,  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  warned  him  of  the  impending  danger,  and  volunteered  his 
services  to  defeat  the  conspiracy.  The  governor  replied,  urging  Williams 
U 


186 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


to  use  his  utmost  endeavors  to  thwart  the  threatened  alliance.  Embark¬ 
ing  alone  in  a  frail  canoe,  the  exile  left  Providence,  which  he  had  founded 
only  a  month  before,  and  drifted  out  into  Narragansett  Bay.  Every  mo¬ 
ment  it  seemed  that  the  poor  little  boat  with  its  lonely  passenger  would  be 
swallowed  up ;  but  his  courage  and  skill  as  an  oarsman  at  last  brought 
him  to  the  shore  in  safety.  Proceeding  at  once  to  the  house  of  Canonicus, 
kinc;  of  the  Narragansetts,  he  found  the  painted  and  bloody  ambassadors 
of  the  Pequods  already  there.  For  three  days  and  nights,  at  the  deadly 
peril  of  his  life,  he  pleaded  with  Canonicus  and  Miantonomoh  to  reject 
*  the  proposals  of  the  hostile  tribe,  and  to  stand  fast  in  their  allegiance  to 
the  English.  His  noble  efforts  were  successful;  the  wavering  Narra- 
gansetts  voted  to  remain  at  peace,  and  the  disappointed  Pequod  chiefs 
were  sent  away. 

The  Mohegans  also  rejected  the  proposed  alliance.  Uncas,  the 
sachem  of  that  nation,  not  only  remained  faithful  to  the  whites,  but  fur¬ 
nished  a  party  of  warriors  to  aid  them  against  the  Pequods.  In  the 
meantime,  repeated  acts  of  violence  had  roused  the  colony  to  vengeance. 
During  the  winter  of  1636-37  many  murders  were  committed  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Saybrook.  In  the  following  April  a  massacre  occurred 
at  Wethersfield,  in  which  nine  persons  were  butchered.  On  the  1st  day 
of  May  the  three  towns  of  Connecticut  declared  war.  Sixty  gallant  volun¬ 
teers — one-third  of  the  whole  effective  force  of  the  colony — were  put  under 
command  of  Captain  John  Mason  of  Hartford.  Seventy  Mohegans  joined 
the  expedition  ;  and  the  thoughtful  Sir  Henry  Vane  sent  Captain  Under¬ 
hill  with  twenty  soldiers  from  Boston. 

The  descent  from  Hartford  to  Saybrook  occupied  one  day.  On  the 
20th  of  the  month  the  expedition,  sailing  eastward,  passed  the  mouth  of 
the  Thames ;  here  was  the  principal  seat  of  the  Pequod  nation.  When 
the  savages  saw  the  squadron  go  by  without  attempting  to  land,  they  set 
up  shouts  of  exultation,  and  persuaded  themselves  that  the  English  were 
afraid  to  hazard  battle.  But  the  poor  natives  had  sadly  mistaken  the 
men  with  whom  they  had  to  deal.  The  fleet  proceeded  quietly  into 
Narragansett  Bay  and  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Wickford.  Here  the 
troops  landed  and  began  their  march  into  the  country  of  the  Pequods. 
After  one  day’s  advance,  Mason  reached  the  cabin  of  Canonicus  and 
Miantonomoh,  sachems  of  the  Narragansetts.  Them  he  attempted  to 
persuade  to  join  him  against  the  common  enemy ;  but  the  wary  chieftains, 
knowing  the  prowess  of  the  Pequods,  and  fearing  that  the  English  might 
be  defeated,  decided  to  remain  neutral. 

On  the  evening  of  the  25th  of  May  the  troops  of  Connecticut  came 
within  hearing  of  the  Pequod  fort.  The  unsuspecting  warriors  spent 


CONNECTICUT. 


187 


SCENE  OF  THE  PEQUOD  VAR 


their  last  night  on  earth  in  uproar  and  jubilee.  At  two  o’clock  in  the 
morning  the  English  soldiers  rose  suddenly  from  their  places  of  conceal¬ 
ment  and  rushed  forward  to  the  fort.  A  dog  ran  howling  among  the 
wigwams,  and  the  warriors  sprang  t.o 
arms,  only  to  receive  a  deadly  volley 
from  the  English  muskets.  The  fear¬ 
less  assailants  leaped  over  the  puny 
palisades  and  began  the  work  of 
death ;  but  the  savages  rose  on  every 
side  in  such  numbers  that  Mason’s 
men  were  about  to  be  overwhelmed. 

“  Burn  them  !  burn  them  !”  shouted 
the  dauntless  captain,  seizing  a  flaming 
mat  and  running  to  the  windward  of 
the  cabins.  “  Burn  them !”  resounded  on  every  side ;  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  dry  wigwams  were  one  sheet  of  crackling  flame.  The  Eng¬ 
lish  and  Mohegans  hastily  withdrew  to  the  ramparts.  The  yelling  savages 
found  themselves  begirt  with  fire.  They  ran  round  and  round  like  wild 
beasts  in  a  burning  circus.  If  one  of  the  wretched  creatures  burst  through 
the  flames,  it  was  only  to  meet  certain  death  from  a  broadsword  or  a 
musket-ball.  The  destruction  was  complete  and  awful.  Only  seven 
warriors  escaped ;  seven  others  were  made  prisoners.  Six  hundred  men. 
women  and  children  perished,  nearly  all  of  them  being  roasted  to  death 
in  a  hideous  heap.  Before  the  rising  of  the  sun  the  pride  and  glory  of 
the  Pequods  had  passed  away  for  ever.  Sassacus,  the  grand  sachem  of 
the  tribe,  escaped  into  the  forest,  fled  for  protection  to  the  Mohawks,  and 
was  murdered.  Two  of  the  English  soldiers  were  killed  and  twenty 
ethers  wounded  in  the  battle. 

In  the  early  morning  three  hundred  Pequods,  the  remnant  of  the 
nation,  approached  from  a  second  fort  in  the  neighborhood.  They  had 
heard  the  tumult  of  battle,  and  supposed  their  friends  victorious.  To  their 
utter  horror,  they  found  their  fortified  town  in  ashes  and  nearly  all  their 
proud  tribe  lying  in  one  blackened  pile  of  half-burnt  flesh  and  bones. 
The  savage  warriors  stamped  the  earth,  yelled  and  tore  their  hair  in 
desperate  rage,  and  ran  howling  through  the  woods.  Mason’s  men  re¬ 
turned  by  way  of  New  London  to  Say  brook,  and  thence  to  Hartford. 
New  troops  arrived  from  Massachusetts.  The  remnants  of  the  hostile 
nation  were  pursued  into  the  swamps  and  thickets  west  of  Saybrook. 
Every  wigwam  of  the  Pequods  was  burned,  and  every  field  laid  waste. 
The  remaining  two  hundred  panting  fugitives  were  hunted  to  death  or 
captivity.  The  prisoners  were  distributed  as  servants  among  the  Narra- 


188 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


gansetts  and  Mohegans ;  a  few  were  sold  as  slaves.  The  first  war  between 
the  English  colonists  and  the  natives  had  ended  in  the  overthrow  and 
destruction  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  tribes  of  New  England.  For 
many  years  the  other  nations,  when  Xempted  to  hostility,  remembered  the 
fate  of  the  Pequods. 

The  final  capture  of  the  Pequod  fugitives  was  made  at  Fairfield, 
on  Long  Island  Sound,  fifty  miles  south-west  from  Saybrook.  The  Eng¬ 
lish  thus  became  better  acquainted  with  the  coast  west  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Connecticut.  Some  men  of  Boston  were  delighted  with  the  beautiful 
plain  between  the  Wallingford  and  West  Rivers.  Here  they  tarried  over 
winter,  building  some  cabins  and  exploring  the  country;  such  was  the 
founding  of  New  Haven.  Shortly  afterward,  a  Puritan  colony  from 
England,  under  the  leadership  of  Theophilus  Eaton  and  John  Davenport, 
arrived  at  Boston.  Hearing  of  the  beauty  of  the  country  on  the  sound, 
the  new  immigrants  again  set  sail,  and  about  the  middle  of  April  reached 
New  Haven.  On  the  morning  of  the  first  Sabbath  after  their  arrival  the 
colonists  assembled  for  worship  under  a  spreading  oak ;  and  Davenport, 
their  minister,  preached  a  touching  and  appropriate  sermon  on  The 
Temptation  in  the  Wilderness.  The  next  care  was  to  make  an 
honorable  purchase  of  land  from  the  Indians — a  policy  which  was  ever 
afterward  faithfully  adhered  to  by  the  colony.  For  the  first  year  there 
was  no  government  except  a  simple  covenant,  into  which  the  settlers 
entered,  that  all  would  be  obedient  to  the  rules  of  Scripture. 

In  June  of  1639  the  leading  men  of  New  Haven  held  a  convention 
in  a  barn,  and  formally  adopted  the  Bible  as  the  constitution  of  the  State. 
Everything  was  strictly  conformed  to  the  religious  standard.  The  govern¬ 
ment  was  called  the  House  of  Wisdom,  of  which  Eaton,  Davenport  and 
five  others  were  the  seven  Pillars.  None  but  church  members  were  ad¬ 
mitted  to  the  rights  of  citizenship.  All  offices  were  to  be  filled  by  the 
votes  of  the  freemen  at  an  annual  election.  For  twenty  years  consecu¬ 
tively,  Mr.  Eaton — first  and  greatest  of  the  pillars — was  chosen  governor 
of  the  colony.  Other  settlers  came,  and  pleasant  villages  sprang  up  on 
both  shores  of  Long  Island  Sound. 

Civil  government  began  in  Connecticut  in  the  year  1639.  Until 
that  time  the  Western  colonies  had  been  subject  to  Massachusetts,  and 
had  scarcely  thought  of  independence.  But  when  the  soldiers  of  Hartford 
returned  victorious  from  the  Pequod  war,  the  exulting  people  began  to 
think  of  a  separate  commonwealth.  If  they  could  fight  their  own  battles, 
could  they  not  make  their  own  laws?  Delegates  from  the  three  towns 
came  together  at  Hartford,  and  on  the  14th  of  January  a  constitution  was 
framed  for  the  colony.  The  new  instrument  was  one  of  the  most  simple 


CONNECTICUT. 


189 


and  liberal  ever  adopted.  An  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  State  was  the 
only  qualification  of  citizenship.  No  recognition  of  the  English  king  or 
of  any  foreign  authority  was  required.  Different  religious  opinions  were 
alike  tolerated  and  respected.  All  the  officers  of  the  colony  were  to  be 
chosen  by  ballot  at  an  annual  election.  The  law-making  power  wae 
vested  in  a  general  assembly,  and  the  representatives  were  apportioned 
among  the  towns  according  to  population.  Neither  Say  brook  nor  New 
Haven  adopted  this  constitution,  by  which  the  other  colonies  in  the  valley 
of  the  Connecticut  were  united  in  a  common  government. 

In  1643,  Connecticut  became  a  member  of  the  Union  of  New  Eng¬ 
land.  Into  this  confederacy  New  Haven  was  also  admitted;  and  in  the 
next  year  Saybrook  was  purchased  of  George  Fenwick,  one  of  the  pro¬ 
prietors,  and  permanently  annexed  to  Connecticut.  The  anticipated  diffi¬ 
culties  with  the  Dutch  of  New  Netherland  had  made  the  colonies  of  the 
West  anxious  for  a  closer  union  with  Massachusetts.  The  fears  of  the 
people  were  not  entirely  quieted  until  1650,  when  Governor  Stuyvesant 
met  the  commissioners  of  Connecticut  at  Hartford,  and  established  the 
western  boundary  of  the  province.  This  measure  promised  peace ;  but  in 
1651  war  broke  out  between  England  and  Holland,  and  notwithstanding 
the  recent  pledges  of  friendship,  New  England  and  New  Netherland  were 
wellnigh  drawn  into  the  conflict.  Stuyvesant  was  suspected  of  inciting 
the  Indians  against  the  English ;  a  declaration  of  war  was  proposed  be¬ 
fore  the  delegates  of  the  united  colonies,  and  was  only  prevented  from 
passing  by  the  veto  of  Massachusetts.  Left  without  support,  Connecticut 
and  New  Haven  next  sought  aid  from  Cromwell,  who  entered  heartily 
into  the  project  and  sent  out  a  fleet  to  co-operate  with  the  colonists  in  the 
reduction  of  New  Netherland.  But  while  the  western  towns  were  busily 
preparing  for  war,  the  news  of  peace  arrived,  and  hostilities  were  happily 
averted. 

On  the  restoration  of  monarchy  in  England,  Connecticut  made 
haste  to  recognize  King  Charles  as  rightful  sovereign.  ,It  was  as  much 
an  act  of  sound  policy  as  of  loyal  zeal.  The  people  of  the  Connecticut 
valley  were  eager  for  a  royal  charter.  They  had  conquered  the  Pequods ; 
they  had  bought  the  lands  of  the  Mohegans ;  they  had  purchased  the 
claims  of  the  earl  of  Warwick ;  it  only  remained  to  secure  all  these 
acquisitions  with  a  patent  from  the  king.  The  infant  republic  selected 
its  best  and  truest  man,  the  scholarly  younger  Winthrop,  and  sent  him 
as  ambassador  to  London.  He  bore  with  him  a  charter  which  had  been 
carefully  prepared  by  the  authorities  of  Hartford ;  the  problem  was  to 
induce  the  king  to  sign  it. 

The  aged  Lord  Say-and-Seal,  for  many  years  the  friend  and  bene- 


190 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


factor  of  the  colony,  was  now  an  important  officer  of  the  Crown.  To  him 
Winthrop  delivered  a  letter,  unfolded  his  plans  and  appealed  for  help ; 
and  the  appeal  was  not  in  vain.  The  earl  of  Manchester,  lord  chamber' 
lain  to  the  king,  was  induced  to  lend  his  aid.  Winthrop  easily  obtained 
an  audience  with  the  sovereign,  and  did  not  fail  to  show  him  a  ring 
which  Charles  I.  had  given  as  a  pledge  of  friendship  to  Winthrop’s 
grandfather.  The  little  token  so  moved  the  wayward  monarch’s  feelings 

that  in  a  moment 
of  careless  mag¬ 
nanimity  he  signed 
the  colonial  charter 
without  the  alter¬ 
ation  of  a  letter. 
Winthrop  returned 
to  the  rejoicing  col¬ 
ony,  bearing  a  pat¬ 
ent  the  most  liberal 
and  ample  ever 
granted  by  an  Eng¬ 
lish  monarch.  The 
power  of  govern¬ 
ing  themselves  was 
conferred  on  the 
people  without 
qualification  or  re¬ 
striction.  Every 
right  of  sovereign¬ 
ty  and  of  inde¬ 
pendence,  except 
the  name,  was  con¬ 
ceded  to  the  new  State.  The  territory  included  under  the  charter  ex¬ 
tended  from  the  bay  and  river  of  the  Narragansetts  westward  to  the 
Pacific.  The  people  who  had  built  the  House  of  Wisdom  at  New 
Haven  now  found  themselves  the  unwilling  subjects  of  the  new  com¬ 
monwealth  of  Connecticut. 

For  fourteen  years  the  excellent  Winthrop  was  annually  chosen 
governor  of  the  colony.  Every  year  added  largely  to  the  population  and 
wealth  of  the  province.  The  civil  and  religious  institutions  were  the 
freest  and  best  in  New  England.  Peace  reigned ;  the  husbandman  was 
undisturbed  in  the  field,  the  workman  in  his  shop.  Even  during  King 
Philip’s  War,  Connecticut  was  saved  from  invasion.  Not  a  war-whoop 


THE  VOOSGKB  WINTHROP. 


CONNECTICUT. 


191 


was  heard,  not  a  hamlet  burned,  not  a  life  lost,  within  her  borders.  Her 
soldiers  made  common  cause  with  their  brethren  of  Massachusetts  and 
Rhode  Island;  but  their  own  homes  were  saved  from  the  desolations 
of  war. 

In  July  of  1675,  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  the  governor  of  New  York, 
arrived  with  an  armed  sloop  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut.  Orders 
were  sent  to  Captain  Bull,  who  commanded  the  fort  at  Saybrook,  to  sur¬ 
render  his  post;  but  the  brave  captain  replied  by  hoisting  the  flag  of 
England  and  assuring  the  bearer  of  the  message  that  his  master  would 
better  retire.  Andros,  however,  landed  and  came  to  a  parley  with  the 
officers  of  the  fort.  He  began  to  read  his  commission,  but  was  ordered 
to  stop.  In  vain  did  the  arrogant  magistrate  insist  tnat  the  dominions 
of  the  duke  of  York  extended  from  the  Connecticut  to  the  Delaware. 
“  Connecticut  has  her  own  charter,  signed  by  His  Gracious  Majesty  King 
Charles  II.,”  said  Captain  Bull.  “  Leave  otf  your  reading,  or  take  the 
consequences !”  The  argument  prevailed,  and  the  red-coated  governor, 
trembling  with  rage,  was  escorted  to  his  boat  by  a  company  cf  Saybrook 
militia. 

In  1686,  when  Andros  was  made  royal  governor  of  New  England, 
Connecticut  was  again  included  in  his  jurisdiction.  The  first  year  of  his 
administration  was  spent  in  establishing  his  authority  in  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island  and  New  Hampshire.  In  the  following  October  he  made 
his  famous  visit  to  Hartford.  On  the  day  of  his  arrival  he  invaded  the 
provincial  assembly  while  in  session,  seized  the  book  of  minutes,  and  with 
his  own  hand  wrote  Finis  at  the  bottom  of  the  page.  He  demanded  the 
immediate  surrender  of  the  colonial  charter.  Governor  Treat  pleaded 
long  and  earnestly  for  the  preservation  of  the  precious  document.  Andro 
was  inexorable.  The  shades  of  evening  fell.  Joseph  Wadsworth  foun<! 
in  the  gathering  darkness  an  opportunity  to  conceal  the  cherished  parch¬ 
ment — a  deed  which  has  made  his  own  name  and  the  name  of  a  tret 
immortal.  Two  years  later,  when  the  government  of  Andros  was  over¬ 
thrown,  Connecticut  made  haste  to  restore  her  liberties. 

In  the  autumn  of  1693,  another  attempt  was  made  to  subvert  the 
freedom  of  the  colony.  Fletcher,  the  governor  of  New  York,  went  to 
Hartford  to  assume  command  of  the  militia  of  the  province.  He  bore 
a  commission  from  King  William;  but  by  the  terms  of  the  charter  the 
right  of  commanding  the  troops  was  vested  in  the  colony  itself.  The 
general  assembly  refused  to  recognize  the  authority  of  Fletcher,  who, 
nevertheless,  ordered  the  soldiers  under  arms  and  proceeded  to  read  his 
commission  as  colonel.  “  Beat  the  drums !”  shouted  Captain  Wadsworth, 
who  stood  at  the  head  of  the  company.  “  Silence  1”  said  Fletcher ;  the 


192 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


drums  ceased,  and  the  reading  began  again.  “  Drum !  drum !”  cried 
Wadsworth ;  and  a  second  time  the  voice  of  the  reader  was  drowned 
in  the  uproar.  “  Silence !  silence !”  shouted  the  enraged  governor.  The 
dauntless  Wadsworth  stepped  before  the  ranks  and  said,  “Colonel 
Fletcher,  if  I  am  interrupted  again,  I  will  let  the  sunshine  through  your 
body  in  an  instant.”  That  ended  the  controversy.  Benjamin  Fletcher 
thought  it  better  to  be  a  living  governor  of  New  York  than  a  dead 
colonel  of  the  Connecticut  militia. 

“  I  give  these  books  for  the  founding  of  a  college  in  this  colony.” 
Such  were  the  words  of  ten  ministers  who,  in  the  year  1700,  assembled  at 
the  village  of  Branford,  a  few  miles  east  of  New  Haven.  Each  of  the 
worthy  fathers,  as  he  uttered  the  words,  deposited  a  few  volumes  on  the 
table  around  which  they  were  sitting;  such  was  the  founding  of  Yale 
College.  In  1702  the  school  was  formally  opened  at  Saybrook,  where 
it  continued  for  fifteen  years,  and  was  then  removed  to  New  Haven. 
One  of  the  most  liberal  patrons  of  the  college  was  Elihu  Yale,  from  whom 
the  famous  institution  of  learning  derived  its  name.  Common  schools 
had  existed  in  almost  every  village  of  Connecticut  since  the  planting 
of  the  colony.  The  children  of  the  Pilgrims  have  never  forgotten  the 
cause  of  education. 

The  half  century  preceding  the  French  and  Indian  -war  was  a 
period  of  prosperity  to  all  the  western  districts  of  New  England.  Con¬ 
necticut  was  especially  favored.  Almost  unbroken  peace  reigned  through¬ 
out  her  borders.  The  blessings  of  a  free  commonwealth  were  realized  in 
full  measure.  The  farmer  reaped  his  fields  in  cheerfulness  and  hope. 
The  mechanic  made  glad  his  dusty  shop  with  anecdote  and  song.  The 
merchant  feared  no  duty,  the  villager  no  taxes.  Want  was  unknown  and 
pauperism  unheard  of.  Wealth  was  little  cared  for  and  crime  of  rare 
occurrence  among  a  people  with  whom  intelligence  and  virtue  were  the 
only  foundations  of  nobility.  With  fewer  dark  pages  in  her  history,  less 
austerity  of  manners  and  greater  liberality  of  sentiment,  Connecticut  had 
all  the  lofty  purposes  and  shining  virtues  of  Massachusetts.  The  visions 
of  Hooker  and  Haynes,  and  the  dreams  of  the  quiet  Winthrop,  were  more 
than  realized  in  the  happy  homes  of  the  Connecticut  valley. 


CHAPTER  XXir, 


RHODE  ISLAND. 

IT  was  in  June  of  1636  that  the  exiled  Roger  Williams  left  the  country 
of  the  Wampanoags  and  passed  down  the  Seekonk  to  Narragansett 
River.  His  object  was  to  secure  a  safe  retreat  beyond  the  limits  of  Ply¬ 
mouth  colony.  He,  with  his  five  companions,  landed  on  the  western 
bank,  at  a  place  called  Moshassuck,  purchased  the  soil  of  the  Narragansett 
sachems,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  Providence.  Other  exiles  joined  the 
company.  New  farms  were  laid  out,  new  fields  were  ploughed  and  new 
houses  built;  here,  at  last,  was  found  at  Providence  Plantation  a 
refuge  for  all  the  distressed  and  persecuted. 

The  leader  of  the  new  colony  was  a  native  of  Wales ;  born  in  1606 ; 
liberally  educated  at  Cambridge ;  the  pupil  of  Sir  Edward  Coke ;  in  after 
years  the  friend  of  Milton ;  a  dissenter ;  a  hater  of  ceremonies ;  a  disciple 
of  truth  in  its  purest  forms;  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  freedom; 
exiled  to  Massachusetts,  and  now  exiled  by  Massachusetts,  he  brought 
to  the  banks  of  the  Narragansett  the  great  doctrines  of  perfect  religious 
liberty  and  the  equal  rights  of  men.  If  the  area  of  Rhode  Island  had 
corresponded  with  the  grandeur  of  the  principles  on  which  she  wras 
founded,  who  could  have  foretold  her  destiny  ? 

Roger  Williams  belonged  to  that  most  radical  body  of  dissenters 
called  Anabaptists.  By  them  the  validity  of  infant  baptism  was  denied. 
Williams  himself  had  been  baptized  in  infancy ;  but  his  views  in  regard 
to  the  value  of  the  ceremony  had  undergone  a  change  during  his  ministry 
at  Salem.  Now  that  he  had  freed  himself  from  all  foreign  authority  both 
of  Church  and  State,  he  conceived  it  to  be  his  dulv  to  receive  a  second 
baptism.  But  who  should  perform  the  ceremony  ?  Ezekiel  Holliman, 
a  layman,  was  selected  for  the  sacred  duty.  Williams  meekly  received 
the  rite  at  the  hands  of  his  friend,  and  then  in  turn  baptized  him  and  ten 
other  exiles  of  the  colony.  Such  was  the  organization  of  the  first 
Baptist  Church  in  America. 

The  beginning  of  civil  government  in  Rhode  Island  was  equally 
simple  and  democratic.  Mr.  Williams  was  the  natural  ruler  of  the  little 
province,  but  he  reserved  for  himself  neither  wealth  nor  privilege.  The 


194 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


lands  which  he  purchased  from  Canonicus  and  Miantonomoh  were  freely 
distributed  among  the  colonists.  Only  two  small  fields,  to  be  planted 
and  tilled  with  his  own  hands,  were  kept  by  the  benevolent  founder  for 
himself.  How  different  from  the  grasping  avarice  of  Wingfield  and  Lord 
Cornbury  !  All  the  powers  of  the  colonial  government  were  entrusted  to 
the  people.  A  simple  agreement  was  made  and  signed  by  the  settlers  that 
in  all  matters  not  affecting  the  conscience  they  would  yield  a  cheerful 
obedience  to  such  rules  as  the  majority  might  make  for  the  public  welfare. 
In  questions  of  religion  the  individual  conscience  should  be  to  every  man 
a  guide.  When  Massachusetts  objected  that  such  a  democracy  would  leave 
nothing  for  the  magistrates  to  do,  Rhode  Island  answered  that  magistrates 
were  wellnigh  useless. 

The  new  government  stood  the  test  of  experience.  The  evil  prophe¬ 
cies  of  its  enemies  were  unfulfilled ;  instead  of  predicted  turmoil  and  dis¬ 
sension,  Providence  Plantation  had  nothing  but  peace  and  quiet.  It  was 
found  that  all  religious  sects  could  live  together  in  harmony,  and  that 
difference  of  opinion  was  not  a  bar  to  friendship.  All  beliefs  were  wel¬ 
come  at  Narragansett  Bay.  A  Buddhist  from  Japan  or  a  pagan  from 
Madagascar  would  have  been  received  at  Providence  and  cordially  enter¬ 
tained.  Miantonomoh,  the  young  sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  loved 
Roger  Williams  as  a  brother.  It  was  the  confidence  of  this  chieftain  that 
enabled  Williams  to  notify  Massachusetts  of  the  Pequod  conspiracy,  and 
then  at  the  hazard  of  his  life  to  defeat  the  plans  of  the  hostile  nation. 
This  magnanimous  act  awakened  the  old  affections  of  his  friends  at  Salem 
and  Plymouth,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  recall  him  and  his  fellow-exiles 
from  banishment.  It  was  urged  that  a  man  of  such  gracious  abilities,  so 
full  of  patience  and  charity,  could  never  be  dangerous  in  a  State ;  but  his 
enemies  answered  that  the  principles  and  teachings  of  Williams  would 
subvert  the  commonwealth  and  bring  Massachusetts  to  ruin.  The  pro¬ 
posal  was  rejected.  The  ancient  Greeks  sometimes  recalled  their  exiled 
heroes  from  banishment ;  the  colony  of  Massachusetts,  never. 

During  the  Pequod  war  of  1637,  Rhode  Island  was  protected  by  the 
friendly  Narragansetts.  The  territory  of  this  powerful  tribe  lay  between 
Providence  and  the  country  of  the  Pequoas,  and  there  was  little  fear  of 
an  invasion.  The  next  year  was  noted  for  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
and  her  friends  at  the  island  of  Rhode  Island.  The  leaders  of  the  com¬ 
pany  were  John  Clarke  and  William  Coddington.  It  had  been  their 
intention  to  conduct  the  colony  to  Long  Island,  or  perhaps  to  the  country 
of  the  Delaware.  But  Roger  Williams  made  haste  to  welcome  them 
to  his  province,  where  no  man’s  conscience  might  be  distressed.  Gov¬ 
ernor  Vane  of  Massachusetts,  sympathizing  with  the  refugees,  prevailed 


RHODE  ISLAND. 


195 


with  Miantonomoh  to  make  them  a  gift  of  Rhode  Island.  Here,  in  the 
early  spring  of  1638,  the  colony  was  planted.  The  first  settlement  was 
made  at  Portsmouth,  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  island. 

Other  exiles  came  to  join  their 
friends,  and  civil  government 
was  thought  desirable.  The 
Jewish  nation  furnished  the 
model.  William  Coddington 
was  chosen  judge  in  the  new 
Israel  of  Narragansett  Bay, 
and  three  elders  were  ap¬ 
pointed  to  assist  him  in  the 
government.  In  the  follow¬ 
ing  year  the  title  of  judge 
gave  way  to  that  of  governor, 
and  the  administration  be¬ 
came  more  modern  in  its 
methods.  At  the  same  time 
a  party  of  colonists  removed 
from  Portsmouth,  already 
crowded  with  exiles,  to  the 

south-western  part  of  the  island,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  Newport. 
Hither  had  come,  more  than  six  hundred  years  before,  the  hardy  adven¬ 
turers  of  Iceland.  Here  had  been  a  favorite  haunt  of  the  wayward  sea- 
kings  of  the  eleventh  century.  Here,  in  sight  of  the  new  settlement, 
stood  the  old  stone  tower,  the  most  celebrated  monument  left  by  the 
Norsemen  in  America. 

The  island  was  soon  peopled.  The  want  of  civil  government  began 
to  be  felt  as  a  serious  inconvenience.  Mr.  Coddington’s  new  Israel  had 
proved  an  utter  failure.  In  March  of  1641  a  public  meeting  was  con¬ 
vened  ;  the  citizens  came  together  on  terms  of  perfect  equality,  and  the 
task  of  framing  a  constitution  was  undertaken.  In  three  days  the  instru¬ 
ment  was  completed.  The  government  was  declared  to  be  a  “  Demo¬ 
cracy,”  or  government  by  the  people.  The  supreme  authority  was 
lodged  with  the  whole  body  of  freemen  in  the  island ;  and  freemen,  in 
this  instance,  meant  everybody.  The  vote  of  the  majority  should  always 
rule.  No  soul  should  be  distressed  on  account  of  religious  doctrine. 
Liberty  of  conscience,  even  in  the  smallest  particular,  should  be  uni¬ 
versally  respected.  A  seal  of  State  was  ordered,  having  for  its  design 
a  sheaf  of  arrows  and  a  motto  of  Amor  vincet  omnia  The  little 


THE  OLD  STONE  TOWER  AT  NEWPORT. 


196 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


republic  of  Narragansett  Bay  was  named  the  Plantation  of  -Rhode 
Island. 

In  1643  was  formed  the  Union  of  New  England.  Providence  and 
Rhode  Island  both  pleaded  for  admission,  and  both  were  rejected.  The 
meaning  of  this  illiberal  action  on  the  part  of  the  older  and  more  power- 
fill  colonies  was  that  the  settlements  on  the  Narragansett  belonged  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  Plymouth.  Alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  being  again  put 
under  the  dominion  of  their  persecutors,  the  exiled  republicans  of  Rhode 
Island  determined  to  appeal  to  the  English  government  for  a  charter. 
Roger  Williams  was  accordingly  appointed  agent  of  the  two  plantations 
and  sent  to  London.  He  was  cordially  received  by  his  old  and  steadfast 
friend  Sir  Henry  Vane,  now  an  influential  member  of  Parliament.  The 
plea  of  Rhode  Island  was  heard  with  favor;  and  on  the  14th  of  March 
in  the  following  year  the  coveted  charter  was  granted.  Great  was  the 
rejoicing  when  the  successful  ambassador  returned  to  his  people.  The 
grateful  colonists  met  their  benefactor  at  Seekonk,  and  conducted  him  to 
Providence  with  shouts  and  exultation.  Rhode  Island  had  secured  her 
independence. 

The  first  general  assembly  of  the  province  was  convened  at  Ports¬ 
mouth,  in  1647.  The  new  government  was  organized  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  the  charter.  A  code  of  laws  was  framed;  the 
principles  of  democracy  were  reaffirmed,  and  full  religious  toleration  and 
freedom  of  conscience  guaranteed  to  all.  A  president  and  subordinate 
officers  were  chosen,  and  Rhode  Island  began  her  career  as  an  independent 
colony. 

Once  the  integrity  of  the  province  was  endangered.  In  1651. 
William  Coddington,  who  had  never  been  satisfied  with  the  failure  of  his 
Jewish  commonwealth,  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  English  council 
of  state  a  decree  by  which  the  island  of  Rhode  Island  was  separated  from 
the  common  government.  But  the  zealous  protests  of  John  Clarke  and 
Roger  Williams,  who  went  a  second  time  to  London,  prevented  the  dis¬ 
union,  and  the  decree  of  separation  was  revoked.  The  grateful  people 
now  desired  that  their  magnanimous  benefactor  should  be  commissioned 
by  the  English  council  as  governor  of  the  province ;  but  the  blind  grat¬ 
itude  of  his  friends  could  not  prevail  over  the  wisdom  of  the  prudent 
leader.  He  foresaw  the  danger,  and  refused  the  tempting  commission. 
Roger  Williams  was  proof  against  all  the  seductions  of  ambition. 

The  faithful  Clarke  remained  in  England  to  guard  the  interests  of 
the  colony.  It  was  not  long  until  his  services  were  greatly  needed.  The 
restoration  of  monarchy  occurred  in  1660.  Charles  II.  came  home  in 
triumph  from  his  long  exile.  Rhode  Island  had  accepted  a  charter  from 


RHODE  ISLAND. 


197 


the  Long  Parliament ;  that  Parliament  had  driven  Charles  I.  from  his 
throne,  had  made  war  upon  him,  beaten  him  in  battle,  imprisoned  him. 
beheaded  him.  Was  it  likely  that  the  son  of  that  monarch  would  allow  a 
colonial  charter  issued  by  the  Long  Parliament  to  stand?  Would  he  not 
with  vindictive  scorn  dash  the  patent  of  the  little  republic  out  of  exist¬ 
ence  ?  The  people  of  Rhode  Island  had  hardly  the  courage  to  plead  for  the 
preservation  of  their  liberty ;  but  taking  heart,  they  wrote  a  loyal  petition 
to  the  new  sovereign,  praying  for  the  renewal  of  their  charter.  To  their  in¬ 
finite  delight,  and  to  the  wonder  of  after  times,  the  king  listened  with  favor : 
Clarendon,  the  minister,  assented;  and  on  the  8th  of  July,  1663,  the 
charter  was  reissued.  The  freedom  of  the  colony  was  in  no  wise  restricted. 
All  the  liberal  provisions  of  the  parliamentary  patent  were  revived.  Not 
even  an  oath  of  allegiance  was  required  of  the  people. 

On  the  24th  of  November  the  island  of  Rhode  Island  was  thronged 
with  people.  George  Baxter  had  come  with  the  charter.  Opening  the 
box  that  contained  it,  he  held  aloft  the  precious  parchment.  There,  sure 
enough,  was  the  signature  of  King  Charles  II.  There  was  His  Majesty’s 
royal  stamp ;  there  was  the  broad  seal  of  England.  The  charter  was  read 
aloud  to  the  joyful  people.  The  little  “democracie”  of  Rhode  Island 
was  safe.  The  happy  colonists  were  not  to  blame  when  they  began  their 
letter  of  thanks  as  follows :  “  To  King  Charles  of  England,  for  his  high 
and  inestimable — yea,  incomparable — favor.” 

For  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  Rhode  Island  prospered.  The 
distresses  of  King  Philip’s  War  were  forgotten.  Roger  Williams  grew 
old  and  died.  At  last  came  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  the  enemy  of  New 
England.  After  overthrowing  the  liberties  of  Massachusetts,  he  next 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  charter  of  Rhode  Island.  The  demand 
was  for  a  while  evaded  by  Governor  Walter  Clarke  and  the  colonial  as¬ 
sembly.  But  Andros,  not  to  be  thwarted,  repaired  to  Newport,  dissolved 
the  government  and  broke  the  seal  of  the  colony.  Five  irresponsible 
councilors  were  appointed  to  control  the  affairs  of  the  province,  and  the 
commonwealth  was  in  ruins. 

But  the  usurpation  was  as  brief  as  it  was  shameful.  In  the  spring 
of  1689  the  news  was  borne  to  Rhode  Island  that  James  II.  had  abdi¬ 
cated  the  throne  of  England,  and  that  Andros  and  his  officers  were  pris¬ 
oners  at  Boston.  On  May-day  the  people  rushed  to  Newport  and  made 
a  proclamation  of  their  gratitude  for  the  great  deliverance.  Walter  Clarke 
was  reelected  governor,  but  was  fearful  of  accepting.  Almy  was  elected, 
and  also  declined.  Then  an  old  Quaker,  named  Henry  Bull,  more  than 
eighty  years  of  age,  was  chosen.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  colony. 
He  had  known  Anne  Hutchinson  and  Roger  Williams.  Should  he,  in 


198 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


his  gray  hairs,  through  fear  and  timidity,  refuse  the  post  of  danger  ?  The 
old  veteran  accepted  the  trust,  and  spent  his  last  days  in  restoring  the 
liberties  of  Rhode  Island. 

Again  the  little  State  around  the  Bay  of  Narragansett  was  pros¬ 
perous.  For  more  than  fifty  years  the  peace  of  the  colony  was  undis¬ 
turbed.  The  principles  of  the  illustrious  founder  became  the  principles 
of  the  commonwealth.  The  renown  of  Rhode  Island  has  not  been  in 
vastness  of  territory,  in  mighty  cities  or  victorious  armies,  but  in  a  stead¬ 
fast  devotion  to  truth,  justice  and  freedom. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

TN  the  year  1622  the  territory  lying  between  the  rivers  Merrimac  and 
Kennebec,  reaching  from  the  sea  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  was  granted 
by  the  council  of  Plymouth  to  Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges  and  John  Mason. 
The  history'  of  New  Hampshire  begins  with  the  following  year.  For  the 
proprietors  made  haste  to  secure  their  new  domain  by  actual  settlements. 
In  the  early  spring  of  1623  two  small  companies  of  colonists  were  sent 
out  by  Mason  and  Gorges  to  people  their  province.  The  coast  of  New 
Hampshire  had  first  been  visited  by  Martin  Pring  in  1603.  Eleven 
years  later  the  restless  Captain  Smith  explored  the  spacious  harbor  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua,  and  spoke  with  delight  of  the  deep  and 
tranquil  waters. 

One  party  of  the  new  immigrants  landed  at  Little  Harbor,  two 
miles  south  of  the  present  site  of  Portsmouth,  and  began  to  build  a  village. 
The  other  party  proceeded  up  stream,  entered  the  Cocheco,  and,  four  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  that  tributary,  laid  the  foundations  of  Dover.  With 
the  exception  of  Plymouth  and  Weymouth,  Portsmouth  and  Dover  are 
the  oldest  towns  in  New  England.  But  the  progress  of  the  settlements 
was  slow ;  for  many  years  the  two  villages  were  only  fishing-stations. 
In  1629  the  proprietors  divided  their  dominions,  Gorges  retaining  the 
part  north  of  the  Piscataqua,  and  Mason  taking  exclusive  control  of  the 
district  between  the  Piscataqua  and  the  Merrimac.  In  May  of  this  year, 
Rev.  John  Wheelwright,  who  soon  afterward  became  a  leader  in  the  party 
of  Anne  Hutchinson,  visited  the  Abenaki  chieftains,  and  purchased  their 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. . 


199 


claims  to  the  soil  of  the  whole  territory  held  by  Mason ;  but  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  November,  Mason’s  title  was  confirmed  by  a  second  patent  from 
the  council,  and  the  name  of  the  province  was  changed  from  Laconia  to 
New  Hampshire.  Very  soon  Massachusetts  began  to  urge  her  chartered 
rights  to  the  district  north  of  the  Merrimac ;  already  the  claims  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  new  colony  were  numerous  and  conflicting. 

In  November  of  1635,  Mason  died,  and  his  widow  undertook  the 
government  of  the  province.  But  the  expenses  of  the  colony  were  greater 
than  the  revenues ;  the  chief  tenants  could  not  be  paid  for  their  services ; 
and  after  a  few  years  of  mismanagement  the  territory  was  given  up  to  the 
servants  and  dependents  of  the  late  proprietor.  Such  was  the  condition 
of  affairs  when  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  friends  were  banished  from 
Boston.  Wheelwright,  who  was  of  the  number,  now  found  use  for  the 
lands  which  he  had  purchased  in  New  Hampshire.  When  Clarke  and 
Coddington,  leading  the  greater  number  of  the  exiles,  set  out  for  Rhode 
Island,  Wheelwright,  with  a  small  party  of  friends,  repaired  to  the  banks 
of  the  Piscataqua.  At  the  head  of  tide-water  on  that  stream  they  halted, 
and  founded  the  village  of  Exeter.  The  little  colony  was  declared  a 
republic,  established  on  the  principle  of  equal  right  and  universal  toler¬ 
ation. 

The  proposition  to  unite  New  Hampshire  with  Massachusetts  was 
received  with  favor  by  the  people  of  both  colonies.  The  liberal  provisions 
of  the  Body  of  Liberties,  adopted  by  the  older  province  in  1641,  excited 
the  villagers  of  the  Piscataqua,  and  made  them  anxious  to  join  the  desti¬ 
nies  of  the  free  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  A  union  was  immedi¬ 
ately  proposed;  on  the  14th  of  the  following  April  terms  of  consolidation 
were  agreed  on,  and  New  Hampshire,  by  the  act  of  her  own  people,  was 
united  with  the  older  colony.  It  is  worthy  of  special  notice  that  the  law 
of  Massachusetts  restricting  the  rights  of  citizenship  to  church  members 
was  not  extended  over  the  new  province.  The  people  of  Portsmouth  and 
Dover  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  it  was  deemed  unjust  to 
discriminate  against  them  on  account  of  their  religion.  New  Hampshire 
was  the  only  colony  east  of  the  Hudson  not  originally  founded  by  the 
Puritans. 

The  union  continued  in  force  until  1679.  In  the  mean  time  the 
heirs  of  Mason  had  revived  the  claim  of  the  old  proprietor  of  the  province. 
The  cause  had  been  duly  investigated  in  the  courts  of  England,  and  in 
1677  a  decision  was  reached  that  the  Masonian  claims  were  invalid  as  to 
the  civil  jurisdiction  of  New  Hampshire,  but  valid  as  to  the  soil — that  is,  the 
heirs  were  the  lawful  owners,  but  not  the  lawful  governors,  of  the  territory, 
tt  was  evident  from  the  character  of  this  decision  that  King  Charles  in- 


200 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


tended  to  assert  his  own  right  of  government  over  New  Hampshire,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  confer  the  ownership  of  the  soil  upon  the  represent¬ 
atives  of  Mason.  Nor  was  the  province  long  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  king’s 
intentions.  On  the  24th  of  July,  1679,  a  decree  was  published  by  which 
New  Hampshire  was  separated  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  and 
organized  as  a  distinct  royal  province.  The  excuse  was  that  the  claims 
of  the  Masons  against  the  farmers  of  New  Hampshire  would  have  to  be 
determined  in  colonial  courts,  and  that  colonial  courts  could  not  be  estab¬ 
lished  without  the  organization  of  a  separate  colony.  It  was  clearly  fore¬ 
seen  that  in  such  trials  the  courts  of  Massachusetts  would  always  decide 
against  the  Masons.  The  purpose  of  the  king  became  still  more  apparent 
when  Robert  Mason,  himself  the  largest  claimant  of  all,  was  allowed  to 
nominate  a  governor  for  the  province:  Edward  Cranfield  was  selected  for 
that  office. 

The  people  of  New  Hampshire  were  greatly  excited  by  the  threatened 
destruction  of  their  liberties.  Before  Cranfield’s  arrival  the  rugged  saw¬ 
yers  and  lumbermen  of  the  Piscataqua  had  convened  a  general  assembly 
at  Portsmouth.  The  first  resolution  which  was  passed  by  the  represent¬ 
atives  showed  the  spirit  of  colonial  resistance  in  full  force.  “  No  act,  im¬ 
position,  law  or  ordinance,”  said  the  sturdy  legislators,  “  shall  be  valid 
unless  made  by  the  assembly  and  approved  by  the  people.”  When  the 
indignant  king  heard  of  this  resolution,  he  declared  it  to  be  both  wicked 
and  absurd.  It  was  not  the  first  time  that  a  monarch  and  his  people  had 
disagreed. 

In  November  of  1682,  Cranfield  dismissed  the  popular  assembly. 
Such  a  despotic  act  had  never  before  been  attempted  in  New  England. 
The  excitement  ran  high ;  the  governor  was  openly  denounced,  and  his 
claims  for  rents  and  forfeitures  were  stubbornly  resisted.  At  Exeter  the 
sheriff  was  beaten  with  clubs.  The  farmers’  wives  met  the  tax-gatherers 
with  pailfulls  of  hot  water.  At  the  village  of  Hampton,  Cranfield’s 
deputy  was  led  out  of  town  with  a  rope  round  his  neck.  When  the 
governor  ordered  out  the  militia,  not  a  man  obeyed  the  summons.  It  was 
in  the  midst  of  these  broils  that  Cranfield,  unable  to  collect  his  rents  and 
vexed  out  of  his  wits,  wrote  to  England  begging  for  the  privilege  of  going 
home.  The  “ unreasonable”  people  who  were  all  the  time  caviling  at  his 
commission  and  denying  his  authority  were  at  length  freed  from  his 
presence. 

An  effort  was  now  made  to  restore  New  Hampshire  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  Massachusetts ;  but  before  this  could  be  done  the  charter  of  the  latter 
province  had  been  taken  away  and  Edmund  Andros  appointed  governor 
af  all  New  England.  The  colonies  north  of  the  Merrimac,  seeing  that 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


201 


even  Massachusetts  had  been  brought  to  submission,  offered  no  resistance 
to  Andros,  but  quietly  yielded  to  his  authority.  Until  the  English  revo¬ 
lution  of  1688,  and  the  consequent  downfall  of  Andros,  New  Hampshire 
remained  under  the  dominion  of  the  royal  governor.  But  when  he  was 
seized  and  imprisoned  by  the  citizens  of  Boston,  the  people  of  the  northern 
towns  also  rose  in  rebellion  and  reasserted  their  freedom.  A  general  as- 
sembly  was  convened  at  Portsmouth  in  the  spring  of  1690,  and  an  ordi¬ 
nance  was  at  once  passed  reannexing  New  Hampshire  to  Massachusetts. 
But  in  August  of  1692  this  action  was  annulled  by  the  English  govern¬ 
ment,  and  the  two  provinces  were  a  second  time  separated  against  the 
protests  of  the  people.  In  1698,  when  the  earl  of  Bellomont  came  out  as 
royal  governor  of  New  York,  his  commission  was  made  to  include  both 
Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire.  For  a  period  of  forty-two  years  the 
two  provinces,  though  retaining  their  separate  legislative  assemblies,  con¬ 
tinued  under  the  authority  of  a  common  executive.  Not  until  1741  was 
a  final  separation  effected  between  the  colonies  north  and  south  of  the 
Merrimac. 

Meanwhile,  the  heirs  of  Mason,  embarrassed  with  delays  and  vexed 
by  opposing  claimants,  had  sold  to  Samuel  Allen,  of  London,  their  title 
to  New  Hampshire.  To  him,  in  1691,  the  old  Masonian  patent  was 
transferred.  His  s  on-in-law,  named  Usher,  a  land  speculator  of  Boston, 
was  appointed  deputy  governor.  The  new  proprietor  made  a  long  and 
futile  effort  to  enforce  his  claim  to  the  lands  of  the  province,  but  was  every¬ 
where  resisted.  Lawsuits  were  begun  in  the  colonial  courts,  but  no 
judgments  could  be  obtained  against  the  occupants  of  lands;  all  efforts  to 
drive  the  farmers  into  the  payment  of  rents  or  the  surrender  of  their 
homes  were  unavailing.  For  many  years  the  history  of  New  Hampshire 
contains  little  else  than  a  record  of  strife  and  contention.  Finally,  Allen 
died;  and  in  1715,  after  a  struggle  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  his  heirs 
abandoned  their  claim  in  despair.  A  few  years  afterward  one  of  the  de¬ 
scendants  of  Mason  discovered  that  the  deed  which  his  kinsmen  had  made 
to  Allen  was  defective.  The  original  Masonian  patent  was  accordingly 
revived,  and  a  last  effort  was  made  to  secure  possession  of  the  province, 
but  was  all  in  vain.  The  colonial  government  had  now  grown  strong 
enough  to  defend  the  rights  of  its  people,  and  the  younger  Masons  were 
obliged  to  abandon  their  pretensions.  In  the  final  adjustment  of  this 
long-standing  difficulty  the  colonial  authorities  allowed  the  validity  of 
the  Masonian  patent  as  to  the  unoccupied  portions  of  the  territory,  and 
the  heirs  made  a  formal  surrender  of  their  claims  to  all  the  rest. 

Of  all  the  New  England  colonies,  New  Hampshire  suffered  most 
from  the  French  and  Indian  Wars.  Her  settlements  were  feeble,  and  her 
15 


202 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


territory  most  exposed  to  savage  invasion.  In  the  last  year  of  King 
Philip’s  War  the  suffering  along  the  frontier  of  the  province  was  very 
great.  Again,  in  the  wars  of  William,  Anne  and  George,  the  villages  of 
the  northern  colony  were  visited  with  devastation  and  ruin.  But  in  the 
intervals  of  peace  the  spirits  of  the  people  revived,  and  the  hardy  settlers 
returned  to  their  wasted  farms  to  begin  anew  the  struggle  of  life.  Out 
of  these  conflicts  and  trials  came  that  sturdy  and  resolute  I'ace  of  pioneers 
who  bore  such  a  heroic  part  in  the  greater  contests  of  after  years. 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  planting,  progress,  and  development  of 
New  England.  Hither  had  come,  in  the  beginning,  a  people  of  sober 
habits,  frugal  lives,  and  lofty  purposes.  Before  their  imagination  was 
one  vision — the  vision  of  freedom.  And  freedom  to  the  men  who  laid 
the  foundations  of  civilization  in  New  England  meant  the  breaking  off 
of  every  species  of  thralldom.  These  people  came  to  the  New  World 
to  stay.  They  voluntarily  chose  the  wilderness  with  its  forests,  and 
snows,  and  savages.  For  forests,  and  snows,  and  savages  were  better 
than  luxury  with  despotism.  In  Virginia  as  late  as  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  many  of  the  planters  still  looked  fondly  across  the 
ocean  and  spoke  of  England  as  their  “  home.”  Not  so  with  the  peo¬ 
ple  whose  hamlets  were  scattered  from  the  Penobscot  to  the  Housa- 
tonic.  With  them  the  humble  cabin  in  the  frozen  woods  under  the 
desolate  sky  of  winter  was  a  cheerful  and  sunny  “home” — if  only 
Freedom  was  written  on  the  threshold. 


COLONIAL  HISTORY.— Continued. 


MINOR  MIDDLE  COLONIES. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

THE  colonial  history  of  New  Jersey  properly  begins  with  the  found¬ 
ing  of  Elizabethtown,  in  1664.  As  early  as  1618  a  feeble  trading 
station  had  been  established  at  Bergen,  west  of  the  Hudson ;  but  forty 
years  elapsed  before  permanent  dwellings  were  built  in  that  neigh¬ 
borhood.  In  1623  the  block-house,  called  Fort  Nassau,  was  erected 
at  the  mouth  of  Timber  Creek,  on  the  Delaware ;  after  a  few  months’ 
occupancy,  May  and  his  companions  abandoned  the  place  and  returned 
to  New  Amsterdam.  Six  years  later  the  southern  part  of  the  present 
State  of  New  Jersey  was  granted  to  Godyn  and  Blomaert,  two  of  the 
Dutch  patroons;  but  no  settlement  was  made.  In  1634  there  was 
not  a  single  European  living  between  Delaware  Bay  and  the  fortieth 
degree  of  latitude.  In  1651  a  considerable  district,  including  the  site 
of  Elizabethtown,  was  purchased  by  Augustine  Herman ;  but  still  no 
colony  was  planted.  Seven  years  afterwards  a  larger  grant,  embracing 
the  old  trading  house  at  Bergen,  was  made;  and  in  1663  a  company 
of  Puritans,  living  on  Long  Island,  obtained  permission  of  Governor 
Stuyvesant  to  settle  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan ;  but  no  settlement 
was  effected  until  after  the  conquest. 

All  the  territory  of  New  Jersey  was  included  in  the  grant  made  by 
King  Charles  to  his  brother  the  duke  of  York.  Two  months  before  the- 
conquest  of  New  Netherland  by  the  English,  that  portion  of  the  duke’s 
province  lying  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware,  extending  as  far 
north  as  forty-one  degrees  and  forty  minutes,  was  assigned  by  the  proprietor 
to  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret.  These  noblemen  were  already 
proprietors  ot  Carolina ;  but  they  had  adhered  to  the  king’s  cause  during 
the  civil  war  in  England,  and  were  now  rewarded  with  a  second  Amer- 
ican  province.  Almost  immediately  after  the  conquest  another  company 
ot  Puritans  made  application  to  Governor  Nicolls,  and  received  an  exten¬ 
sive  grant  of  land  on  Newark  Bay.  The  Indian  titles  were  honorably 

(203) 


204 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


purchased ;  in  the  following  October  a  village  was  begun  and  named 
Elizabethtown,  in  honor  of  Lady  Carteret. 

In  August  of  1665,  Philip  Carteret,  son  of  Sir  George,  arrived  as 
governor  of  llie  province.  At  first  he  was  violently  opposed  by  Nicolls 
of  New  Yoi-k,  who  refused  to  believe  that  the  duke  had  divided  his  terri¬ 
tory.  But  Carteret  was  armed  with  a  commission,  and  could  not  be  pro 
vented  from  taking  possession  of  the  new  settlements  below  the  Hudson 
Elizabethtown  was  made  the  capital  of  the  colony;  other  immigrants 
arrived  from  Long  Island  and  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Passaic ;  New¬ 
ark  was  founded ;  flourishing  hamlets  appeared  on  the  shores  of  the  bay 
as  far  south  as  Sandy  Hook.  In  honor  of  Sir  George  Carteret,  who  had 
been  governor  of  the  Isle  of  Jersey,  in  the  English  Channel,  his  American 
domain  was  named  New  Jersey. 

Experience  had  taught  the  proprietors  wisdom ;  they  had  learned 
that  freedom  is  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  a  colony,  and  that  liberal 
concessions  to  the  people  are  better  than  great  outlays  of  money.  Berke¬ 
ley  and  Carteret,  though  royalists  themselves,  provided  for  their  new  State 
an  excellent  constitution.  Person  and  property  were  put  under  the  protec¬ 
tion  of  law.  The  government  was  made  to  consist  of  a  governor,  a  council 
and  a  popular  legislative  assembly.  There  should  be  no  taxation  unless 
levied  by  the  representatives  of  the  people.  Difference  of  opinion  should 
be  respected,  and  freedom  of  conscience  guaranteed  to  every  citizen.  The 
proprietors  reserved  to  themselves  only  the  right  of  annulling  objection¬ 
able  acts  of  the  assembly  and  of  appointing  the  governor  and  colonial 
judges.  The  lands  of  the  province  were  distributed  to  the  settlers  for  a 
quit-rent  of  a  half  penny  per  acre,  not  to  be  paid  until  1670. 

In  1668  the  first  general  assembly  convened  at  Elizabethtown. 
Nearly  all  the  representatives  were  Puritans,  and  the  laws  and  customs 
of  New  England  were  thus  early  impressed  on  the  legislation  of  the 
colony.  Affairs  went  well  until  1670,  when  the  half-penny  quit-rents  were 
due  to  the  proprietors.  The  colonists,  in  the  mean  time,  had  purchased 
their  lands  of  the  Indians,  and  also  of  Governor  Nicolls  of  New  York, 
who  still  claimed  New  Jersey  as  a  part  of  his  province.  To  the  settlers, 
therefore,  it  seemed  that  their  titles  to  their  farms  were  good  without 
further  payment  to  Philip  Carteret  or  anybody  else.  The  collection  of 
the  rents  was  accordingly  resisted ;  and  the  colony  became  a  scene  first  of 
strife  and  then  of  revolution.  In  May  of  1672  the  colonial  assembly 
convened  and  deposed  the  governor  from  office.  James  Carteret,  another 
son  of  Sir  George,  was  chosen  governor,  and  Philip  returned  to  England. 

In  1673  the  Dutch  succeeded  in  retaking  New  York  from  the  Eng¬ 
lish.  For  a  few  months  the  old  province  of  New  Netherland,  including 


XEW  JERSEY. 


205 


the  country  as  far  south  as  the  Delaware,  was  restored  to  Holland.  Km 
in  the  next  year  the  whole  territory  was.  re-ceded  bv  the  state— general  to 
England.  The  duke  of  York  now  received  from  his  brother,  the  king, 
a  second  patent  for  the  country  between  the  Connecticut  and  the  Delaware, 
and  at  the  same  time  confirmed  his  former  grant  of  Yew  Jersey  to  Berke¬ 
ley  and  Carteret.  Then,  in  utter  disregard  of  the  rights  of  the  two  pro¬ 
prietors,  the  duke  appointed  Sir  Edmund  Andros  as  royal  governor  of 
the  whole  province.  Carteret  determined  to  defend  his  claim  against  the 
authority  of  Andros;  but  Lord  Berkeley,  disgusted  with  the  duke’s  vacil¬ 
lation  and  dishonesty,  sold  his  interest  in  Yew  Jersey  to  John  Te;m  m  .< 
to  be  held  in  trust  for  Edward  Byllinge. 

In  1675,  Philip  Carteret  returned  to  America  and  resumed  tin 
government  of  the  province  from  which  he  had  been  expelled.  Andros 
opposed  him  in  every  act ;  claimed 
Yew  Jersey  as  a  part  of  his  own 
dominions ;  kept  the  colony  in  an 
uproar ;  compelled  the  ships  which 
came  a-trading  with  the  new  settle¬ 
ments  to  pay  tribute  at  Yew  York ; 
and  finally  arrested  Carteret  and 
brought  him  to  his  own  capital  for 
trial.  Meanwhile,  Byllinge  became 
embarrassed  with  debt,  and  was  forced 
to  make  an  assignment  of  his  property. 

Gawen  Laurie,  Yicholas  Lucas  and 
William  Penn  were  appointed  trus¬ 
tees,  and  to  them  Byllinge’s  interest 
in  Yew  Jersey  was  assigned  for  the 
benefit  of  his  creditors. 

The  assignees  were  Quakers. 

Here,  then,  was  an  opportunity  to 
establish  another  asylum  for  the 
persecuted,  and  to  found  a  common¬ 
wealth  of  Friends.  Penn  and  his 
associates  at  once  applied  to  Sir 
George  Carteret  for  a  division  of  the 
province.  That  nobleman  was  both 
willing  and  anxious  to  enter  into  an 
arrangement  by  which  his  own  half 

of  the  territory  could  be  freed  from  all  encumbrance.  It  was  accordingly- 
agreed  to  divide  Yew  Jersey  so  that  Carteret’s  district  should  be  separated 


EAST  AND  WEST  JERSEY,  1677. 


206 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


from  the  domain  of  the  Quakers.  After  much  discussion  an  agreement 
was  reached  in  the  summer  of  1676,  and  a  line  of  division  was  drawn 
through  the  province  as  follows :  Beginning  at  the  southern  point  of 
land  on  the  east  side  of  Little  Egg  Harbor,  and  running  north  of  north¬ 
west  to  a  point  on  the  river  Delaware  in  the  latitude  of  forty-one  degrees 
and  forty  minutes.  The  territory  lying  east  of  this  line  remained  to 
Sir  George  as  sole  proprietor,  and  was  named  East  Jersey  ;  while  that 
portion  lying  between  the  line  and  the  Delaware  was  called  West 
Jersey,  and  passed  under  the  exclusive  control  of  Penn  and  his  asso¬ 
ciates  as  assignees  of  Byllinge. 

Early  in  the  following  March  the  Quaker  proprietors  completed  and 
published  a  body  of  laws  under  the  singular  title  of  Concessions.  But 
the  name  was  significant,  for  everything  was  conceded  to  the  people. 
This  first  simple  code  enacted  by  the  Friends  in  America  rivaled  the 
charter  of  Connecticut  in  the  liberality  and  purity  of  its  principles.  The 
authors  of  the  instrument  accompanied  its  publication  with  a  general 
letter  addressed  to  the  Quakers  of  England,  recommending  the  province 
and  inviting  immigration. 

The  invitation  was  not  in  vain.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  a 
colony  of  more  than  four  hundred  Friends  arrived  in  the  Delaware,  and 
found  homes  in  West  Jersey.  Only  one  circumstance  clouded  the  pros¬ 
pects  of  the  new  commonwealth  of  peace.  The  agent  of  Andros,  governor 
of  New  York,  was  stationed  at  New  Castle,  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
Delaware,  to  command  the  entrance  to  the  river.  The  Quaker  ships 
were  obliged  to  pay  customs  before  proceeding  to  their  destination.  A 
powerful  remonstrance  was  drawn  up  by  the  Friends  and  sent  to  Eng¬ 
land.  For  once  the  duke  of  York  listened  to  reason  and  agreed  to  sub¬ 
mit  his  cause  to  the  courts;  and  for  once  a  decision  was  rendered  in 
accordance  with  right  and  justice.  The  eminent  jurist  Sir  William 
Jones  decided  that  the  duke  had  no  legal  right  to  collect  duties  and  taxes 
in  the  country  of  the  Delaware.  All  claims  to  the  territory  and  govern¬ 
ment  of  West  Jersey  were  accordingly  withdrawn;  and  the  Quaker  col¬ 
onists  were  left  in  the  enjoyment  of  independence.  The  heirs  of  Sir 
George  Carteret  were  quick  to  see  that  the  same  decision  would  free  their 
half  of  the  province  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Andros.  An  effort  was 
accordingly  made  by  the  proprietors  of  East  Jersey  to  secure  a  deed  of 
release  from  the  duke  of  York.  The  petition  was  favorably  entertained, 
the  deed  issued  and  the  whole  territory  between  the  Hudson  and  the 
Delaware  freed  from  foreign  authority. 

In  November  of  1681,  Jennings,  the  deputy-governor  of  West 
Jersey,  convened  the  first  general  assembly  of  the  province.  The  men 


NEW  JERSEY. 


207 


who  had  so  worried  the  aristocracy  of  England  by  wearing  their  hats  in 
the  presence  of  great  men,  and  by  saying  Thee  and  Thou,  now  met  together 
to  make  their  own  laws.  The  code  was  brief  and  simple.  The  doctrines 
of  the  Concessions  were  reaffirmed.  Men  of  all  races  and  of  all  religions 
were  declared  to  be  equal  before  the  law.  No  superiority  was  conceded 
to  rank  or  title,  to  wealth  or  royal  birth.  Imprisonment  for  debt  was 
forbidden.  The  sale  of  ardent  spirits  to  the  Red  men  was  prohibited. 
Taxes  should  be  voted  by  the  representatives  of  the  people.  The  lands 
of  the  Indians  should  be  acquired  by  honorable  purchase.  Finally,  a 
criminal — unless  a  murderer,  a  traitor  or  a  thief — might  be  pardoned  by 
the  person  against  whom  the  offence  was  committed. 

In  1682,  William  Penn  and  eleven  other  Friends  purchased  of  the 
heirs  of  Carteret  the  province  of  East  Jersey.  Robert  Barclay,  an  em¬ 
inent  Quaker  of  Aberdeen,  in  Scotland,  and  author  of  the  book  called 
Barclay’s  Apology,  was  appointed  governor  for  life.  The  whole  of  New 
Jersey  was  now  under  the  authority  of  the  Friends.  The  administration 
of  Barclay,  which  continued  until  his  death,  in  1690,  was  chiefly  noted 
for  a  large  immigration  of  Scotch  Quakers  who  left  the  governor’s  native 
country  to  find  freedom  in  East  Jersey.  The  persecuted  Presbyterians  of 
Scotland  came  to  the  province  in  still  greater  numbers. 

On  the  accession  of  James  II.,  in  1685,  the  American  colonies  from 
Maine  to  Delaware  were  consolidated,  and  Edmund  Andros  appointed 
royal  governor.  His  first  year  in  America  was  spent  in  establishing  his 
authority  at  Boston,  Providence  and  Hartford.  Not  until  1688  were 
New  York  and  the  two  Jerseys  brought  under  his  jurisdiction.  The 
short  reign  of  King  James  was  already  at  an  end  before  Andros  could 
succeed  in  setting  up  a  despotism  on  the  ruin  of  colonial  liberty.  When 
the  news  came  of  the  abdication  and  flight  of  the  English  monarch,  the 
governor  of  New  England  could  do  nothing  but  surrender  to  the  indig¬ 
nant  people  whom  he  had  wronged  and  insulted.  His  arrest  and  im¬ 
prisonment  was  the  signal  for  the  restoration  of  popular  government  in  all 
the  colonies  over  which  he  had  ruled. 

But  the  condition  of  New  Jersey  was  deplorable.  It  was  almost 
impossible  to  tell  to  whom  the  jurisdiction  of  the  territory  rightfully  be¬ 
longed.  So  far  as  the  eastern  province  was  concerned,  the  representatives 
of  Carteret  claimed  it ;  the  governor  of  New  York  claimed  it ;  Penn  and 
his  associates  claimed  it.  As  to  the  western  province,  the  heirs  of  Byllinge 
claimed  it ;  Lucas,  Laurie  and  Penn  claimed  it ;  the  governor  of  New 
York  claimed  it.  Over  all  these  pretensions  stood  the  paramount  claim 
of  the  English  king.  From  1689  to  1692  there  was  no  settled  form  of 
government  in  the  territory ;  and  for  ten  years  thereafter  the  colony  was 


208 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


vexed  and  distracted  with  the  presence  of  more  rulers  than  any  one 
province  could  accommodate. 

At  last  self-interest  solved  the  problem.  The  proprietors  came  to 
see  that  a  peaceable  possession  of  the  soil  of  the  Jerseys  was  worth  more 
than  the  uncertain  honors  of  government.  A  proposition  was  accordingly 
made  that  all  the  claimants  should  surrender  their  rights  of  civil  jurisdic¬ 
tion  to  the  English  Crown,  retaining  only  the  ownership  of  the  soil.  The 
measure  was  successfully  carried  out;  and  in  April  of  1702,  all  propri¬ 
etary  claims  being  waived  in  favor  of  the  sovereign,  the  territory  between 
the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware  became  a  royal  province. 

New  Jersey  was  now  attached  to  the  government  of  Lord  Corn- 
bury  of  New  York.  The  union  of  the  two  colonies,  however,  extended 
only  to  the  office  of  chief  magistrate ;  each  province  retained  its  own  legis¬ 
lative  assembly  and  a  distinct  territorial  organization.  This  method  of 
government  continued  for  thirty-six  years,  and  was  then  terminated  by 
the  action  of  the  people.  In  1728  the  representatives  of  New  Jersey  sent 
a  petition  to  George  II.,  praying  for  a  separation  of  the  two  colonies  ;  but 
the  application  was  at  first  refused.  Ten  years  later  the  petition  was 
renewed,  and  through  the  influence  of  Lewis  Morris  brought  to  a  success¬ 
ful  issue.  New  Jersey  was  made  independent,  and  Morris  himself  received 
a  commission  as  first  royal  governor  of  the  separated  province. 

The  people  of  New  Jersey  were  but  little  disturbed  by  the  succes¬ 
sive  Indian  wars.  The  native  tribes  on  this  part  of  the  American  coast 
were  weak  and  timid.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  cruelties  of  Kieft  and  the 
wrongs  of  other  governors  of  New  York,  the  peace  of  the  middle  colonies 
would  never  have  been  broken.  The  province  of  New  Jersey  is  specially 
interesting  as  being  the  point  where  the  civilization  of  New  England  met 
and  blended  with  the  civilization  of  the  South.  Here  the  institutions, 
manners  and  laws  of  the  Pilgrims  were  first  modified  by  contact  with  the 
less  rigid  habits  and  opinions  of  the  people  who  came  with  Gosnold  and 
Smith.  The  dir  ling  line  between  East  and  West  Jersey  is  also  the 
dividing  line  between  the  austere  Puritans  of  Massachusetts  and  the 
chivalrous  cavaliers  of  Virginia.  Happily,  along  this  dividing  line  the 
men  of  peace,  the  followers  of  Penn  and  Barclay,  came  and  dwelt  as  if 
to  subdue  ill-will  and  make  a  Union  possible. 


PINN'8  COLONISTS  ON  THJI  DHLiAWABJC. 


PENNS  YL  VANIA. 


209 


CHAPTER  XX  Y. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

THE  Quakers  were  greatly  encouraged  with  the  success  of  their  col¬ 
onies  in  West  New  Jersey.  The  prospect  of  establishing  on  the 
banks  of  the  Delaware  a  free  State,  founded  on  the  principle  of  universal 
brotherhood,  kindled  a  new  enthusiasm  in  the  mind  of  William  Penn. 
For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  Friends  had  been  buffeted  with 
shameful  persecutions.  Imprisonment,  exile  and  proscription  had  been 
their  constant  portion,  but  had  not  sufficed  to  abate  their  zeal  or  to 
quench  their  hopes  of  the  future.  The  lofty  purpose  and  philanthropic 
spirit  of  Penn  urged  him  to  find  for  his  afflicted  people  an  asylum  of  rest. 
In  June  of  1680  he  went  boldly  to  King  Charles,  and  petitioned  for  a 
grant  of  territory  and  the  privilege  of  founding  a  Quaker  commonwealth 
in  the  New  World. 

The  petition  was  seconded  by  powerful  friends  in  Parliament. 
Lords  North  and  Halifax  and  the  earl  of  Sunderland  favored  the  propo¬ 
sition,  and  the  duke  of  York  remembered  a  pledge  of  assistance  which  he 
had  given  to  Penn’s  father.  On  the  5th  of  March,  1681,  a  charter  was 
granted ;  the  great  seal  of  England,  with  the  signature  of  Charles  II.,  was 
affixed;  and  William  Penn  became  the  proprietor  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  vast  domain  embraced  under  the  new  patent  was  bounded  on  the 
east  by  the  river  Delaware,  extended  north  and  south  over  three  degrees 
of  latitude,  and  westward  through  five  degrees  of  longitude.  Only  the 
three  counties  comprising  the  present  State  of  Delaware  were  reserved  for 
the  duke  of  York. 

In  consideration  of  this  grant,  Penn  relinquished  a  claim  of  sixteen 
thousand  pounds  sterling  which  the  British  government  owed  to  his 
father’s  estate.  He  declared  that  his  objects  were  to  found  a  free  com¬ 
monwealth  without  respect  to  the  color,  race  or  religion  of  the  inhabitants; 
to  subdue  the  natives  with  no  other  weapons  than  love  and  justice ;  to 
establish  a  refuge  for  the  people  of  his  own  faith;  and  to  enlarge  the 
borders  of  the  British  empire.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  great  propri¬ 
etor  was  to  address  a  letter  to  the  Swedes  who  might  be  included  within 


210 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  limits  of  his  province,  telling  them  to  be  of  good  cheer,  to  keep  their 
homes,  make  their  own  laws  and  fear  no  oppression. 

Within  a  month  from  the  date  of  his  charter,  Penn  published  to  the 
English  nation  a  glowing  account  of  his  new  country  beyond  the  Del¬ 
aware,  praising  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  and  salubrity  of  the  climate, 
promising  freedom  of  conscience  and  equal  rights,  and  inviting  emigra¬ 
tion.  There  was  an  immediate  and  hearty  response.  In  the  course  of 
the  summer  three  shiploads  of  Quaker  emigrants  left  England  for  the 
land  of  promise.  William  Markham,  agent  of  the  proprietor,  came  as 
leader  of  the  company  and  deputy-governor  of  the  province.  He  was 
instructed  by  Penn  to  rule  in  accordance  with  law,  to  deal  justly  with  all 
men,  and  especially  to  make  a  league  of  friendship  with  the  Indians.  In 
October  of  the  same  year  the  anxious  proprietor  sent  a  letter  directly  to 
the  natives  of  the  territory,  assuring  them  of  his  honest  purposes  and 
brotherly  affection. 

The  next  care  of  Penn  was  to  draw  up  a  frame  of  government  for 
his  province.  Herein  was  his  great  temptation.  He  had  almost  ex¬ 
hausted  his  father’s  estate  in  aiding  the  persecuted  Quakers.  A  stated 
revenue  would  be  very  necessary  in  conducting  his  administration.  His 
proprietary  rights  under  the  charter  were  so  ample  that  he  might  easily 
reserve  for  himself  large  prerogatives  and  great  emoluments  in  the  govern¬ 
ment.  He  had  before  him  the  option  of  being  a  consistent,  honest 
Quaker  or  a  politic,  wealthy  governor.  He  chose  like  a  man  ;  right 
triumphed  over  riches.  The  constitution  which  he  framed  was  liberal 
almost  to  a  fault ;  and  the  people  were  allowed  to  adopt  or  reject  it  as 
they  might  deem  proper. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  duke  of  York  had  been  induced  to  surrender 
his  claim  to  the  three  reserved  counties  on  the  Delaware.  The  whole 
country  on  the  western  bank  of  the  bay  and  river,  from  the  open  ocean 
below  Cape  Henlopen  to  the  forty-third  degree  of  north  latitude,  was  now 
under  the  dominion  of  Penn.  The  summer  of  1682  was  spent  in 
further  preparation.  The  proprietor  wrote  a  touching  letter  of  farewell 
to  the  Friends  in  England ;  gathered  a  large  company  of  emigrants ;  em¬ 
barked  for  America ;  and  on  the  27th  of  October  landed  at  New  Castle, 
where  the  people  were  waiting  to  receive  him. 

William  Penn,  the  founder  of  Philadelphia,  was  born  on  the  14th 
of  October,  1644.  He  was  the  oldest  son  of  Vice-Admiral  Sir  William 
Penn  of  the  British  navy.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  sent  to  the 
University  of  Oxford,  where  he  distinguished  himself  as  a  student  until 
he  was  expelled  on  account  of  his  religious  opinions.  Afterward  he 
traveled  on  the  Continent ;  was  again  a  student  at  Saumur  :  returned  to 


PENNSYLVANIA. 


211 


study  law  at  London;  went  to  Ireland;  became  a  soldier;  heard  the 
preaching  of  Loe  and  was  converted  to  the  Quaker  faith.  His  disap¬ 
pointed  and  angry 
father  drove  him 
out  of  doors,  but 
he  was  not  to  be 
turned  from  his 
course.  He  pub¬ 
licly  proclaimed 
the  doctrines  of  the 
Friends;  was  ar¬ 
rested  and  impris¬ 
oned  for  nine 
months  in  the  Tow¬ 
er  of  London.  Be¬ 
ing  released,  he  re¬ 
peated  the  offence, 
and  lay  for  half  a 
year  in  a  dungeon 
at  Newgate.  A 
second  time  liber¬ 
ated,  but  despair¬ 
ing  of  toleration  for 
his  people  in  Eng¬ 
land,  he  cast  his 

gaze  across  the  Atlantic.  West  Jersey  was  purchased  ;  but  the  boundary 
was  narrow,  and  the  great-souled  proprietor  sought  a  grander  and  more 
beautiful  domain.  His  petition  was  heard  with  favor  and  the  charter  of' 
Pennsylvania  granted  by  King  Charles.  Colonists  came  teeming ;  and 
now  the  Quaker  king  himself,  without  pomp  or  parade,  without  the  dis¬ 
charge  of  cannon  or  vainglorious  ceremony,  was  come  to  New  Castle  to 
found  a  government  on  the  basis  of  fraternity  and  peace.  It  was  fitting 
that  he  should  call  the  new  republic  a  holy  experiment. 

As  soon  as  the  landing  was  effected,  Penn  delivered  an  affectionate 
and  cheerful  address  to  the  crowd  of  Swedes,  Dutch  and  English  who 
came  to  greet  him.  His  former  pledges  of  a  liberal  and  just  government 
were  publicly  renewed,  and  the  people  were  exhorted  to  sobriety  and 
honesty.  From  New  Castle  the  governor  ascended  the  Delaware  to  Ches¬ 
ter;  passed  the  site  of  Philadelphia ;  visited  the  settlements  of  West  New 
Jersey ;  and  thence  traversed  East  Jersey  to  Long  Island  and  New  York. 
After  spending  some  time  at  the  capital  of  his  friend,  the  duke  of  York, 


WILLIAM  PENN. 


212 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  speaking  words  of  cheer  to  the  Quakers  about  Brooklyn,  he  returned 
to  his  own  province  and  began  his  duties  as  chief  magistrate. 

Markham,  the  deputy-governor,  had  been  instructed  to  establish 
fraternal  relations  with  the  Indians.  Before  Penn’s  arrival  treaties  had 
been  made,  lands  purchased,  and  pledges  of  friendship  given  between  the 
Friends  and  the  Red  men.  Now  a  great  conference  was  appointed  with  the 
native  chiefs.  All  the  sachems  of  the  Lenni  Lenapes  and  other  neighbor¬ 
ing  tribes  were  invited  to  assemble.  The  council  was  held  on  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware  under  the  open  sky.  Penn,  accompanied  by  a  few  un¬ 
armed  friends,  clad  in  the  simple  garb  of  the  Quakers,  came  to  the  ap¬ 
pointed  spot  and  took  his  station  under  a  venerable  elm,  now  leafless ;  for 
it  was  winter.  The  chieftains,  also  unarmed,  sat,  after  the  manner  of 
their  race,  in  a  semicircle  on  the  ground.  It  was  not  Penn’s  object  to 
purchase  lands,  to  provide  for  the  interests  of  trade  or  to  make  a  formal 
treaty,  but  rather  to  assure  the  untutored  children  of  the  woods  of  his 
honest  purposes  and  brotherly  affection.  Standing  before  them  with 
grave  demeanor  and  speaking  by  an  interpreter,  he  said  :  “  My  Friends  : 
We  have  met  on  the  broad  pathway  of  good  faith.  We  are  all  one  flesh' 
and  blood.  Being  brethren,  no  advantage  shall  be  taken  on  either  side. 
When  disputes  arise,  we  will  settle  them  in  council.  Between  us  there 
shall  be  nothing  but  openness  and  love.”  The  chiefs  replied:  “While 
the  rivers  run  and  the  sun  shines  we  will  live  in  peace  with  the  children 
of  William  Penn,” 

No  record  was  made  of  the  treaty,  for  none  was  needed.  Its  terms 
were  written,  not  on  decaying  parchment,  but  on  the  living  hearts  of 
men.  No  deed  ol  violence  or  injustice  ever  marred  the  sacred  covenant. 
The  Indians  vied  with  the  Quakers  in  keeping  unbroken  the  pledge  of 
perpetual  peace.  For  more  than  seventy  years  during  which  the  province 
remained  under  the  control  of  the  Friends,  not  a  single  war-whoop  was 
heard  within  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania.  The  Quaker  hat  and  coat 
proved  to  be  a  better  defence  for  the  wearer  than  coat-of-mail  and 
musket. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1682,  a  general  convention  was  held  at 
Chester.  The  object  was  to  complete  the  territorial  legislation — a  work 
which  occupied  three  days.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  session,  Penn  ,  de¬ 
livered  an  address  to  the  assembly,  and  then  hastened  to  the  Chesapeake 
to  confer  with  Lord  Baltimore  about  the  boundaries  of  their  respective 
provinces.  After  a  month’s  absence  he  returned  to  Chester  and  busied 
himself  with  drawing  a  map  of  his  proposed  capital.  The  beautiful  neck 
of  land  between  the  Schuylkill  and  the  Delaware  was  selected  and  put- 
chased  of  the  Swedes.  In  February  of  1683  the  native  chestnuts,  wal- 


PENNS  YL  VANIA. 


213 


nuts  and  ashes  were  blazed  to  indicate  the  lines  of  the  streets,  and  Phil¬ 
adelphia — City  of  Brotherly  Love — was  founded.  Within  a 
month  a  general  assembly  was  in  session  at  the  new  capital.  The  people 
were  eager  that  their  Charter  of  Liberties,  now  to  be  framed,  should  be 
dated  at  Philadelphia.  The  work  of 
legislation  was  begun  and  a  form  of 
government  adopted  which  was  essen¬ 
tially  a  representative  democracy.  The 
officers  were  the  governor,  a 
council  consisting  of  a  limited  number 

years, 

,  to  be 

annually  elected.  Penn  conceded 
everything  to  the  people;  but  the 
power  of  vetoing  objectionable  acts  of 
the  council  was  left  in  his  hands. 

The  growth  of  Philadelphia  _ 

was  astonishing.  In  the  summer  of  Philadelphia  and  vicinity. 

1683  there  were  only  three  or  four 

houses.  The  ground-squirrels  still  lived  in  their  burrows,  and  the  wild 
deer  ran  through  the  town  without  alarm.  In  1685  the  city  contained 
six  hundred  houses ;  the  schoolmaster  had  come  and  the  printing-press 
had  begun  its  work.  In  another  year  Philadelphia  had  outgrown  New 
York.  Penn’s  work  of  establishing  a  free  State  in  America  had  been 
well  and  nobly  done.  In  August  of  1684  he  took  an  affectionate  fare¬ 
well  of  his  flourishing  colony,  and  sailed  for  England.  Thomas  Lloyd 
was  appointed  as  president  during  the  absence  of  the  proprietor,  and  five 
commissioners,  members  of  the  provincial  council,  were  chosen  to  assist 
in  the  government. 

Nothing  occurred  to  disturb  the  peace  of  Pennsylvania  until  the 
secession  of  Delaware  in  1691.  The  three  lower  counties,  which,  ever 
since  the  arrival  of  Penn,  had  been  united  on  terms  of  equality  with  the 
six  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  became  dissatisfied  with  some  acts  of  the 
general  assembly  and  insisted  on  a  separation.  The  proprietor  gave  a 
reluctant  consent;  Delaware  withdrew  from  the  union  and  received  a 
separate  deputy-governor.  Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  after  the 
abdication  of  King  James  II. 

William  Penn  was  a  friend  and  favorite  of  the  Stuart  kings.  It 
was  from  Charles  II.  that  he  had  received  the  charter  of  Pennsylvania. 
Now  that  the  royal  house  was  overthrown,  he  sympathized  with  the  fallen 
monarch  and  looked  with  coldness  on  the  new  sovereigns,  William  and 


of  riiembers  chosen  for  three 
and  a  larger  popular  assembly 


214 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Mary.  For  some  real  or  supposed  adherence  to  the  cause  of  the  exiled 
James  II.,  Penn  was  several  times  arrested  and  imprisoned.  In  1692 
his  proprietary  rights  were  taken  away,  and  by  a  royal  commission  the 
government  of  Pennsylvania  was  transferred  to  Fletcher  of  New  York. 
In  the  following  year  Delaware  shared  the  same  fate ;  all  the  provinces 
between  Connecticut  and  Maryland  were  consolidated  under  Fletcher’s 
authority.  In  the  mean  time,  the  suspicions  against  Penn’s  loyalty  were 
found  to  be  groundless,  and  he  was  restored  to  his  rights  as  governor  of 
Pennsylvania. 

In  December  of  1699,  Penn  again  visited  his  American  common¬ 
wealth,  now  grown  into  a  State.  The  prosperity  of  the  province  wife  all 
that  could  be  desired ;  but  the  people  were  somewhat  dissatisfied  with  the 
forms  of  government.  The  lower  counties  were  again  embittered  against 
the  acts  of  the  assembly.  In  order  to  restore  peace  and  harmony,  the 
benevolent  proprietor  drew  up  another  constitution,  more  liberal  than  the 
first,  extending  the  powers  of  the  people  and  omitting  the  objectionable 
features  of  the  former  charter.  But  Delaware  had  fallen  into  chronic 
discontent,  and  would  not  accept  the  new  frame  of  government.  In  1702 
the  general  assemblies  of  the  two  provinces  were  convened  apart;  and  in 
the  following  year  Delaware  and  Pennsylvania  were  finally  separated. 
But  the  rights  of  Penn  as  proprietor  of  the  whole  territory  remained  as 
before,  and  a  common  governor  continued  to  preside  over  both  colonies. 

In  the  winter  of  1701,  William  Penn  bade  a  final  adieu  to  his 
friends  in  America  and  returned  to  England.  He  left  Pennsylvania 
in  a  state  of  peace  and  prosperity.  Though  there  was  not  a  single  fort 
within  her  borders,  the  province  had  been  secure  against  invasion. 
With  neither  police  nor  militia,  the  people  went  abroad  in  safety. 
With  no  difference  in  rank,  no  preference  in  matters  of  opinion,  and 
no  proscription  for  religion’s  sake,  the  colony  flourished  and  waxed 
strong.  But  the  English  ministers  had  now  formed  the  design  of 
abolishing  all  the  proprietary  governments,  with  a  view  to  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  royal  governments  instead.  The  presence  and  influence 
of  Penn  were  especially  required  in  England  in  order  to  prevent  the 
success  of  the  ministerial  scheme.  After  much  controversy  his  rights 
were  recognized  and  secured  against  encroachment.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  affairs  of  Pennsylvania  were  administered  by  the  deputy- 
governors,  Andrew  Hamilton  and  John  Evans.  The  latter,  a  worldly 
sort  of  man,  not  very  faithful  to  the  principles  of  the  Friends,  greatly 
troubled  the  province  by  purchasing  warlike  stores,  building  forts, 
and  attempting  to  organize  a  regiment  of  militia.  The  assembly  en¬ 
tered  a  strong  protest  against  these  proceedings,  so  irreconcilable  with 


PENNSYLVANIA. 


215 


the  policy  of  the  Quakers,  and  in  1708  Evans  was  removed  from 
office.  After  him  Charles  Gookin  received  a  commission  as  dep- 
uty-governor  and  entered  upon  his  administration  in  1709.  Soon 
afterwards  Penn  was  well-nigh  overwhelmed  by  the  rascality  of  his 
English  agent.  Ford,  who  first  involved  him  in  debt  and  then  had 
him  imprisoned.  From  a  shameful  confinement  of  many  months  he 
was  finally  released,  and  his  old  age  was  brightened  by  a  gleam  of 
prosperity.  But  the  end  of  his  labors  was  at  hand.  In  July  of  1718 
the  magnanimous  founder  of  Pennsylvania  sank  to  his  final  rest.  His 
estates,  vast  and  valuable,  but  much  encumbered  with  debt,  were  be¬ 
queathed  to  his  three  sons,  John,  Thomas  and  Richard,  who  thus  be¬ 
came  proprietors  of  Pennsylvania.  By  them,  or  their  deputies,  the 
province  was  governed  until  the  American  Revolution.  In  the  year 
1779  the  entire  claims  of  the  Penn  family  to  the  soil  and  jurisdiction 
of  the  State  were  purchased  by  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  for  a 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

The  colonial  history  of  the  State  founded  by  William  Penn  and 
the  Quakers  is  one  of  special  interest  and  pleasure.  It  is  a  narrative 
that  recounts  the  victories  of  peace  and  the  triumph  of  the  nobler 
virtues  over  violence  and  wrong.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  history 
of  any  other  colony  in  the  world  is  touched  with  so  many  traits  of 
innocence  and  truth.  When  the  nations  grow  mercenary  and  the 
times  seem  full  of  fraud,  the  early  annals  of  Pennsylvania  may  well 
be  recited  as  a  perpetual  protest  against  the  seeming  success  of  evil. 
u  I  will  found  a  free  colony  for  all  mankind,”  were  the  words  of 
William  Penn.  How  well  his  work  was  done  shall  be  fitly  told 
when  the  bells  of  his  capital  city  shall  ring  out  the  first  glad  notes 
of  American  Independence. 


16 


COLONIAL  HISTORY. — Continued. 


MINOR  SOUTHERN  COLONIES. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

MARYLAND. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH  was  the  first  white  man  to  explore  the 
Chesapeake  and  its  tributaries.  After  him,  in  1621,  William  Clay- 
borne,  a  resolute  and  daring  English  surveyor,  was  sent  out  by  the 
London  Company  to  make  a  map  of  the  country  about  the  head-waters 
of  the  bay.  By  the  second  charter  of  Virginia  the  territory  of  that 
province  had  been  extended  on  the  north  to  the  forty-first  parallel  of 
latitude.  All  of  the  present  State  of  Maryland  was  included  in  this 
enlargement,  which  also  embraced  the  whole  of  Delaware  and  the  greater 
part  of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania.  The  ambition  of  Virginia  was 
greatly  excited  by  the  possession  of  this  vast  domain;  to  explore  and 
occupy  it  was  an  enterprise  of  the  highest  importance. 

Clay  borne  was  a  member  of  the  council  of  Virginia,  and  secretary 
of  state  in  that  colony.  In  May  of  1631  he  received  a  royal  commission 
authorizing  him  to  discover  the  sources  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  to  survc' 
the  country  as  far  as  the  forty-first  degree  of  latitude,  to  establish  a  trade 
with  the  Indians,  and  to  exercise  the  right  of  government  over  the  com¬ 
panions  of  his  voyage.  This  commission  was  confirmed  by  Governor 
Harvey  of  Virginia,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year  Clayborne 
began  his  important  and  arduous  work.  The  members  of  the  London 
Company  were  already  gathering  imaginary  riches  from  the  immense  fur- 
trade  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Susquehanna. 

The  enterprise  of  Clayborne  was  attended  with  success.  A  trading- 
post  was  established  on  Kent  Island,  and  another  at  the  head  of  the  bay, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Havre  de  Grace.  The  many  rivers  that  fall  into  the 
Chesapeake  were  again  explored  and  a  trade  opened  with  the  natives. 
The  limits  of  A  irginia  were  about  to  be  extended  to  the  borders  of  New 

Nether land.  But  in  the  mean  time,  a  train  of  circumstances  had  been 
(216) 


MAH  VLAND. 


217 


prepared  in  England  by  which  the  destiny  of  several  American  provinces 
was  completely  changed.  As  in  many  other  instances,  religious  perse¬ 
cution  again  contributed  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  new  State  in  the 
wilderness.  And  Sir  George  Calvert,  of  1l  orkshire,  was  the  man  who 
was  destined  to  become  the  founder.  Born  in  1580 ;  educated  at  Oxford; 
a  man  of  much  travel  and  vast  experience ;  an  ardent  and  devoted  Cath¬ 
olic;  a  friend  of  hu¬ 
manity  ;  honored  with 
knighthood,  and  after¬ 
ward  with  an  Irish 
peerage  and  the  title 
of  Lord  Baltimore, 
— he  now  in  middle 
life  turned  aside  from 
the  dignities  of  rank 
and  affluence  to  devote 
the  energies  of  his  life 
to  the  welfare  of  the 
oppressed.  For  the 
Catholics  of  England, 
as  well  as  the  dissent¬ 
ing  Protestants,  were 
afflicted  with  many 
and  bitter  persecu¬ 
tions. 

Lord  Baltimore’s 
first  American  enter- 
lord  BALTIMORE.  prise  was  the  planting 

of  a  Catholic  colony 

in  Newfoundland.  King  James,  who  was  not  unfriendly  to  the  Roman 
Church,  had  granted  him  a  patent  for  the  southern  promontory  of  the 
island;  and  here,  in  1623,  a  refuge  was  established  for  distressed  Cath¬ 
olics.  But  in  such  a  place  no  colony  could  be  successful.  The  district 
was  narrow,  cheerless,  desolate.  Profitable  industry  was  impossible. 
French  ships  hovered  around  the  coast  and  captured  the  English  fishing- 
boats.  It  became  evident  that  the  settlement  must  be  removed,  and  Lord 
Baltimore  wisely  turned  his  attention  to  the  sunny  country  of  the  Ches¬ 
apeake. 

In  1629  he  made  a  visit  to  Virginia.  The  general  assembly  offered 
him  citizenship  on  condition  that  he  would  take  an  oath  of  allegiance; 
but  the  oath  was  of  such  a  sort  as  no  honest  Catholic  could  subscribe  to. 


218 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


In  vain  did  Sir  George  plead  for  toleration  ;  the  assembly  was  inexorable. 
It  was  on  the  part  of  the  Virginians  a  short-sighted  and  ruinous  policy. 
For  the  London  Company  had  already  been  dissolved ;  the  king  might 
therefore  rightfully  regrant  that  vast  territory  north  of  the  Potomac 
which  by  the  terms  of  the  second  charter  had  been  given  to  Virginia. 
I/ord  Baltimore  left  the  narrow-minded  legislators,  returned  to  London, 
himself  drew  up  a  charter  for  a  new  State  on  the  Chesapeake,  and  easily 
induced  his  friend,  King  Charles  I.,  to  sign  it.  The  Virginians  had 
saved  their  religion  and  lost  a  province.  \ 

The  territory  embraced  by  th|  new  patent  was  bounded  by  the 
ocean,  by  the  fortieth  parallel  of  latitude,  by  a  line  drawn  due  south  from 
that  parallel  to  the  most  western  fountain  of  the  Potomac,  by  the  river 
itself  from  its  source  to  the  bay,  and  by  a  line  running  due  east  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river  to  the  Atlantic.  The  domain  included  the  whole  of 
the  present  States  of  Maryland  and  Delaware  and  a  large  part  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania  and  New  Jersey.  Here  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  magnanimous 
proprietor  to  establish  an  asylum  for  all  the  afflicted  of  his  own  faith,  and 
to  plant  a  State  on  the  broad  basis  of  religious  toleration  and  popular  lib¬ 
erty.  The  provisions  of  the  charter  were  the  most  liberal  and  ample  which 
had  ever  received  the  sanction  of  the  English  government.  Christianity 
was  declared  to  be  the  religion  of  the  State,  but  no  preference  was  given 
to  any  sect  or  creed.  The  lives  and  property  of  the  colonists  were  care¬ 
fully  guarded.  Free  trade  was  declared  to  be  the  law  of  the  province, 
and  arbitrary  taxation  was  forbidden.  The  rights  of  the  proprietor  ex¬ 
tended  only  to  the  free  appointment  of  the  officers  of  his  government.  The 
power  of  making  and  amending  the  laws  was  conceded  to  the  freemen  of 
the  colony  or  their  representatives. 

One  calamity  darkened  the  prospect.  Before  the  liberal  patent  could 
receive  the  seal  of  State  Sir  George  Calvert  died.  His  title  and  estates 
descended  to  his  son  Cecil;  and  to  him,  on  the  20th  of  June,  1632,  the 
charter  which  had  been  intended  for  his  noble  father  was  finally  issued. 
In  honor  of  Henrietta  Maria,  daughter  of  Henry  IV.  of  France  and 
wife  of  Charles  I.,  the  name  of  Maryland  was  conferred  on  the  new 
province.  Independence  of  Virginia  was  guaranteed  in  the  constitution 
of  the  colony,  and  no  danger  was  to  be  anticipated  from  the  feeble  forces 
of  New  Netherland.  It  only  remained  for  the  younger  Lord  Baltimore 
to  raise  a  company  of  emigrants  and  carry  out  his  father’s  benevolent 
designs.  The  work  went  forward  slowly,  and  it  was  not  until  November 
of  1633  that  a  colony  numbering  two  hundred  persons  could  be  collected. 
Meanwhile,  Cecil  Calvert  had  abandoned  the  idea  of  coming  in  person  to 
America,  and  had  appointed  his  brother  Leonard  to  accompany  the  col- 


MARYLAND. 


219 


onists  to  their  destination,  and  to  act  as  deputy-governor  of  the  new 
province. 

In  March  of  the  following  year  the  immigrants  arrived  at  Old 
Point  Comfort.  Leonard  Calvert  bore  a  letter  from  King  Charles  to 
Governor  Harvey  of  Virginia,  commanding  him  to  receive  the  new¬ 
comers  with  courtesy  and  favor.  The  order  was  complied  with  ;  but  the 
Virginians  could  look  only  with  intense  jealousy  on  a  movement  which 
must  soon  deprive  them  of  the  rich  fur-trade  of  the  Chesapeake.  The 
colonists  proceeded  up  the  bay  and  entered  the  Potomac.  At  the  mouth 
of  Piscataway  Creek,  nearly  opposite  Mount  Vernon,  the  pinnace  was 
moored,  and  a  cross  was  set  up  on  an  island.  On  the  present  site  of  Fort 
Washington  there  was  an  Indian  village  whose  inhabitants  came  out  to 
meet  the  English.  A  conference  was  held,  and  the  sachem  of  the  nation 
told  Leonard  Calvert  in  words  of  dubious  meaning  that  he  and  his  colony 
might  stay  or  go  just  as  they  pleased.  Considering  this  answer  as  a 
menace,  and  deeming  it  imprudent  to  plant  his  first  settlement  so  far  up 
the  river,  Calvert  again  embarked  with  his  companions,  and  dropped  down 
stream  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary’s,  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  bay. 
Ascending  the  estuary  for  about  ten  miles,  he  came  to  an  Indian  town. 
The  natives  had  been  beaten  in  battle  by  the  Susquehannas,  and  were  on 
the  eve  of  migrating  into  the  inferior.  The  village  was  already  half 
deserted.  With  the  consent  of  the  Red  men,  the  English  moved  into  the 
vacant  huts.  The  rest  of  the  town  was  purchased,  with  the  adjacent  ter¬ 
ritory,  the  Indians  promising  to  give  possession  at  the  opening  of  the 
spring.  The  name  of  St.  Maby’s  was  given  to  this  the  oldest  colony  of 
Maryland,  and  the  name  of  the  river  was  changed  to  St.  George’s. 

Calvert  treated  the  natives  with  great  liberality.  The  consequence 
was  that  the  settlers  had  peace  and  plenty.  The  Indian  women  taught 
the  wives  of  the  English  how  to  make  corn-bread,  and  the  friendly  war¬ 
riors  instructed  the  colonists  in  the  mysteries  of  hunting.  Game  was 
abundant.  The  lands  adjacent  to  the  village  were  already  under  cultiva¬ 
tion.  The  settlers  had  little  to  do  but  to  plant  their  gardens  and  fields 
and  wait  for  the  coming  harvest.  There  was  neither  anxiety  nor  want. 
The  dream  of  Sir  George  Calvert  was  realized.  Within  six  months  the 
colony  of  St.  Mary’s  had  grown  into  greater  prosperity  than  the  settle¬ 
ment  at  Jamestown  had  reached  in  as  many  years.  Best  of  all,  the  pledge 
of  civil  liberty  and  religious  toleration  was  redeemed  to  the  letter.  Two 
years  before  the  founding  of  Rhode  Island  the  Catholics  of  the  Ches¬ 
apeake  had  emancipated  the  human  conscience,  built  an  asylum  for  the 
distressed,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  a  free  State. 

Within  less  than  a  year  after  the  founding  of  St.  Mary’s  the  free- 


220 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


men  were  convened  in  a  general  assembly.  In  February  of  1635  the 
work  of  colonial  legislation  was  first  begun.  The  records  of  this  and 
several  succeeding  sessions  were  destroyed  in  the  rebellion  of  1645, 
and  not  much  is  known  concerning  the  character  of  the  earliest  laws. 
But  it  is  certain  that  the  province  was  involved  in  difficulty  For  Clay- 
borne  still  stood  his  ground  on  Kent  Island,  and  openly  resisted  Lord 
Baltimore’s  authority.  His  settlement  on  the  island  was  almost  as  strong 
as  the  colony  at  St.  Mary’s;  and  Clayborne,  unscrupulous  as  to  the 
right,  and  confident  in  his  power,  resolved  to  appeal  to  arms.  In  1637 
a  bloody  skirmish  occurred  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Wicomico,  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  bay.  Several  lives  were  lost,  but  the  insurgents  were 
defeated.  Calvert’s  forces  proceeded  to  Kent  Island,  overpowered  the 
settlement,  and  executed  one  or  two  persons  who  had  participated  in  the 
rebellion. 

Clayborne,  in  the  mean  time,  had  escaped  into  Virginia.  The 
assembly  of  Maryland  demanded  the  fugitive;  but  the  governor  refused, 
and  sent  the  prisoner  to  England  for  trial.  The  legislators  of  St.  Mary’s 
charged  the  absent  criminal  with  murder  and  piracy,  tried  him,  con¬ 
demned  him  and  confiscated  his  estates.  Clayborne,  who  was  safe  in 
England,  appealed  to  the  king.  The  cause  was  heard  by  a  committee  of 
Parliament,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  commission  of  Clayborne,  which 
was  only  a  license  to  trade  in  the  Chesapeake,  had  been  annulled  by  the 
dissolution  of  the  London  Company,  and  that  the  charter  of  Lord  Balti¬ 
more  was  valid  against  all  opposing  claimants.  Clayborne,  however,  was 
allowed  to  go  at  large. 

In  1639  a  regular  representative  government  was  established  in 
Maryland.  Hitherto  a  system  of  popular  democracy  had  prevailed  in  the 
province ;  each  freeman  had  been  allowed  a  vote  in  determining  the  laws. 
With  the  growth  of  the  colony  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  substitute  the 
more  convenient  method  of  representation.  When  the  delegates  came 
together,  a  declaration  of  rights  was  adopted,  and  the  prerogative  of  the 
proprietor  more  clearly  defined.  All  the  broad  and  liberal  principles  of 
the  colonial  patent  were  reaffirmed.  The  powers  of  the  assembly  were 
made  coextensive  with  those  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  England. 
The  rights  of  citizenship  were  declared  to  be  identical  with  those  of  Eng¬ 
lish  subjects  in  the  mother  country. 

The  Indians  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  had  now  grown  jealous  of 
foreign  encroachments.  Vague  rumors  of  the  English  Revolution  had 
been  borne  to  the  Red  men,  and  they  believed  themselves  able  to  expel 
the  intruders  from  the  country.  In  1642  hostilities  were  begnui  on  the 
Potomac,  and  for  two  years  the  province  was  involved  in  war.  But  the 


MARYLAND. 


221 


settlements  of  Maryland  were  few  and  compact,  and  no  great  suffering 
was  occasioned  by  the  onsets  of  the  barbarians.  In  1644  the  savages 
agreed  to  bury  the  hatchet  and  to  renew  the  broken  pledges  of  friendship. 
Hardly,  however,  had  the  echo  of  Indian  warfare  died  away,  when  the 
colony  was  visited  with  a  worse  calamity  by  the  return  of  its  old  enemy, 
William  Clayborne. 

He  came  to  find  revenge,  and  found  it.  The  king  was  now  at 
war  with  his  subjects,  and  could  give  no  aid  to  the  proprietor  of  an 
American  province.  Clayborne  saw  his  opportunity,  hurried  to  Mary¬ 
land,  and  raised  the  standard  of  rebellion.  Arriving  in  the  province  in 
1644,  he  began  to  sow  the  seeds  of  sedition  by  telling  the  restless  and 
lawless  spirits  of  the  colony  that  they  were  wronged  and  oppressed  by  a 
usurping  government.  Early  in  1645  an  insurrection  broke  out.  Com¬ 
panies  of  desperate  men  came  together,  and  found  in  Clayborne  a  natural 
leader.  The  government  of  Leonard  Calvert  was  overthrown,  and  the 
governor  obliged  to  fly  for  his  life.  Escaping  from  the  province,  he  found 
refuge  and  protection  with  Sir  William  Berkeley  of  Virginia.  Clayborne 
seized  the  colonial  records  of  Maryland,  and  destroyed  them.  One  act  of 
violence  followed  another.  The  government  was  usurped,  and  for  more 
than  a  year  the  colony  was  under  the  dominion  of  the  insurgents.  Mean¬ 
while,  however,  Governor  Calvert  collected  his  forces,  returned  to  the 
province,  defeated  the  rebels,  and  in  August  of  1646  succeeded  in  restor¬ 
ing  his  authority.  It  marks  the  mild  and  humane  spirit  of  the  Calverts 
that  those  engaged  in  this  unjustifiable  insurrection  were  pardoned  by  a 
general  amnesty. 

The  acts  of  the  provincial  legislature  in  1649  were  of  special  im¬ 
portance.  It  was  enacted  in  broad  terms  that  no  person  believing  in  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity  should,  on  account  of  his  religious 
opinions  or  practices,  be  in  any  wise  distressed  within  the  borders  of 
Maryland.  It  was  declared  a  finable  offence  for  citizens  to  apply  to  each 
other  the  opprobrious  names  used  in  religious  controversy.  Freedom  of 
conscience  was  reiterated  with  a  distinctness  that  could  not  be  misunder¬ 
stood.  While  Massachusetts  was  attempting  by  proscription  to  establish 
Puritanism  as  the  faith  of  New  England,  and  while  the  Episcopalians  of 
Jamestown  were  endeavoring  by  exclusive  legislation  to  make  the  Church 
of  England  the  Church  of  Virginia,  Maryland  was  joining  with  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut  in  proclaiming  religious  freedom.  It  sometimes 
happened  in  those  days  that  Protestants  escaping  from  Protestants  found 
an  asylum  with  the  Catholic  colonists  of  the  Chesapeake. 

In  1650  the  legislative  body  of  Maryland  was  divided  into  two 
branches.  The  upper  house  consisted  of  the  governor  and  members  of 


222 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


his  council  appointed  by  the  proprietor.  The  lower  house,  or  general 
assembly,  was  composed  of  burgesses  elected  by  the  people  of  the  province. 
Again  the  rights  of  Lord  Baltimore  were  carefully  defined  by  provincial 
law.  An  act  was  also  passed  declaring  that  no  taxes  should  be  levied 
without  the  consent  of  the  assembly.  Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  the  colony  when  the  commonwealth  was  established  in  England.  Par¬ 
liament  was  now  the  supreme  power  in  the  mother  country,  and  it  could 
hardly  be  expected  that  Lord  Baltimore’s  charter  would  be  allowed  to 
stand. 

In  1651  parliamentary  commissioners  were  appointed  to  come  to 
America  and  assume  control  of  the  colonies  bordering  on  the  Chesapeake. 
Clayborne  was  a  member  of  the  body  thus  appointed.  When  the  com¬ 
missioners  arrived  in  Maryland,  Stone,  the  deputy  of  Lord  Baltimore, 
was  deposed  from  office.  A  compromise  was  presently  effected  between 
the  adherents  of  the  proprietor  and  the  opposing  faction ;  and  in  June  of 
the  following  year,  Stone,  with  three  members  of  his  council,  was  per¬ 
mitted  to  resume  the  government.  In  April  of  1653  the  Long  Par¬ 
liament,  by  whose  authority  the  commissioners  had  been  appointed,  was 
dissolved.  Stone  thereupon  published  a  proclamation  declaring  that  the 
recent  interference  of  Clayborne  and  his  associates  had  been  a  rebellious 
usurpation.  Clayborne,  enraged  at  this  proclamation,  collected’  a  force  in 
Virginia,  returned  into  Maryland,  again  drove  Stone  out  of  office,  and 
entrusted  the  government  to  ten  commissioners  appointed  by  himself. 

The  Puritan  and  republican  party  in  Maryland  had  now  grown 
sufficiently  strong  to  defy  the  proprietor  and  the  Catholics.  A  Protestant 
assembly  was  convened  at  Patuxent  in  October  of  1654.  The  first  act 
was  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Cromwell ;  the  next  to  disfranchise 
the  Catholics  and  to  deprive  them  of  the  protection  of  the  laws.  The  un¬ 
grateful  representatives  seemed  to  forget  that  if  Lord  Baltimore  had  been 
equally  intolerant  not  one  of  them  would  have  had  even  a  residence 
within  the  limits  of  Maryland.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more 
odious  piece  of  legislation  than  that  of  the  assembly  at  Patuxent.  Of 
course  the  Catholic  party  would  not  submit  to  a  code  by  which  they  were 
virtually  banished  from  their  own  province. 

Civil  war  ensued.  Governor  Stone  organized  and  armed  the 
militia,  seized  the  records  of  the  colony,  and  marched  against  the  oppos¬ 
ing  forces.  A  decisive  battle  was  fought  just  across  the  estuary  from  the 
present  site  of  Annapolis.  The  Catholics  were  defeated,  with  a  loss  of 
fifty  men  in  killed  and  wounded.  Stone  himself  was  taken  prisoner,  and 
was  only  saved  from  death  by  the  personal  friendship  of  some  of  the  in¬ 
solent*  Three  of  the  Catholic  leaders  were  tried  by  a  court-martial 


I 


•  MARYLAND.  223 

and  executed.  Cromwell  paid  but  little  attention  to  these  atrocities,  and 
made  no  effort  to  sustain  the  government  of  Lord  Baltimore. 

In  1656  Josias  Fendall,  a  weak  and  impetuous  man,  was  sent  out 
by  the  proprietor  as  governor  of  the  province.  There  was  now  a  Cath¬ 
olic  insurrection  with  Fendall  at  the  head.  For  two  years  the  govern¬ 
ment  was  divided,  the  Catholics  exercising  authority  at  St.  Mary’s,  and 
the  Protestants  at  Leonardstown.  At  length,  in  March  of  1658,  a  com¬ 
promise  was  effected;  Fendall  was  acknowledged  as  governor,  and  the 
acts  of  the  recent  Protestant  assemblies  were  recognized  as  valid.  A  gen¬ 
eral  amnesty  was  published,  and  the  colony  was  again  at  peace. 

When  the  death  of  Cromwell  was  announced  in  Maryland,  the 
provincial  authorities  were  much  perplexed.  One  of  four  courses  might 
be  pursued :  Richard  Cromwell  might  be  recognized  as  protector ;  Charles 
II.  might  be  proclaimed  as  king;  Lord  Baltimore  might  be  acknowledged 
as  hereditary  proprietor ;  colonial  independence  might  be  declared.  The 
latter  policy  was  adopted  by  the  assembly.  On  the  12th  of  March,  1660, 
the  rights  of  Lord  Baltimore  were  formally  set  aside;  the  provincial 
council  was  dissolved,  and  the  whole  power  of  government  was  assumed 
by  the  House  of  Burgesses.  The  act  of  independence  was  adopted  just 
one  day  before  a  similar  resolution  was  passed  by  the  general  assembly  of 
Virginia.  The  population  of  Maryland  had  now  reached  ten  thousand. 

On  the  restoration  of  monarchy  the  rights  of  the  Baltimores  were 
again  recognized,  and  Philip  Calvert  was  sent  out  as  deputy-governor.  In 
the  mean  time,  Fendall  had  resigned  his  trust  as  agent  of  the  proprietor, 
and  had  accepted  an  election  by  the  people.  He  was  now  repaid  for  his 
double-dealing  with  an  arrest,  a  trial  and  a  condemnation  on  a  charge 
of  treason.  Nothing  saved  his  life  but  the  clemency  of  Lord  Baltimore, 
who,  with  his  customary  magnanimity,  proclaimed  a  general  pardon. 

Sir  Cecil  Calvert  died  in  1675,  and  his  son  Charles,  a  young  man 
who  had  inherited  the  virtues  of  the  illustrious  family,  succeeded  to  the 
estates  and  title  of  Baltimore.  For  sixteen  years  he  exercised  the  rights 
of  proprietary  governor  of  Maryland.  The  laws  of  the  province  were 
carefully  revised,  and  the  liberal  principles  of  the  original  charter  re¬ 
affirmed  as  the  basis  of  the  State.  Only  once  during  this  period  was  the 
happiness  of  the  colony  disturbed.  When  the  news  arrived  of  the  abdi¬ 
cation  of  King  James  II.,  the  deputy  of  Lord  Baltimore  hesitated  to 
acknowledge  the  new  sovereigns,  William  and  Mary.  An  absurd  rumor  * 

was  spread  abroad  that  the  Catholics  had  leagued  with  the  Indians  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  the  Protestants  of  Maryland  in  a  general  mas¬ 
sacre.  An  opposing  force  was  organized ;  and  in  1689  the  Catholic  party 
was  compelled  to  surrender  the  government.  For  two  years  the  Protest- 


224 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED'  STATES. 


ants  held  the  province,  and  civil  authority  was  exercised  by  a  body  called 
the  Convention  of  Associates. 

On  the  1st  day  of  June,  1691,  the  government  of  Maryland  was 
revolutionized  by  the  act  of  King  William.  The  charter  of  Lord  Balti¬ 
more  was  arbitrarily  taken  away,  and  a  royal  governor  appointed  over  the 
province.  Sir  Lionel  Copley  received  a  commission,  and  assumed  the 
government  in  1692.  Every  vestige  of  the  old  patent  was  swept  away. 
The  Episcopal  Church  was  established  by  law  and  supported  by  taxation. 
Religious  toleration  was  abolished  and  the  government  administered  on 
despotic  principles.  This  condition  of  affairs  continued  until  1715,  when 
Queen  Anne  was  induced  to  restore  the  heir  of  Lord  Baltimore  to  the 
rights  of  his  ancestor.  Maryland  again  became  a  proprietary  government 
under  the  authority  of  the  Calverts,  and  so  remained  until  the  Revolu¬ 
tionary  war. 

The  early  history  of  the  colony  planted  by  the  first  Lord  Balti¬ 
more  on  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  is  full  of  profitable  instruction.  In 
no  other  American  province  were  the  essential  vices  of  intolerance  more 
clearly  manifested;  in  no  other  did  the  principle  of  religious  freedom 
shine  with  a  brighter  lustre.  Nor  will  the  thoughtful  student  fail  to 
observe  how  the  severe  dogmas  of  Catholicism  were  softened  down  when 
brought  into  contact  with  the  ennobling  virtues  of  the  Calverts,  until  over 
river  and  bay  and  shore  a  mellow  light  was  diffused  like  a  halo  shining 
from  the  altars  of  the  ancient  Church. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

THE  first  effort  to  colonize  North  Carolina  was  made  by  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh.  In  1630  an  immense  tract  lying  between  the  thirtieth  and 
the  thirty-sixth  parallels  of  latitude  was  granted  by  King  Charles  to  Sir 
Robert  Heath.  But  neither  the  proprietor  nor  his  successor,  Lord  Mal- 
travers,  succeeded  in  planting  a  colony.  After  a  useless  existence  of 
thirty-three  years,  the  patent  was  revoked  by  the  English  sovereign.  The 
only  effect  of  Sir  Robert’s  charter  was  to  perpetuate  the  name  of  Carolina, 
which  had  been  given  to  the  country  by  John  Ribault  in  1562. 

In  the  year  1622  the  country  as  fin.'  south  as  the  river  Chowan  was 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


225 


explored  by  Pory,  the  secretary  of  Virginia.  Twenty  years  later  a  com¬ 
pany  of  Virginians  obtained  leave  of  the  assembly  to  prosecute  discovery 
on  the  lower  Roanoke  and  establish  a  trade  with  the  natives.  The  first 
actual  settlement  was  made  near  the  mouth  of  the  Chowan  about  the  year 
1651.  The  country"  was  visited  just  afterward  by  Clayborne  of  Maryland, 
and  in  1661  a  company  of  Puritans  from  New  England  passed  down  the 
coast,  entered  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  River,  purchased  lands  of  the 
Indians  and  established  a  colony  on  Oldtown  Creek,  nearly  two  hundred 
miles  farther  south  than  any  other  English  settlement.  In  1663  Lord 
Clarendon,  General  Monk,  who  was  now  honored  with  the  title  of  duke 
of  Albemarle,  and  six  other  noblemen,  received  at  the  hands  of  Charles 
II.  a  patent  for  all  the  country  between  the  thirty-sixth  parallel  and  the 
river  St.  John’s,  in  Florida.  With  this  grant  the  colonial  history  of 
North  Carolina  properly  begins. 

In  the  same  year  a  civil  government  Avas  organized  by  the  settlers 
on  the  Chowan.  William  Drummond  Avas  chosen  governor,  and  the 
name  of  Albemarle  County  Colony  was  gi\ren  to  the  district  border¬ 
ing  on  the  sound.  In  1665  it  Avas  found  that  the  settlement  Avas  north 
of  the  thirty-sixth  parallel,  and  consequently  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
province.  To  remedy  this  defect  the  grant  Avas  extended  on  the  north  to 
thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes,  the  present  boundary  of  Virginia, 
and  AvestA\rard  to  the  Pacific.  -  During  the  same  year  the  little  Puritan 
colony  on  Cape  Fear  River  Avas  broken  up  by  the  Indians;  but  scarcely 
had  this  been  done  when  the  site  of  the  settlement,  with  thirty-two  miles 
square  of  the  surrounding  territory,  was  purchased  by  a  company  of 
planters  from  Barbadoes.  A  neAv  county  named  Clarendon  Avas  laid 
out,  and  Sir  John  Yeamans  elected  governor  of  the  colony.  The  pro¬ 
prietors  favored  the  settlement ;  immigration  Avas  rapid ;  and  Avithin  a  year 
eight  hundred  people  had  settled  along  the  river. 

The  work  of  preparing  a  frame  of  government  for  the  new  province 
was  assigned  to  Sir  Ashley  Cooper,  earl  of  Shaftesbury.  The  proprietors, 
not  Avithout  reason,  looked  forward  to  the  time  Avhen  a  powerful  nation 
should  arise  Avithin  the  borders  of  their  vast  domain.  To  draft  a  suitable 
constitution  Avas  deemed  a  Avork  of  the  greatest  importance.  Shaftesbury 
was  a  brilliant  and  versatile  statesman  who  had  entire  confidence  in  his 
abilities ;  but  in  order  to  give  complete  assurance  of  perfection  in  the 
proposed  statutes,  the  philosopher  John  Locke  Avas  employed  by  Sir 
Ashley  and  his  associates  to  prepare  the  constitution,  The  legislation  of 
the  world  furnishes  no  parallel  for  the  pompous  absurdity  of  Locke’s 
performance. 

From  March  until  July  of  1669  the  philosopher  Avorked  away  in 
16 


•226 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  preparation  of  his  Grand  Model  ;  then  the  mighty  instrument  was 
done,  and  signed.  It  contained  a  hundred  and  twenty  articles,  called  the 
“  Fundamental  Constitutions and  this  was  but  the  beginning  of  the  im¬ 
perial  scheme  which  was  to  stand  like  a  colossus  over  the  huts  and  pas- 
•  tures  along  the  Cape  Fear  and  Chowan  Rivers.  The  empire  of  Carolina 
was  divided  into  vast  districts  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  acres 
each.  Political  rights  were  made  dependent  upon  hereditary  wealth. 
The  offices  were  put  beyond  the  reach  of  the  people.  There  were  two 
grand  orders  of  nobility.  There  were  dukes,  earls  and  marquises ; 
knights,  lords  and  esquires;  baronial  courts,  heraldic  ceremony,  and 
every  sort  of  feudal  nonsense  that  the  human  imagination  could  conceive 
of.  And  this  was  the  magnificent  constitution  which  a  great  statesman 
and  a  wise  philosopher  had  planned  for  the  government  of  a  few  colonists 
who  lived  on  venison  and  potatoes  and  paid  their  debts  with  tobacco ! 

It  was  one  thing  to  make  the  grand  model,  and  another  thing  to  get 
it  across  the  Atlantic.  In  this  the  proprietors  never  succeeded.  All  at¬ 
tempts  to  establish  the  pompous  scheme  of  government  ended  in  necessary 
failure.  The  settlers  of  Albemarle  and  Clarendon  had  meanwhile  learned 
to  govern  themselves  after  the  simple  manner  of  pioneers,  and  they  could 
but  regard  the  model  and  its  authors  with  disdainful  contempt.  After 
twenty  years  of  fruitless  effort,  Shaftesbury  and  his  associates  folded  up 
their  grand  constitution  and  concluded  that  an  empire  in  the  pine  forests 
of  North  Carolina  was  impossible. 

The  soil  of  Clarendon  county  was  little  better  than  a  desert.  For  a 
while  a  trade  in  staves  and  furs  supplied  a  profitable  industry ;  but  when 
this  traffic  was  exhausted,  the  colonists  began  to  remove  to  other  settle¬ 
ments.  In  1671,  Governor  Yeamans  was  transferred  to  the  colony  which 
had  been  founded  in  the  previous  year  at  the  mouth  of  Ashley  River,  and 
before  the  year  1690  the  whole  county  of  Clarendon  was  a  second  time 
surrendered  to  the  native  tribes.  The  settlement  north  of  Albemarle 
Sound  was  more  prosperous,  but  civil  dissension  greatly  retarded  the 
development  of  the  country. 

For  the  proprietors  were  already  busy  trying  to  establish  their  big  in¬ 
stitutions  in  the  feeble  province.  The  humble  commerce  of  the  colony  was 
burdened  with  an  odious  duty.  Every  pound  of  the  eight  hundred  hogs¬ 
heads  of  tobacco  annually  produced  was  taxed  a  penny  for  the  benefit  of 
the  government.  There  were  at  this  time  less  than  four  thousand  people 
in  North  Carolina,  and  yet  the  traffic  of  these  poor  settlers  with  New 
England  alone  was  so  weighed  down  with  duties  as  to  yield  an  annual 
revenue  of  twelve  thousand  dollars.  Miller,  the  governor,  was  a  harsh 
and  violent  man.  A  gloomy  opposition  to  the  proprietary  government 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


227 


pervaded  the  colony;  and  when,  in  1676,  large  numbers  of  refugees  from 
Virginia — patriots  who  had  fought  in  Bacon’s  rebellion — arrived  in  the 
Chowan,  the  spirit  of  discontent  was  kindled  into  open  resistance. 

The  arrival  of  a  merchant-ship  from  Boston  and  an  attempt  to  en¬ 
force  the  revenue  laws  furnished  the  occasion  and  pretext  of  an  insurrec¬ 
tion.  The  vessel  evaded  the  payment  of  duty,  and  was  declared  a  smug¬ 
gler.  But  the  people  flew  to  arms,  seized  the  governor  and  six  members 
of  his  council,  overturned  the  existing  order  of  things  and  established  a 
new  government  of  their  own.  John  Culpepper,  the  leader  of  the  insur¬ 
gents,  was  chosen  governor;  other  officers  were  elected  by  the  people;  and 
in  a  few  weeks  the  colony  was  as  tranquil  as  if  Locke’s  grand  model  had 
never  been  heard  of.  But  in  the  next  year,  1679,  the  imprisoned  Mil¬ 
ler  and  his  associates  escaped  from  confinement,  and  going  to  London 
told  a  dolorous  story  about  their  wrongs  and  sufferings.  The  English 
lords  of  trade  took  the  matter  in  hai  d,  and  it  seemed  that  North  Carolina 
was  doomed  to  punishment. 

But  the  colonists  were  awake  to  their  interests.  Governor  Cul¬ 
pepper  went  boldly  to  England  to  defend  himself  and  to  justify  the  rebel¬ 
lion.  He  was  seized,  indicted  for  high  treason,  tried  and  acquitted  by  a 
jury  of  Englishmen.  It  marks  a  peculiar  feature  of  this  cause  that  the 
sagacious  earl  of  Shaftesbury  came  forward  at  the  trial  and  spoke  in  de¬ 
fence  of  the  prisoner.  But  Lord  Clarendon  was  so  much  vexed  at  the 
acquittal  of  the  rebellious  governor  that  he  sold  his  rights  as  proprietor  to 
the  infamous  Seth  Sothel.  This  man  in  1680  was  sent  out  by  his  associ¬ 
ates  as  governor  of  the  province.  In  crossing  the  ocean  he  was  captured 
by  a  band  of  pirates,  and  for  three  years  the  colony  was  saved  from  his 
evil  presence.  At  last,  in  1683,  he  arrived  in  Carolina  and  began  his 
work,  which  consisted  in  oppressing  the  people  and  defrauding  the  pro¬ 
prietors.  Cranfield  of  New  Hampshire,  Cornbury  of  New  York  and 
Wingfield  of  Virginia  were  all  respectable  men  in  comparison  with  Sothel, 
whose  sordid  passions  have  made  him  notorious  as  the  worst  colonial  gov¬ 
ernor  that  ever  plundered  an  American  province.  After  five  years  of 
avaricious  tyranny,  the  base,  gold-gathering,  justice-despising  despot  was 
overthrown  in  an  insurrection.  *Finding  himself  a  prisoner,  and  fearing 
the  wrath  of  the  defrauded  proprietors  more  than  he  feared  the  indigna¬ 
tion  of  the  outraged  colonists,  he  begged  to  be  tried  by  the  assembly  of 
the  province.  The  request  was  granted,  and  the  culprit  escaped  with  a 
sentence  of  disfranchisement  and  a  twelve  months’  exile  from  North 
Carolina. 

Sothel  was  succeeded  in  the  governorship  by  Ludwell,  who  arrived 
in  1689.  His  administration  of  six  years'  duration  was  a  period  of  peace 


228 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  contentment.  The  wrongs  of  his  predecessor  were  corrected  as  far  as 
possible  by  a  just  and  humane  chief  magistrate.  In  1695  came  Sir  John 
Archdale,  another  of  the  proprietors,  the  rival  of  Ludwell  in  prudence 
and  integrity.  Then  followed  the  tranquil  administration  of  Governor 
Henderson  Walker;  then,  in  1704,  the  foolish  attempt  of  Robert  Daniel 
to  establish  the  Church  of  England.  In  the  mean  time,  the  colony  had 
grown  strong  in  population  and  resources.  The  country  south  of  the 
Roanoke  began  to  be  dotted  with  farms  and  hamlets.  Other  settlers 
came  from  Virginia  and  Maryland.  Quakers  came  from  New  England 
and  the  Delaware.  A  band  of  French  Huguenots  came  in  1707.  A 
hundred  families* of  German  refugees,  buffeted  with  war  and  persecution, 
left  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  to  find  a  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Ncuse. 
Peasants  from  Switzerland  came  and  founded  New  Berne  at  the  mouth 
of  the  River  Trent. 

The  Indians  of  North  Carolina  had  gradually  wasted  away.  Pes¬ 
tilence  and  strong  drink  had  reduced  powerful  tribes  to  a  shadow.  Some 
nations  were  already  extinct ;  others,  out  of  thousands  of  strong-limbed 
warriors,  had  only  a  dozen  men  remaining.  The  lands  of  the  savages  had 
passed  to  the  whites,  sometimes  by  purchase,  sometimes  by  fraud,  often 
by  forcible  occupation.  The  natives  were  jealous  and  revengeful,  but 
weak.  Of  all  the  mighty  tribes  that  had  inhabited  the  Carolinas  in  the 
days  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  only  the  Corees  and  the  Tuscaroras  were 
still  formidable.  The  time  had  come  when  these  unhappy  nations,  like 
the  rest  of  their  race,  were  doomed  to  destruction.  The  conflict  which 
ended,  and  could  only  end,  in  the  ruin  of  the  Red  men,  began  in  the  year 
1711. 

In  September  of  this  year,  Lawson,  the  surveyor-general  of  North 
Carolina,  ascended  the  Neuse  to  explore  and  map  the  country.  The  In¬ 
dians  were  alarmed  at  the  threatened  encroachment  upon  their  1  erritory. 
A  band  of  warriors  took  Lawson  prisoner,  led  him  before  their  council, 
condemned  him  and  burned  him  to  death.  On  the  night  of  the  22<1,  com- 
panies  of  savages  rose  out  of  tile  woods,  fell  upon  the  scattered  settlements 
between  the  Roanoke  and  Pamlico  Sound,  and  murdered  a  hundred  and 
thirty  persons.  Civil  dissension  prevented  the  colonial  authorities  from 
adopting  vigorous  measures  of  defence.  The  protection  of  the  people 
and  the  punishment  of  the  barbarians  were  left  to  the  neighboring  prov¬ 
inces.  Spottswood,  governor  of  Virginia,  made  some  unsuccessful  efforts 
to  render  assistance,  and  Colonel  Barnwell  came  from  South  Carolina  with 
a  company  of  militia  and  a  body  of  friendly  Cherokees,  Creeks  and  Cataw- 
bas.  The  savages  were  driven  into  their  fort  in  the  northern  part  of 
Craven  county,  but  could  not  be  dislodged.  While  affairs  were  in  this 


.NORTH  CAROLINA. 


229 


condition  a  treaty  of  peace  was  made ;  but  Barnwell’s  men,  on  their  way 
homeward,  violated  the  compact,  sacked  an  Indian  village  and  made 
slaves  of  the  inhabitants.  The  war  was  at  once  renewed. 

In  September  of  the  next  year,  while  the  conflict  was  yet  unde¬ 
cided,  the  yellow  fever  broke  out  in  the  country  south  of  Pamlico  Sound. 
So  dreadful  were  the  ravages  of  the  pestilence  that  the  peninsula  was 
wellnigh  swept  of  its  inhabitants.  Meanwhile,  Colonel  James  Moore  of 
South  Carolina  had  arrived,  in  command  of  a  regiment  of  whites  and  In¬ 
dians,  and  the  Tuscaroras  were  pursued  to  their  principal  fort  on  Cotentnea 
Creek,  in  Greene  county.  This  place  was  besieged  until  the  latter  part  of 
March,  1713,  and  was  then  carried  by  assault.  Eight  hundred  warriors 
were  taken  prisoners.  The  power  of  the  hostile  nation  was  broken,  but 
the  Tuscarora  chieftains  were  divided  in  council ;  some  were  desirous  of 
peace,  and  some  voted  to  continue  the  war.  This  difference  of  opinion 
led  to  a  division  of  the  tribe.  Those  who  wished  for  peace  were  permit¬ 
ted  to  settle  in  a  single  community  in  the  county  of  Hyde.  Their  hostile 
brethren,  seeing  that  further  resistance  would  be  hopeless,  determined  to 
leave  the  country.  In  the  month  of  June  they  abandoned  their  hunting- 
grounds  made  sacred  by  the  traditions  of  their  fathers,  marched  across 
Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  reached  Northern  New  York, 
joined  their  kinsmen,  the  Oneidas,  and  became  the  sixth  nation  of  the 
Iroquois  confederacy. 

Thus  far  the  two  C^rolinas  had  continued  under  a  common  gov¬ 
ernment.  In  1729  a  final  separation  was  effected  between  the  provinces 
north  and  south  of  Cape  Fear  River,  and  a  royal  governor  appointed  over 
each.  In  spite  of  Locke’s  grand  model  and  the  Tuscarora  war,  in  spite 
of  the  threatened  Spanish  invasion  of  1744,  the  northern  colony  had  greatly 
prospered.  The  intellectual  development  of  the  people  had  not  been  as 
rapid  as  the  growth  in  numbers  and  in  wealth.  Little  attention  had  beer 
given  to  questions  of  religion.  There  was  no  minister  in  the  province 
until  1703.  Two  years  later  the  first  church  was  built.  The  first  courts 
house  was  erected  in  1722,  and  the  printing-press  did  not  begin  its  work 
until  1754.  But  the  people  were  brave  and  patriotic.  They  loved  their 
country,  and  called  it  the  Land  of  Summer.  In  the  farmhouse  and  the 
village,  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  and  the  borders  of  the  primeval  for¬ 
ests,  the  spirit  of  liberty  pervaded  every  breast.  The  love  of  freedom  was 
intense,  and  hostility  to  tyranny  a  universal  passion.  In  the  times  of 
Sothel  it  was  said  of  the  North  Carolinans  that  they  would  not  pay  trib¬ 
ute  even  to  Ccesar. 


230 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

IN  January  of  1670  the  proprietors  of  Carolina  sent  out  a  colony  under 
command  of  Joseph  West  and  William  Sayle.  There  was  at  this  time 
not  a  single  European  settlement  between  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  River 
and  the  St.  John’s,  in  Florida.  Here  was  a  beautiful  coast  of  nearly  four 
hundred  miles  ready  to  receive  the  beginnings  of  civilization.  The  new 
emigrants,  sailing  by  way  of  Barbadoes,  steered  far  to  the  south,  and 
reached  the  mainland  in  the  country  of  the  Savannah.  The  vessels  first 
entered  the  harbor  of  Port  Royal.  It  was  now  a  hundred  and  eight  years 
since  John  Ribault,  on  an  island  in  this  same  harbor,  had  set  up  a  stone 
engraved  with  the  lilies  of  France ;  now  the  Englishman  had  come. 

The  ships  were  anchored  near  the  site  of  Beaufort.  But  the  colo¬ 
nists  were  dissatisfied  with  the  appearance  of  the  country,  and  did  not  go 
ashore.  Sailing  northward  along  the  coast  for  forty  miles,  they  next  en¬ 
tered  the  mouth  of  Ashley  River,  and  landed  where  the  first  high  land 
appeared  upon  the  southern  bank.  Here  were  laid  the  foundations  of 
Old  Charleston,  so  named  in  honor  of  King  Charles  II.  Of  this,  the 
oldest  town  in  South  Carolina,  no  trace  remains  except  the  line  of  a  ditch 
which  was  digged  around  the  fort ;  a  cotton-field  occupies  the  site  of  the 
ancient  settlement. 

Sayle  had  been  commissioned  as  governor  and  West  as  commercial 
agent  of  the  colony.  The  settlers  had  been  furnished  with  a  copy  of 
Locke’s  big  constitution,  but  they  had  no  more  use  for  it  than  for  a  dead 
elephant.  Instead  of  the  grand  model,  a  little  government  was  organized 
on  the  principles  of  common  sense.  Five  councilors  were  elected  by  the 
people,  and  five  others  appointed  by  the  proprietors.  Over  this  council 
of  ten  the  governor  presided.  Twenty  delegates,  composing  a  house  of 
representatives,  were  chosen  by  the  colonists.  Within  two  years  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  popular  government  was  firmly  established  in  the  province.  Ex¬ 
cept  the  prevalence  of  diseases  peculiar  to  the  southern  climate,  no  calam¬ 
ity  darkened  the  prospects  of  the  rising  State. 

In  the  beginning  of  1671  Governor  Sayle  died,  and  West,  by  com* 
mon  consent,  assumed  the  duties  of  the  vacant  office.  After  the  lapse  of 


SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


231 


a  few  months,  Sir  John  Yeamans,  who  had  been  governor  of  the  northern 
province  and  was  now  in  Barbadoes,  was  commissioned  by  the  proprie¬ 
tors  as  chief  magistrate  of  the  southern  colony.  He  brought  with  him  to 
Ashley  River  a  large  cargo  of  African  slaves.  From  the  beginning  the 
colonists  had  devoted  themselves  to  planting ;  but  the  English  laborers, 
unused  as  yet  to  the  climate,  could  hardly  endure  the  excessive  heats  of  the 
jultry  fields.  To  the  Caribbee  negroes,  already  accustomed  to  the  burn¬ 
ing  sun  of  the  tropics,  the  Carolina  summer  seemed  temperate  and  pleasant. 
Thus  the  labor  of  the  black  man  was  substituted  for  the  labor  of  the  white 
man,  and  in  less  than  two  years  from  the  founding  of  the  colony  the  system 
of  slavery  was  firmly  established.  In  this  respect  the  history  of  South 
Carolina  is  peculiar.  Slavery  had  been  introduced  into  all  the  American 
colonies,  but  everywhere  else  the  introduction  had  been  effected  by  those 
who  were  engaged  in  the  slave-trade.  In  South  Carolina  alone  was  the 
system  adopted  as  a  political  and  social  experiment  and  with  a  view  to  the 
regular  establishment  of  a  laboring  class  in  the  State.  Governor  Y  eamans 
was  the  first  to  accept  this  policy,  which  soon  became  the  general  policy 
of  the  province.  The  importation  of  negroes  went  on  so  rapidly  that  in 
a  short  time  they  outnumbered  the  whites  as  two  to  one. 

Immigration  from  England  did  not  lag.  During  the  year  1671  a 
system  of  cheap  rents  and  liberal  bounties  was  adopted  by  the  proprietors, 
and  the  country  was  rapidly  filled  with  people.  A  tract  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  was  granted  to  every  one  who  would  either  immigrate  or  im¬ 
port  a  negro.  Fertile  lands  were  abundant.  Wars  and  pestilence  had 
almost  annihilated  the  native  tribes;  whole  counties  were  almost  without  an 
occupant.  The  disasters  of  one  race  had  prepared  the  way  for  the  coming 
of  another.  Only  a  few  years  before  this  time  New  Netherland  had  been 
conquered  by  the  English.  The  Dutch  were  greatly  dissatisfied  with  the 
government  which  the  duke  of  York  had  established  over  them,  and 
began  to  leave  the  country.  The  proprietors  of  Carolina  sent  several 
ships  to  New  York,  loaded  them  with  the  industrious  but  discontented 
people,  and  brought  them  without  expense  to  Charleston.  The  unoccupied 
lands  west  of  Ashley  River  were  divided  among  the  Dutch,  who  formed 
there  a  thriving  settlement  called  Jamestown.  The  fame  of  the  new 
country  reached  Holland,  and  other  emigrants  left  fatherland  to  join  their 
kinsmen  in  Carolina.  Charles  II.,  who  rarely  aided  a  colony,  collected  a 
company  of  Protestant  refugees  from  the  South  of  Europe,  and  sent  them 
to  Carolina  to  introduce  the  silk-worm  and  to  begin  the  cultivation  of  the 
grape. 

In  1680  the  present  metropolis  of  South  Carolina  was  founded.  The 

site  of  Old  Charleston  had  been  hastily  and  injudiciously  selected.  The 

17 


232 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


delightful  peninsula  called  Oyster  Point,  between  Ashley  and  Cooper 
.Rivers,  was  now  chosen  as  the  spot  on  which  to  build  a  city.  The  erec¬ 
tion  of  thirty  dwellings  during  the  first  summer  gave  proof  of  enterprise ; 
the  name  of  Chakleston  was  a  second  time  bestowed,  and  the  village 
immediately  became  the  capital  of  the  colony.  The  unhealthy  climate 
for  a  while  retarded  the  progress  of  the  new  town,  but  the  people  were 
full  of  life  and  enterprise ;  storehouses  and  wharves  were  built,  and  men 
chant-ships  soon  began  to  throng  the  commodious  harbor 

Injustice  provoked  an  Indian  war.  Some  vagabond  Nestoes,  whose 
only  offence  consisted  in  strolling  through  the  plantations,  were  shot. 
The  tribe  appealed  to  the  government,  and  the  proprietors  showed  a  wil¬ 
lingness  to  punish  the  -wrongdoers ;  but  the  pioneers  were  determined  to 
fight  and  the  savages  were  naturally  revengeful.  Scenes  of  violence  con¬ 
tinued  along  the  border,  and  hostilities  began  in  earnest.  In  the  prosecu¬ 
tion  of  the  war  the  colonists  were  actuated  by  a  shameful  spirit  of  avarice. 
The  object  was  not  so  much  to  punish  or  destroy  the  savages  as  to  take 
them  prisoners.  A  bounty  was  offered  for  every  captured  Indian,  and  as 
fast  as  the  warriors  were  taken  they  were  sold  as  slaves  for  the  West  In¬ 
dies.  The  petty  strife  continued  for  a  year,  and  was  then  concluded  with 
a  treaty  of  peace.  Commissioners  were  appointed,  to  whom  all  complaints 
and  disputes  between  the  natives  and  the  colonists  should  henceforth  be 
submitted. 

South  Carolina  was  favored  with  rapid  immigration,  and  the  immi¬ 
grants  were  worthy  to  become  the  founders  of  a  great  State.  The  best 
nations  of  Europe  contributed  to  people  the  country  between  Cape  Fear 
and  the  Savannah.  England  continued  to  send  her  colonies.  In  1683 
Joseph  Blake,  a  brother  of  the  great  English  admiral,  devoted  his  fortune 
and  the  last  years  of  his  life  to  bringing  a  large  company  of  dissenters 
from  Somersetshire  to  Charleston.  In  the  same  year  an  Irish  colony 
under  Ferguson  arrived  at  Ashley  River,  and  met  a  hearty  welcome.  A 
company  of  Scotch  Presbyterians,  ten  families  in  all,  led  by  the  excellent 
Lord  Cardross,  settled  at  Port  Royal  in  1684.  The  authorities  of  Charles¬ 
ton  claimed  jurisdiction  there,  and  the  new  immigrants  reluctantly  yielded 
to  the  claim.  Two  years  afterward  a  band  of  Spanish  soldiers  arrived 
from  St.  Augustine,  and  the  unhappy  Scotch  exiles  were  driven  from  their 
homes.  But  intolerant  France  gave  up  more  of  her  subjects  than  did  all 
the  other  nations. 

As  early  as  1598  Henry  IV.,  king  of  the  French,  had  published  a 
celebrated  proclamation,  called  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  by  the  terms  of  which 
the  Huguenots  were  protected  in  their  rights  of  religious  worship.  Now, 
after  eighty-seven  years  of  toleration,  Louis  XIV.,  blinded  with  bigotry 


SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


233 


and  passion  and  hoping  to  make  Catholicism  universal,  revoked  the  kindly 
edict,  and  exposed  the  Protestants  of  his  kingdom  to  the  long-suppressed 
rage  of  their  enemies.  In  order  to  enforce  the  decree  of  revocation  the 
French  army  was  quartered  in  the  towns  of  the  Huguenots,  the  ports  were 
closed  against  emigration,  and  the  borders  were  watched  to  prevent  escape. 
How  foolish  are  the  ways  of  despotism !  In  spite  of  every  precaution, 
five  hundred  thousand  of  the  best  people  of  France,  preferring  banishment 
to  religious  thraldom,  escaped  from  their  country  and  fled,  self-exiled,  into 
foreign  lands.  The  Huguenots  were  scattered  from  the  Baltic  Sea  to  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  on  the  Western  continent  from  Maine  to  Flor¬ 
ida.  But  of  all  the  American  colonies,  South  Carolina  received  the  great¬ 
est  number  of  French  refugees  within  her  borders.  They  were  met  by 
the  proprietors  with  a  pledge  of  protection  and  a  promise  of  citizenship ; 
but  neither  promise  nor  pledge  was  immediately  fulfilled,  for  the  colony 
had  not  yet  determined  what  should  be  its  laws  of  naturalization.  Both 
the  general  assembly  and  the  proprietors  claimed  the  right  of  fixing  the 
conditions.  Until  that  question  could  be  decided  the  Huguenots  were 
kept  in  suspense,  and  were  sometimes  unkindly  treated  by  the  jealous 
English  settlers.  Not  until  1697  were  all  discriminations  against  the 
French  immigrants  removed. 

In  1686  came  James  Colleton  as  colonial  governor.  He  began  his 
administration  with  a  foolish  attempt  to  establish  the  mammoth  constitu¬ 
tion  of  Locke  and  Shaftesbury.  No  wonder  that  the  assembly  resisted 
his  authority,  and  that  the  people  were  embittered  against  him.  The  rents 
came  due;  payment  was  refused,  and  the  colony  was  in  a  state  of  rebellion. 
In  order  to  divert  attention  from  himself,  Colleton  published  a  proclama¬ 
tion  setting  forth  the  danger  of  a  pretended  invasion  by  the  Indians  and 
Spaniards.  The  militia  was  called  out  and  the  province  declared  under 
martial  law.  It  was  all  in  vain.  The  people  were  only  exasperated  by 
the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  governor.  Tidings  came  that  James  II. 
had  been  driven  from  the  throne  of  England.  The  popular  assembly  was 
convened,  and  William  and  Mary  were  proclaimed  as  sovereigns.  In 
1690  a  decree  of  impeachment  was  passed  against  Colleton,  and  he  was 
banished  from  the  province. 

The  people  of  North  Carolina  had  just  performed  a  similar  service 
for  Seth  Sothel.  Not  satisfied  with  his  previous  success,  he  at  once  re¬ 
paired  to  Charleston  and  assumed  the  government  of  the  southern  colony. 
To  Sothel’s  other  merits  were  added  the  qualifications  of  a  first-rate  dem¬ 
agogue  ;  he  induced  the  people  to  acquiesce  in  his  usurpation  and  to  sus¬ 
tain  his  authority.  But  his  avaricious  disposition  could  not  long  be  held 
in  check.  The  proprietors  disclaimed  his  acts  and  after  a  turbulent  rule 


234 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  two  years,  he  and  his  government  were  overthrown.  One  bright  page 
redeems  the  record  of  his  administration.  In  May  of  1691  the  first  gen¬ 
eral  act  of  enfranchisement  wras  passed  in  favor  of  the  Huguenots. 

Philip  Ludwell,  who  had  been  collector  of  customs  in  Virginia, 
and  since  1689  governor  of  North  Carolina,  was  now  sent  to  establish 
order  in  the  southern  province.  He  spent  a  year  in  a  well-meant  effort 
to  administer  the  government  of  the  proprietors;  but  the  people  were 
fixed  in  their  antagonism  to  the  constitution,  and  nothing  could  be  accom¬ 
plished.  Ludwell  gave  up  the  hopeless  task,  withdrew  from  the  prov¬ 
ince,  and  returned  to  Virginia.  South  Carolina  had  fallen  into  a  condi¬ 
tion  bordering  on  anarchy. 

Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  elapsed  since  Locke  drafted  the 
grand  model.  At  last  the  proprietors  came  to  see  that  the  establishment 
of  such  a  monstrous  frame  of  government  over  an  American  colony  was 
impossible.  Pride  said  that  the  constitution  should  stand,  for  the  nobility 
of  England  had  declared  it  immortal.  But  self-interest  and  common 
sense  demanded  its  abrogation,  and  the  demand  prevailed.  In  April  of 
1693  the  proprietors  assembled  and  voted  the  boasted  model  out  of  exist¬ 
ence.  It  was  enacted  at  the  same  meeting  that  since  the  people  of  Caro¬ 
lina  preferred  a  simple  charter  government,  their  request  be  granted. 
The  magnificent  paper  empire  of  Shaftesbury  was  swept  into  oblivion. 

Thomas  Smith  was  now  appointed  governor,  but  was  soon  super¬ 
seded  by  John  Archdale,  a  distinguished  and  talented  Quaker.  Arriving 
in  1695,  he  began  an  administration  so  just  and  wise  that  dissension  ceased 
and  the  colony  entered  upon  a  new  career  of  prosperity.  The  quit-rents 
on  lands  were  remitted  for  four  years.  The  people  were  given  the  option 
of  paying  their  taxes  in  money  or  in  produce.  The  Indians  were  concili¬ 
ated  with  kindness  and  protected  against  kidnappers.  Some  native  Cath¬ 
olics  were*ransomed  from  slavery  and  sent  to  their  homes  in  Florida,  and 
the  Spanish  governor  reciprocated  the  deed  with  a  friendly  message. 
When  the  old  jealousy  against  the  Huguenots  asserted  itself  in  the  gen¬ 
eral  assembly,  the  benevolent  influence  of  Archdale  procured  the  passage 
of  a  law  by  which  all  Christians,  except  the  Catholics,  wrere  fully  enfran¬ 
chised  ;  the  ungenerous  exception  was  made  against  the  governor’s  will. 
It  was  a  real  misfortune  to  the  colony  when,  in  1698,  the  good  governor 
was  recalled  to  England. 

James  Moore  was  next  commissioned  as  chief  magistrate.  The 
first  important  act  of  his  administration  was  a  declaration  of  hostilities 
against  the  Spanish  settlement  of  St.  Augustine.  Queen  Anne’s  War  had 
broken  out.  The  Spaniards  were  in  alliance  with  the  French  against  the 
English.  By  the  antagonism  of  England  and  Spain,  South  Carolina  and 


SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


235 


Florida  were  brought  into  conflict.  Yet  a  declaration  of  war  was  strong¬ 
ly  opposed  in  the  assembly  at  Charleston,  and  was  only  passed  by  a 
small  majority.  It  was  voted  to  raise  and  equip  a  force  of  twelve  hun¬ 
dred  men,  and  to  invade  Florida  by  land  and  water.  The  summer  of 
1702  was  spent  in  preparation,  and  in  September  the  expeditions  departed, 
the  land-forces  led  by  Colonel  Daniel  and  the  fleet  commanded  by  the 
governor. 

The  English  vessels  sailed  down  the  coast,  entered  the  St.  John’s 
and  blocked  up  the  river.  Daniel  marched  overland,  reached  St.  Augus¬ 
tine  and  captured  the  town.  But  the  Spaniards  withdrew  without  serious 
loss  into  the  castle,  and  bade  defiance  to  the  besiegers.  Without  artillery 
it  was  evident  that  the  place  could  not  be  taken.  Colonel  Daniel  was 
despatched  with  a  sloop  to  Jamaica  to  procure  cannons  for  the  siege;  but 
before  his  return  two  Spanish  men-of-war  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  John’s,  and  Governor  Moore  found  himself  blockaded.  His  courage 
was  not  equal  to  the  occasion.  Abandoning  his  ships,  he  took  to  the 
shore,  and  collecting  his  forces  hastily  retreated  into  Carolina.  Daniel 
returned  and  entered  the  St.  John’s,  but  discovered  the- danger  in  time  to 
make  his  escape.  The  governor’s  retreat  occasioned  great  dissatisfaction. 
There  were  insinuations  of  cowardice  and  threats  of  impeachment,  but 
no  formal  action  was  taken  against  him.  The  only  results  of  the  unfor¬ 
tunate  expedition  were  debt  and  paper  money.  In  order  to  meet  the 
heavy  expenses  of  the  war,  the  assembly  was  obliged  to  issue  bills  of 
credit  to  the  amount  of  six  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

Governor  Moore  retrieved  his  reputation  by  invading  the  Indian 
nations  south-west  of  the  Savannah.  In  December  of  1705  he  left  the 
province-  at  the  head  of  fifty  volunteers  and  a  thousand  friendly  natives. 
White  men  had  not  been  seen  marching  in  these  woods  since  the  days  of 
De  Soto.  On  the  14th  of  the  month  the  invaders  reached  the  fortified 
town  of  Ayavalla,  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Mark’s.  An  attack  was 
made  and  the  church  set  on  fire.  A  Franciscan  monk  came  out  and 
begged  for  mercy ;  but  the  place  was  carried  by  assault,  and  more  than 
two  hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  only  to  be  enslaved.  On  the  next  day 
Moore’s  forces  met  and  defeated  a  large  body  of  Indians  and  Spaniards. 
Five  important  towns  were  carried  in  succession,  and  the  English  flag 
was  borne  in  triumph  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Communication  between 
the  Spanish  settlements  of  Florida  and  the  French  posts  in  Louisiana 
was  entirely  cut  off. 

Meanwhile,  the  Church  of  England  had  been  established  by  law 
in  South  Carolina.  In  the  first  year  of  Johnston’s  administration  the 
High  Church  party  succeeded  in  getting  a  majority  of  one  in  the  colonial 


236 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


assembly,  and  immediately  passed  an  act  disfranchising  all  the  dissenters 
in  the  province.  An  appeal  was  carried  to  the  proprietors,  only  to  be  re¬ 
jected  with  contempt.  The  dissenting  party  next  laid  their  cause  before 
Parliament,  and  that  body  promptly  voted  that  the  act  of  disfranchisement 
was  contrary  to  the  laws  of  England,  and  that  the  proprietors  had  for¬ 
feited  their  charter.  The  queen’s  ministers  were  authorized  to  declare  the 
intolerant  law  null  and  void.  In  November  of  the  same  year  the  colo¬ 
nial  legislature  revoked  its  own  act  so  far  as  the  disfranchising  clause  was 
concerned ;  but  Episcopalianism  continued  to  be  the  established  faith  of 
the  province. 

The  year  1706  was  a  stirring  epoch  in  the  history  of  South  Caro¬ 
lina.  A  French  and  Spanish  fleet  was  sent  from  Havana  to  capture 
Charleston  and  subdue  the  country.  The  orders  were  more  easily  given 
than  executed.  The  brave  people  of  the  capital  flew  to  arms.  Governor 
Johnson  and  Colonel  William  Rliett  inspired  the  volunteers  with  courage; 
and  when  the  hostile  squadron  anchored  in  the  harbor,  the  city  was  ready 
for  a  stubborn  defence.  Several  times  a  landing  was  attempted,  but  the 
invaders  were  everywhere  repulsed.  At  last  a  French  vessel  succeeded  in 
getting  to  shore  with  eight  hundred  troops,  but  they  were  attacked  with 
fury  and  driven  otf  with  a  loss  of  three  hundred  in  killed  and  prisoners. 
The  siege  was  at  once  abandoned ;  unaided  by  the  proprietors,  South  Car¬ 
olina  had  made  a  glorious  defence. 

In  the  spring  of  1715  war  broke  out  with  the  Yamassees.  As 
usual  with  their  race,  the  Indians  began  hostilities  with  treachery.  At 
the  very  time  when  Captain  Nairne  was  among  them  as  a  friendly  ambas¬ 
sador,  the  wily  savages  rose  upon  the  frontier  settlements  and  committed 
an  atrocious  massacre.  The  people  of  Port  Royal  were  alarmed  just  in 
time  to  escape  in  a  ship  to  Charleston.  The  desperate  savages  rushed  on 
to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  capital.  It  seemed  that  the  city  would 
be  taken  and  the  whole  colony  driven  to  destruction.  But  the  brave 
Charles  Craven,  governor  of  the  province,  rallied  the  militia  of  Colleton 
district,  and  the  blood-stained  barbarians  were  driven  back.  A  vigorous 
pursuit  began,  and  the  savages  were  pressed  to  the  banks  of  the  Salke- 
hatchie.  Here  a  decisive  battle  was  fought,  and  the  Indians  were  com¬ 
pletely  routed.  The  Yamassees  collected  their  shattered  tribe  and  retired 
into  Florida,  where  they  were  received  by  the  Spaniards  as  friends  and 
confederates. 

In  1719  the  government  of  South  Carolina  was  revolutionized. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  with  the  Yamassees  the  assembly  petitioned  the 
proprietors  to  bear  a  portion  of  the  expense.  But  the  avaricious  noble¬ 
men  refused,  and  would  take  no  measuras  for  the  future  protection  of  the 


SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


237 


colony.  The  people  were  greatly  burdened  with  rents  and  taxes.  The 
lands  were  monopolized ;  ever}7  act  of  the  assembly  which  seemed  for  the 
public  good  was  vetoed  by  the  proprietors.  In  the  new  election  every 
delegate  was  chosen  by  the  popular  party.  The  21st  of  December  was 
training-day  in  Charleston.  On  that  day  James  Moore,  the  new  chief 
magistrate  elected  by  the  people,  was  to  be  inaugurated.  Governor  John¬ 
son  forbade  the  military  display  and  tried  to  prevent  the  inauguration ; 
but  the  militia  collected  in  the  public  square,  drums  were  beaten,  flags 
were  flung  out  on  the  forts  and  shipping,  and  before  nightfall  the  propri¬ 
etary  government  of  Carolina  was  overthrown.  Governor  Moore  was 
duly  inaugurated  in  the  name  of  King  George  I.  A  colonial  agent  was 
at  once  sent  to  England ;  the  cause  of  the  colonists  was  heard,  and  the 
'  forfeited  charter  of  the  proprietors  abrogated  by  act  of  Parliament. 

Francis  Nicholson  was  now  commissioned  as  governor.  He  had 
already  held  the  office  of  chief  magistrate  in  New  York,  in  Virginia,  in 
Maryland  and  in  Nova  Scotia.  He  began  a  successful  administration  in 
South  Carolina  by  concluding  treaties  of  peace  and  commerce  with  the 
Cherokees  and  the  Creeks.  But  another  and  final  change  in  colonial 
affairs  was  now  at  hand.  In  1729  seven  of  the  eight  proprietors  of  the 
Carolinas  sold  their  entire  claims  in  the  provinces  to  the  king.  Lord 
Carteret,  the  eighth  proprietor,  would  surrender  nothing  but  his  right  of 
jurisdiction,  reserving  his  share  in  the  soil.  The  sum  paid  by  King 
George  for  the  two  colonies  was  twenty-two  thousand  five  hundred  pounds 
sterling.  Royal  governors  were  appointed,  and  the  affairs  of  the  province 
were  settled  on  a  permanent  basis,  not  to  be  disturbed  for  more  than  forty 
years. 

The  people  who  colonized  South  Carolina  were  brave  and  chival¬ 
rous.  On  the  banks  of  the  Santee,  the  Edisto  and  the  Combahee  were 
gathered  some  of  the  best  elements  of  the  European  nations.  The  Hu¬ 
guenot,  the  Scotch  Presbyterian,  the  English  dissenter,  the  loyalist  and 
High  Churchman,  the  Irish  adventurer  and  the  Dutch  mechanic,  com¬ 
posed  the  powerful  material  out  of  which  soon  grew  the  beauty  and  re¬ 
nown  of  the  Palmetto  State.  Equally  with  the  rugged  Puritans  of 
the  North,  the  South  Carolinians  were  lovers  of  liberty.  Without  the 
severe  morality  and  formal  manners  of  the  Pilgrims,  the  people  who  were 
once  governed  by  the  peaceful  Arch  dale  and  once  led  to  war  by  the  gallant 
Craven  became  the  leaders  in  courtly  politeness  and  high-toned  honor  be¬ 
tween  man  and  man.  In  the  coming  struggle  for  freedom  South  Caro¬ 
lina  will  bear  a  noble  and  distinguished  part ;  the  fame  of  the  patriotic 
Rhett  will  be  perpetuated  by  Marion  and  Sumter. 


238 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

GEORGIA. 

I']  EORGIA,  the  thirteenth  American  colony,  was  founded  in  a  spirit 
VX  of  pure  benevolence.  The  laws  of  England  permitted  imprisonment 
for  debt.  Thousands  of  English  laborers,  who  through  misfortune  and 
thoughtless  contracts  had  become  indebted  to  the  rich,  were  annually  ar¬ 
rested  and  thrown  into  jail.  There  were  desolate  and  starving  families. 
The  miserable  condition  of  the  debtor  class  at  last  attracted  the  attention 
of  Parliament.  In  1728  a  commissioner  was  appointed,  at  his  own  request, 
to  look  into  the  state  of  the  poor,  to  visa  the  prisons  of  the  kingdom,  and 
to  report  measures  of  relief.  The  work  was  accomplished,  the  jails  were 
opened,  and  the  poor  victims  of  debt  returned  to  their  homes. 

The  noble  commissioner  was  not  yet  satisfied.  For  the  liberated 
prisoners  and  their  friends  were  disheartened  and  disgraced  in  the  country 
of  their  birth.  Was  there  no  land  beyond  the  sea  where  debt  was  not  a 
crime,  and  where  poverty  was  no  disgrace  ?  To  provide  a  refuge  for  the 
down-trodden  poor  of  England  and  the  distressed  Protestants  of  other 
countries,  the  commissioner  now  appealed  to  George  II.  for  the  privilege 
of  planting  a  colony  in  America.  The  petition  was  favorably  heard,  and 
on  the  9th  of  June,  1732,  a  royal  charter  was  issued  by  which  the  terri¬ 
tory  between  the  Savannah  and  Altamaha  Rivers,  and  westward  from  the 
upper  fountains  of  those  rivers  to  the  Pacific,  was  organized  and  granted 
to  a  corporation  for  twenty-one  years,  to  he  held  in  trust  for  the  poor.  In 
honor  of  the  king,  the  new  province  received  the  name  of  Georgia. 
But  what  was  the  name  of  that  high-souled,  unselfish  commissioner  of 
Parliament  ? 

James  Oglethorpe,  the  philanthropist.  Born  a  loyalist,  educated  at 
Oxford,  a  High  Churchman,  a  cavalier,  a  soldier,  a  member  of  Parliament, 
benevolent,  generous,  full  of  sympathy,  far-sighted,  brave  as  John  Smith, 
chivalrous  as  De  Soto,  Oglethorpe  gave  in  middle  life  the  full  energies  of 
a  vigorous  body  and  a  lofty  mind  to  the  work  of  building  in  the  sunny 
South  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  his  own  and  other  lands.  The 
magnanimity  of  the  enterprise  was  heightened  by  the  fact  that  he  did  not 
believe  in  the  equality  of  men,  but  only  in  the  right  and  duty  of  the  strong 
to  protect  the  weak  and  sympathize  with  the  lowly.  To  Oglethorpe,  as 


GEORGIA. 


239 


principal  member  of  the  corporation,  the  leadership  of  the  first  colony  to 
be  planted  on  the  banks  of  the  Savannah,  was  naturally  entrusted. 

By  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  November  a 
hundred  and  twen¬ 
ty  emigrants  were 
ready  to  sail  for 
the  New  World. 

Oglethorpe,  like 
the  elder  Win- 
throp,  determined 
to  share  the  dan¬ 
gers  and  hardships 
of  his  colony.  In 
January  of  1733 
the  company  was 
welcomed  at 
Charleston.  Pass¬ 
ing  down  the  coast, 
the  vessels  were 
anchored  for  a 
short  time  at  Beau¬ 
fort,  while  the  gov¬ 
ernor  with  a  few 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 


companions  as¬ 
cended  the  bound¬ 
ary  river  of  Georgia,  and  selected  as  the  site  of  his  settlement  the  high 
bluff  on  which  now  stands  the  city  of  Savannah.  Here,  on  the  1st  day  of 
February,  were  laid  the  foundations  of  the  oldest  English  town  south  of 
the  Savannah  River.  Broad  streets  were  laid  out;  a  public  square  was 
reserved  in  each  quarter ;  a  beautiful  village  of  tents  and  board  houses, 
built  among  the  pine  trees,  appeared  as  the  capital  of  a  new  common¬ 
wealth  where  men  were  not  imprisoned  for  debt. 

Tomo-chichi,  chief  of  the  Yamacraws,  came  from  his  cabin,  half  a 
mile  distant,  to  see  his  brother  Oglethorpe.  There  was  a  pleasant  con¬ 
ference.  “  Here  is  a  present  for  you,”  said  the  red  man  to  the  white  man. 
The  present  was  a  buffalo  robe  painted  on  the  inside  with  the  head  and 
feathers  of  an  eagle.  “  The  feathers  are  soft,  and  signify  love ;  the  buf¬ 
falo  skin  is  the  emblem  of  protection.  Therefore  love  us  and  protect  u«  ” 
said  the  old  chieftain.  Such  a  plea  could  not  be  lost  on  a  man  like  Ogle¬ 
thorpe.  Seeing  the  advantages  of  peace,  he  sent  an  invitation  to  the  chiefs 


240 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  the  Muskhogees  to  meet  him  in  a  general  council  at  his  capital.  The 
conference  was  held  on  the  29th  of  May.  Long  King,  the  sachem  of 
Oconas,  spoke  for  all  the  tribes  of  his  nation.  The  English  were  wel¬ 
comed  to  the  country.  Bundles  of  buckskins,  and  such  other  good  gifts 
as  savage  civilization  could  offer,  were  laid  down  plentifully  at  the  feet 
of  the  whites.  The  governor  and  his  poor  but  generous  colony  responded 
with  valuable  presents  and  words  of  faithful  friendship.  The  fame  of 
Oglethorpe  spread  far  and  wide  among  the  Red  men.  From  the  distant 
mountains  of  Tennessee  came  the  noted  chief  of  the  Cherokees  to  confer 
with  the  humane  and  sweet-tempered  governor  of  Georgia. 

The  councilors  in  England  who  managed  the  affairs  of  the  new 
State  encouraged  emigration  with  every  liberal  offer.  Swiss  peasants  left 
their  mountains  to  find  a  home  on  the  Savannah.  The  plaid  cloak  of  the 
Scotch  Highlander  was  seen  among  the  wigwams  of  the  Muskhogees. 
From  distant  Salzburg,  afar  on  the  borders  of  Austria,  came  a  noble  col¬ 
ony  of  German  Protestants,  singing  their  way  down  the  Rhine  and  across 
the  ocean.  Oglethorpe  met  them  at  Charleston,  bade  them  welcome,  led 
them  to  Savannah  and  thence  through  the  woods  to  a  point  twenty  miles 
up  the  river,  told  them  of  English  rights  and  the  freedom  of  conscience, 
and  left  them  to  found  the  village  of  Ebenezer. 

In  April  of  1734,  Governor  Oglethorpe  made  a  visit  to  England. 
His  friend  Tomo-chichi  went  with  him,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of 
King  George.  It  was  said  in  London  that  no  colony  was  ever  before 
founded  so  wisely  and  well  as  Georgia.  The  councilors  prohibited  the 
importation  of  rum.  Traffic  with  the  Indians — always  a  dangerous  mat¬ 
ter — was  either  interdicted  or  regulated  by  special  license.  When  it  came 
to  the  question  of  labor,  slavery  was  positively  forbidden.  It  was  said 
that  the  introduction  of  slaves  would  be  fatal  to  the  interests  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  and  German  laborers  for  whom  the  colony  had  been  founded.  While 
the  governor  was  still  abroad,  the  first  company  of  Moravians,  number¬ 
ing  nine,  and  led  by  the  evangelist  Spangenberg,  arrived  at  Savannah. 

In  February  of  1736,  Oglethorpe  himself  came  back  with  a  new 
colony  of  three  hundred.  Part  of  these  were  Moravians,  and  nearly  all 
were  people  of  deep  piety  and  fervent  spirit.  First  among  them — first 
in  zeal  and  first  in  the  influence  which  he  was  destined  to  exert  in  after 
times — was  the  celebrated  John  Wesley,  the  founder  of  Methodism. 
Overflowing  with  religious  enthusiasm,  he  came  to  Georgia,  not  as  a  poli¬ 
tician,  not  as  a  minister  merely,  but  as  an  apostle.  To  lead  the  people  to 
righteousness,  to  spread  the  gospel,  to  convert  the  Indians,  and  to  intro¬ 
duce  a  new  type  of  religion  characterized  by  few  forms  and  much  emo¬ 
tion,  these  were  the  purposes  that  thronged  his  lofty  fancy.  He  was 


GEORGIA. 


241 


doomed  to  much  disappointment.  The  mixed  people  of  the  new  province 
could  not  be  moulded  to  his  will ;  and  after  a  residence  of  less  than  two 
years  he  left  the  colony  with  a  troubled  spirit.  His  brother,  Charles 
Wesley,  came  also  as  a  secretary  to  Governor  Oglethorpe;  but  Charles 
was  a  poet,  a  timid  and  tender-hearted  man  who  pined  with  homesickness 
and  gave  way  under  discouragement.  But  when,  in  1738,  the  famous 
George  Whitefield  came,  his  robust  and  daring  nature  proved  a  match  for 
all  the  troubles  of  the  wilderness.  He  preached  with  fiery  eloquence. 
To  build  an  orphan-house  at  Savannah  he  went  through  all  the  colonies ; 
and  those  who  heard  his  voice  could  hardly  refuse  him  money.  Think¬ 
ing  no  longer  of  native  land,  he  found  a  peaceful  grave  in  New  England. 

Meanwhile,  Oglethorpe  was  busy  with  the  affairs  of  his  growing 
province.  Anticipating  war  with  Spain,  he  began  to  fortify.  For  the 
Spaniards  were  in  possession  of  Florida,  and  claimed  the  country  as  far 
north  as  St.  Helena  Sound.  All  of  Georgia  was  thus  embraced  in  the 
Spanish  claim.  But  Oglethorpe  had  a  charter  for  Georgia  as  far  south 
as  the  Altamaha,  and  he  had  secured  by  treaty  with  the  Indians  all  the 
territory  between  that  river  and  the  St.  Mary’s.  In  1736  he  ascended 
the  Savannah  and  built  a  fort  at  Augusta.  On  the  north  bank  of  the 
Altamaha,  twelve  miles  from  its  mouth,  Fort  Darien  was  built.  On 
Cumberland  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary’s,  a  fortress  was  erected 
and  named  Fort  William.  Proceeding  down  the  coast  with  a  company 
of  Highlanders,  the  daring  governor  reached  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John’s, 
and  on  Amelia  Island  built  still  another  fort,  which  he  named  St.  George. 
The  river  St.  John’s  was  claimed  from  this  time  forth  as  the  southern 
boundary"  of  Georgia.  To  make  his  preparations  complete,  the  governor 
again  visited  England,  and  was  commissioned  as  brigadier-general,  with  a 
command  extending  over  his  own  province  and  South  Carolina.  In  Octo¬ 
ber  of  1737  he  returned  to  Savannah,  bringing  with  him  a  regiment  of 
six  hundred  men.  Such  were  the  vigorous  measures  adopted  by  Ogle¬ 
thorpe  in  anticipation  of  a  Spanish  war. 

The  war  came.  It  was  that  conflict  known  in  American  history  as 

King  George’s  War.  England  published  her  declaration  of  hostility 

against  Spain  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  1739.  In  the  first  week  of 

the  following  January"  the  impetuous  Oglethorpe,  at  the  head  of  the 

Georgia  militia,  made  a  dash  into  Florida,  and  captured  two  fortified  towns 

of  the  Spaniards.  His  plans  embraced  the  conquest  of  St.  Augustine  and 

the  entire  extinction  of  Spanish  authority  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Repairing  to  Charleston,  he  induced  the  assembly  to  support  his  measures. 

By  the  first  of  May  he  found  himself  in  command  of  six  hundred  regular 

troops,  four  hundred  volunteers  and  a  body  of  Indian  auxiliaries.  With 
16 


242 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


this  force  he  proceeded  at  once  against  St.  Augustine.  The  place  was 
strongly  fortified,  and  the  Spanish  commandant,  Monteano,  was  a  man  of 
ability  and  courage.  The  siege  continued  for  five  weeks,  but  ended  in 
disaster  to  the  English.  For  a  while  the  town  was  successfully  block¬ 
aded  ;  but  some  Spanish  galleys,  eluding  the  vigilance  of  Oglethorpe’s 

squadron,  brought  a  cargo  of  supplies 
to  the  garrison.  The  Spaniards  made 
a  sally,  attacked  a  company  of  High¬ 
landers,  and  dispersed  them.  Sickness 
prevailed  in  the  English  camp.  The 
general  himself  was  enfeebled  with  fever 
and  excitement,  but  he  held  on  like  a 
hero.  The  troops  of  Carolir  a,  disheart¬ 
ened  and  despairing  of  success,  left  their 
camp  and  marched  homeward.  The 
English  vessels  gathered  up  their  crews, 
abandoned  the  siege  and  returned  to 
Frederica.  Oglethorpe,  yielding  only 
to  necessity,  collected  his  men  from  the 
trenches  and  withdrew  into  Georgia. 

The  Spaniards  now  determined 
to  carry  the  war  northward  and  drive 
the  English  beyond  the  Savannah.  The 
Combahee  River  should  be  made  the 
“  "  iaii  ■  northern  boundary  of  Florida.  Prep¬ 
arations  began  on  a  vast  scale.  A  pow¬ 
erful  fleet  of  thirty-six  vessels,  carrying  more  than  three  thousand  troops, 
was  brought  from  Cuba,  and  anchored  at  St.  Augustine.  In  June  of 
1742  the  squadron  passed  up  the  coast  to  Cumberland  Island,  and  at¬ 
tempted  the  reduction  of  Fort  William.  But  Oglethorpe  by  a  daring 
exploit  reinforced  the  garrison,  and  then  fell  back  to  Frederica.  The 
Spanish  vessels  followed  and  came  to  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  St.  Simon’s. 
From  the  southern  point  of  the  island  to  Frederica,  Oglethorpe  had  cut  a 
road  which  at  one  place  lay  between  a  morass  and  a  dense  forest.  Along 
this  path  the  Spaniards  must  pass  to  attack  the  town.  The  English  gen¬ 
eral  had  only  eight  hundred  men  and  a  few  Indian  allies.  In  order  to 
cope  with  superior  numbers,  Oglethorpe  resorted  to  stratagem. 

A  F renchman  had  deserted  to  the  Spaniards.  To  him  the  English 
general  now  wrote  a  letter  as  if  to  a  spy.  A  Spanish  prisoner  in  Ogle¬ 
thorpe’s  hands  was  liberated  and  bribed  to  deliver  the  letter  to  the  de¬ 
serter.  The  Frenchman  was  advised  that  two  British  fleets  were  coming 


100 120  W 


COUNTRY  OF  THE  SAVANNAH,  1740, 


SCENE  IN  ST.  AUGUSTINE 


GEORGIA. 


243 


to  America,  one  to  aid  Oglethorpe  and  the  other  to  attack  St.  Augustine. 
Let  the  Spaniards  remain  on  the  island  but  three  days  longer,  and  they 
would  be  ruined.  If  the  enemy  did  not  make  an  immediate  attack  on 
Frederica,  his  forces  would  be  captured  to  a  man.  Oglethorpe  knew  very 
well  that  the  prisoner,  instead  of  delivering  this  letter  to  the  deserter, 
would  give  it  to  the  Spanish  commander,  and  that  the  Spanish  commander 
could  not  possibly  know  whether  the  communication  was  the  truth  or  a 
fiction.  This  letter  was  delivered,  and  the  astonished  Frenchman  was 
arrested  as  a  spy,  but  the  Spaniards  could  not  tell  whether  his  denial  was 
true  or  false.  There  was  a  council  of  war  in  the  Spanish  camp.  Ogle¬ 
thorpe’s  stratagem  was  suspected,  but  could  not  be  proved.  Three  ships 
had  been  seen  at  sea  that  day ;  perhaps  these  were  the  first  vessels  of  the 
approaching  British  fleets.  The  Spaniards  were  utterly  perplexed ;  but 
it  was  finally  decided  to  take  Oglethorpe’s  advice,  and  make  the  attack 
on  Frederica. 

The  English  general  had  foreseen  that  this  course  would  be  adopted. 
He  had  accordingly  advanced  his  small  force  from  the  town  to  the  place 
where  the  road  passed  between  the  swamp  and  the  forest.  Here  an  am¬ 
buscade  was  formed,  and  the  soldiers  lay  in  wait  for  the  approaching  Span¬ 
iards.  On  the  7th  of  July  the  enemy’s  vanguard  reached  the  narrow  pass, 
were  fired  on  from  the  thicket  and  driven  back  in  confusion.  The  main 
body  of  the  Spanish  forces  pressed  on  into  the  dangerous  position  where 
superior  numbers  were  of  no  advantage.  The  Highlanders  of  Oglethorpe’s 
regiment  fired  with  terrible  effect  from  the  oak  woods  by  the  roadside. 
The  Spaniards  stood  firm  for  a  while,  but  were  presently  driven  back  with 
a  loss  of  two  hundred  men.  Not  without  reason  the  name  of  Bloody 
Marsh  was  given  to  this  battle-field.  Within  less  than  a  week  the  whole 
Spanish  force  had  re-embarked  and  sailed  for  Florida.  On  the  way  south¬ 
ward  the  fleet  made  a  second  attack  on  Fort  William.  But  Captain  Stuart, 
with  a  garrison  of  only  fifty  men,  made  a  vigorous  and  successful  defence. 
The  English  watched  the  retreating  ships  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
John’s ;  before  the  last  of  July  the  great  invasion  was  at  an  end.  The 
Spanish  authorities  of  Cuba  were  greatly  chagrined  at  the  failure  of  the 
expedition.  The  commander  of  the  squadron  was  arrested,  tried  by  a 
court-martial  and  dismissed  from  the  service. 

The  commonwealth  of  Georgia  was  now  firmly  established,  and  the 
settlements  had  peace.  In  1743,  Oglethorpe  bade  a  final  adieu  to  the  col¬ 
ony  to  whose  welfare  he  had  given  more  than  ten  years  of  his  life.  He 
had  never  owned  a  house  nor  possessed  an  acre  of  ground  within  the  lim¬ 
its  of  his  own  province.  He  now  departed  for  England  crowned  with 
blessings,  and  leaving  behind  him  an  untarnished  fame.  James  Ogle- 


244 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


thorpe  lived  to  be  nearly  a  hundred  years  old;  benevolence,  integrity  and 
honor  were  the  virtues  of  his  declining  years.  But  the  new  State  which 
he  had  founded  in  the  West  was  not  always  free  from  evils. 

For  the  regulations  which  the  councilors  for  Georgia  had  adopted 
were  but  poorly  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  colony.  The  settlers  had  not 
been  permitted  to  hold  their  lands  in'  fee  simple.  Agriculture  had  not 
flourished.  Commerce  had  not  sprung  up.  The  laws  of  property  had 
been  so  arranged  that  estates  could  descend  only  to  the  oldest  sons  of  fam¬ 
ilies.  The  colonists  were  poor,  and  charged  their  poverty  to  the  fact  that 
slave-labor  was  forbidden  in  the  province.  This  became  the  chief  ques¬ 
tion  which  agitated  the  people.  The  proprietary  laws  grew  more  and 
more  unpopular.  The  statute  excluding  slavery  was  not  rigidly  enforced, 
and,  indeed,  could  not  be  enforced,  when  the  people  had  determined  to 
evade  it.  Whitefield  himself  pleaded  for  the  abrogation  of  the  law. 
Slaves  began  to  be  hired,  first  for  short  terms  of  service,  then  for  longer 
periods,  then  for  a  hundred  years,  which  was  equivalent  to  an  actual  pur¬ 
chase  for  life.  Finally,  cargoes  of  slaves  were  brought  directly  from 
Africa,  and  the  primitive  free-labor  system  of  Georgia  was  revolutionized. 
Plantations  were  laid  out  below  the  Savannah,  and  cultivated,  as  those  of 
South  Carolina. 

Another  and  more  important  change  was  at  hand.  It  became 
evident  that  there  could  be  no  progress  so  long  as  the  original  char¬ 
ter  remained  in  force.  However  benevolent  the  impulse  which  had 
called  Georgia  into  being,  the  scheme  of  government  had  proved  a 
sham.  The  people  were  improvident,  idle,  inexperienced.  More  than 
six  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  parliamentary  grants,  besides  private 
contributions  amounting  to  nearly  ninety  thousand  dollars,  had  been 
fruitlessly  expended  on  the  lagging  province.  In  1752  there  were 
only  a  few  scattered  plantations  and  three  inconsiderable  villages  be¬ 
low  the  Savannah.  The  white  population  amounted,  at  this  time,  to 
seventeen  hundred  souls ;  and  the  blacks  numbered  about  four  hun¬ 
dred.  The  industry  of  Georgia  was  at  a  stand-still.  The  extravagant 
hopes  which  the  colonial  managers  had  entertained  of  wine,  and  silk, 
and  indigo,  found  no  realization  in  the  facts.  The  annual  exports  of 
the  colony  amounted  to  less  than  four  thousand  dollars ;  and  the  pros¬ 
pect  for  the  future  was  as  discouraging  as  the  present  condition  was 
gloomy. 

At  last,  however,  the  new  order  of  things  was  acknowledged  by 
the  councilors  of  the  province.  They  yielded  to  necessity.  In  June 
of  1752,  just  twenty  years  from  the  granting  of  the  charter,  the  trust¬ 
ees  made  a  formal  surrender  of  their  patent  to  the  king.  A  royal 


GEORGIA. 


245 


government  was  established  over  the  country  south  of  the  Savannah, 
and  the  people  were  granted  the  privileges  and  freedom  of  English¬ 
men.  A  constitution  was  drawn  up  by  the  British  Board  of  Trade, 
and  Captain  John  Reynolds  was  commissioned  as  royal  governor.  In 
October  of  1754  he  arrived  at  Savannah  and  began  the  work  of  reor¬ 
ganization.  For  two  years  and  a  half  he  labored  assiduously  to  ex¬ 
tricate  the  affairs  of  Georgia  from  the  confusion  into  which  they  had 
fallen ;  and  so  successful  was  his  work  that  at  the  end  of  this  time 
the  population  had  reached  six  thousand.  The  southern  boundary  of 
the  province  remained  to  be  decided  by  the  issue  of  the  French  and 
Indian  War.  During  the  progress  of  that  conflict  Georgia  was  saved 
from  calamity  by  the  prudent  administration  of  Governor  Ellis,  who 
secured  from  the  powerful  Creek  confederacy  a  new  treaty  of  peace. 
A  barrier  was  thus  interposed  between  the  colony  and  the  hostile 
nations  of  the  West  and  North.  In  the  year  1758  the  province  was 
divided  into  eight  parishes,  and  at  the  same  time  the  Church  of  Eng¬ 
land  was  established  by  law.  Still,  for  a  while,  the  progress  of  the 
colony  was  not  equal  to  the  expectations  of  its  founder.  But  before 
the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  Georgia,  though  the  feeblest  of  all 
the  Anglo-American  provinces,  had  become  a  prosperous  and  growing 
State. 


Such  is  the  story  of  the  planting  by  our  fathers  of  the  Old  Thir¬ 
teen  republics — such  the  record  of  their  growth  and  prospects.  From 
the  gloomy  coast  of  Labrador,  where,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  be¬ 
fore,  John  Cabot  had  set  up  the  flag  of  England  and  arms  of  Henry 
VII.,  to  the  sunny  waters  where  Ponce  de  Leon,  looking  shoreward, 
called  his  cavaliers  to  gaze  on  the  Land  of  Flowers, — the  dominion 
of  Great  Britain  had  been  established.  Would  that  dominion  last 
forever?  Would  the  other  nations  of  Europe  ever  rally  and  regain 
their  lost  ascendency  on  the  Western  continent?  Would  the  ties  of 
kinship,  the  affinity  of  language,  the  bond  of  a  common  ancestry, 
stretching  from  these  sea-shore  commonwealths  across  the  Atlantic, 
bind  them  in  perpetual  union  with  the  mother  Islands?  Would  these 
isolated  provinces  in  America — now  so  quick  to  take  offence  at  each 
other’s  beliefs  and  actions,  and  so  easily  jealous  of  each  other’s  power 
and  fame — ever  unite  in  a  common  cause  ?  ever  join  to  do  battle  for 
life  and  liberty  ?  ever  become  a  Nation  ?  Such  were  the  momentous 
questions,, the  problems  of  destiny,  which  hung  above  the  colonies  at 
18 


246 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  —  problems  which  the  future 
could  not  be  long  in  solving. 

The  history  of  these  American  colonies  from  their  first  feeble  be¬ 
ginnings  is  full  of  interest  and  instruction.  The  people  who  laid  the 
foundations  of  civilization  in  the  New  World  were  nearly  all  refugees, 
exiles,  wanderers,  pilgrims.  They  were  urged  across  the  ocean  by  a 
common  impulse,  and  that  impulse  was  the  desire  to  escape  from  some 
form  of  oppression  in  tne  Old  World.  Sometimes  it  was  the  oppres¬ 
sion  of  the  Church,  sometimes  of  the  State,  sometimes  of  society.  In 
the  wake  of  the  emigrant  ship  there  was  always  tyranny.  Men  loved 
freedom ;  to  find  it  they  braved  the  perils  of  the  deep,  traversed  the 
solitary  forests  of  Maine,  built  huts  on  the  bleak  shores  of  New  Eng¬ 
land,  entered  the  Hudson,  explored  the  Jerseys,  found  shelter  in  the 
Chesapeake,  met  starvation  and  death  on  the  banks  of  the  James,  were 
buffeted  by  storms  around  the  capes  of  Carolina,  built  towns  by  the 
estuaries  of  the  great  rivers,  made  roads  through  the  pine-woods,  and 
carried  the  dwellings  of  men  to  the  very  margin  of  the  fever-haunted 
swamps  of  the  South.  It  is  all  one  story — the  story  of  the  human  race 
seeking  for  liberty. 


MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET  DISCOVER  THE  MISSISSIPPI, 


COLONIAL  HISTORY. — Continued. 


FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

CAUSES. 

THE  time  came  when  the  American  colonies  began  to  act  together 
From  the  beginning  they  had  been  kept  apart  by  prejudice,  suspi¬ 
cion  and  mutual  jealousy.  But  the  fathers  were  now  dead,  old  antago¬ 
nisms  had  passed  away,  a  new  generation  had  arisen  with  kindlier  feel¬ 
ings  and  more  charitable  sentiments.  But  it  was  not  so  much  the  growth 
of  a  more  liberal  public  opinion  as  it  was  the  sense  of  a  common  danger 
that  at  last  led  the  colonists  to  make  a  united  effort.  The  final  struggle 
between  France  and  England  for  colonial  supremacy  in  America  was 
at  hand.  Necessity  compelled  the  English  colonies  to  join  in  a  com¬ 
mon  cause  against  a  common  foe.  This  is  the  conflict  known  as  the 
French  and  Indian  War  ;  with  this  great  event  the  separate  histories 
of  the  colonies  are  lost  in  the  more  general  history  of  the  nation.  The 
contest  began  in  1754,  but  the  causes  of  the  war  had  existed  for.  many 
years. 

The  first  and  greatest,  of  these  causes  was  the  conflicting  territorial 
claims  of  the  two  nations.  England  had  colonized  the  sea-coast;  France 
had  colonized  the  interior  of  the  continent.  From  Maine  to  Florida  the 
Atlantic  shore  was  spread  with  English  colonies;  but  there  were  no  inland 
settlements.  The  great  towns  were  on  the  ocean’s  edge.  But  the  claims 
of  England  reached  far  beyond  her  colonies.  Based  on  the  discoveries 
of  the  Cabots,  and  not  limited  by  actual  occupation,  those  claims  extended 
westward  to  the  Pacific.  In  making  grants  of  territory  the  English 
kings  had  always  proceeded  upon  the  theory  that  the  voyage  of  Sebastian 
Cabot  had  given  to  England  a  lawful  right  to  the  country  from  one  ocean 
to  the  other.  Far  different,  however,  were  the  claims  of  France;  the 
French  had  first  colonized  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Montreal,  on* 

(247) 


248 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  the  earliest  settlements,  is  more  than  five  hundred  miles  from  the  sea. 
If  the  French  colonies  had  been  limited  to  the  St.  Lawrence  and  its  trib¬ 
utaries,  there  would  have  been  little  danger  of  a  conflict  about  territorial 
dominion.  But  in  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  French 
began  to  push  their  way  westward  and  southward ;  first,  along  the  shores 
of  the  great  lakes,  then  to  the  head- waters  of  the  Wabash,  the  Illinois; 
the  Wisconsin  and  the  St.  Croix,  then  down  these  streams  to  the  Missis¬ 
sippi,  and  then  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  purpose  of  the  French,  as 
manifested  in  these  movements,  was  no  less  than  to  divide  the  American 
continent  and  to  take  the  larger  portion,  to  possess  the  land  for  France 
and  for  Catholicism.  For  it  was  the  work  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries. 
So  important  and  marvelous  are  those  early  movements  of  the  French  in 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  that  a  brief  account  of  the  leading  explora¬ 
tions  may  here  be  given. 

The  zealous  Jesuits,  purposing  to  extend  the  Catholic  faith  to  all 
lands  and  nations,  set  out  fearlessly  from  the  older  settlements  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  explore  the  unknown  West,  and  to  convert  the  barbarous 
races.  In  1641,  Charles  Raymbault,  the  first  of  the  French  missionary 
explorers,  passed  through  the  northern  straits  of  Lake  Huron  and  entered 
Lake  Superior.  In  the  thirty  years  that  followed,  the  Jesuits  continued 
their  explorations  with  prodigious  activity.  Missions  were  established  at 
various  points  north  of  the  lakes,  and  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Illi¬ 
nois.  In  1673,  Joliet  and  Marquette  passed  from  the  head- waters  of 
Fox  River  over  the  watershed  to  the  upper  tributaries  of  the  Wisconsin, 
and  thence  down  that  river  in  a  seven  days’  voyage  to  the  Mississippi. 
For  a  full  month  the  canoe  of  the  daring  adventurers  carried  them  on 
toward  the  sea.  They  passed  the  mouth  of  Arkansas  River,  and  reached 
the  limit  of  their  voyage  at  the  thirty-third  parallel  of  latitude.  Turn¬ 
ing  their  boat  up  stream,  they  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  and 
returned  by  the  site  of  Chicago  into  Lake  Michigan,  and  thence  to  De¬ 
troit.  But  it  was  not  yet  known  whether  the  great  river  discharged  its 
flood  of  waters  into  the  southern  gulf  or  into  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

It  remained  for  Robert  de  la  Salle,  most  illustrious  of  the  French 
explorers,  to  solve  the  problem.  This  courageous  and  daring  man  was 
living  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario  when  the  news  of  Marquette’s 
voyage  reached  Canada.  Fired  with  the  passion  of  discovery,  La  Salle 
built  and  launched  the  first  ship  above  Niagara  Falls.  He  sailed  west¬ 
ward  through  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Huron,  anchored  in  Green  Bay, 
crossed  Lake  Michigan  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph,  ascended  that 
stream  with  a  few  companions,  traversed  the  country  to  the  upper  Kanka¬ 
kee,  and  dropped  down  with  the  current  into  the  Illinois.  Here  disas- 


CAUSES. 


249 


ters  overtook  the  expedition,  and  La  Salle  was  obliged  to  return  on  foot 
to  Fort  Frontenac,  a  distance  of  nearly  a  thousand  miles.  During  his 
absence,  Father  Hennepin,  a  member  of  the  company,  traversed  Illinois, 
and  explored  the  Mississippi  as  high  as  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 

In  1681,  La  Salle  returned  to  his  station  on  the  Illinois,  bringing 
men  and  supplies.  A  boat  was  built  and  launched,  and  early  in  the 
following  year  the  heroic  adventurer,  with  a  few  companions,  descended 
the  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  and  was  borne  by  the 
Father  of  Waters  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  was  one  of  the  greatest 
exploits  of  modern  times.  The  return  voyage  was  successfully  accom¬ 
plished.  La  Salle  reached  Quebec,  and  immediately  set  sail  for  France. 
The  kingdom  was  greatly  excited,  and  vast  plans  were  made  for  coloniz¬ 
ing  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  In  July  of  1684  four  ships,  bearing 
two  hundred  and  eighty  emigrants,  left  France.  Beaujeu  commanded 
the  fleet,  and  La  Salle  was  leader  of  the  colony.  The  plan  was  to  enter 
the  gulf,  ascend  the  river,  and  plant  settlements  on  its  banks  and  tributa¬ 
ries.  But  Beaujeu  was  a  bad  and  headstrong  captain,  and  against  La 
Salle’s  entreaties  the  squadron  was  carried  out  of  its  course,  beyond  the 
mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  and  into  the  Bay  of  Matagorda.  Here  a 
landing  was  effected,  but  the  store-ship,  with  all  its  precious  freightage, 
was  dashed  to  pieces  in  a  storm.  Nevertheless,  a  colony  was  established, 
and  Texas  became  a  part  of  Louisiana. 

La  Salle  made  many  unsuccessful  efforts  to  rediscover  the  Missis¬ 
sippi.  One  misfortune  after  another  followed  fast,  but  the  leader’s  reso¬ 
lute  spirit  remained  tranquil  through  all  calamities.  At  last,  with  sixteen 
companions,  he  set  out  to  cross  the  continent  to  Canada.  The  march 
began  in  January  of  1687,  and  continued  for  sixty  days.  The  wanderers 
were  already  in  the  basin  of  the  Colorado.  Here,  on  the  20th  of  March, 
while  La  Salle  was  at  some  distance  from  the  camp,  two  conspirators  of 
the  company,  hiding  in  the  prairie  grass,  took  a  deadly  aim  at  the 
famous  explorer,  and  shot  him  dead  in  his  tracks.  Only  seven  of  the 
adventurers  succeeded  in  reaching  a  French  settlement  on  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi. 

France  was  not  slow  to  occupy  the  vast  country  revealed  to  her 
by  the  activity  of  the  Jesuits.  As  early  as  1688  military  posts  had 
been  established  at  Frontenac,  at  Niagara,  at  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw, 
and  on  the  Illinois  River.  Before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
permanent  settlements  had  been  made  by  the  French  on  the  Maumee,  at 
Detroit,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Joseph,  at  Green  Bay,  at  Vincennes 
on  the  Lower  Wabash,  on  the  Mississippi  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ivaskas- 
kia,  at  Fort  Rosalie,  the  present  site  of  Natchez,  and  on  the  Gulf  of 


250 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Mexico  at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Biloxi.  At  this  time  the  only  outposts 
of  the  English  colonies  were  a  small  fort  at  Oswego,  on  Lake  Ontario, 
and  a  few  scattered  cabins  in  West  Virginia.  It  only  remained  for 
France  to  occupy  the  valley  of  Ohio,  in  order  to  confine  the  provinces  of 
Great  Britain  to  the  country  east  of  the  Alleghanies.  To  do  this  became 
the  sole  ambition  of  the  French,  and  to  prevent  it  the  stubborn  purpose 
of  the  English. 

A  second  cause  of  war  existed  in  the  long-standing  national  animos¬ 
ity  of  France  and  England.  The  two  nations  could  hardly  remain  at 
peace.  The  French  and  the  English  were  of  different  races,  languages 
and  laws.  For  more  than  two  centuries  France  had  been  the  leader  of 
the  Catholic,  and  England  of  the  Protestant,  powers  of  Europe.  Religious 
prejudice  intensified  the  natural  jealousy  of  the  two  nations.  Rivalry 
prevailed  on  land  and  sea.  When,  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
it  was  seen  that  the  people  of  the  English  colonies  outnumbered  those  of 
Canada  by  nearly  twenty  to  one,  France  was  filled  with  envy.  When, 
by  the  enterprise  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  the  French  began  to  dot  the 
basin  of  the  Mississippi  with  fortresses,  and  to  monopolize  the  fur-trade 
of  the  Indians,  England  could  not  conceal  her  wrath.  It  was  only  a 
question  of  time  when  this  unreasonable  jealousy  would  bring  on  a  colo¬ 
nial  war. 

The  third  and  immediate  cause  of  hostilities  was  a  conflict  between 
the  frontiersmen  of  the  two  nations  in  attempting  to  colonize  the  Ohio 
valley.  The  year  1749  witnessed  the  beginning  of  difficulties.  For 
some  time  the  strolling  traders  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  had  fre¬ 
quented  the  Indian  towns  on  the  upper  tributaries  of  the  Ohio.  Now  the 
traders  of  Canada  began  to  visit  the  same  villages,  and  to  compete  with 
the  English  in  the  purchase  of  furs.  Virginia,  under  her  ancient  char¬ 
ters,  claimed  the  whole  country  lying  between  her  western  borders  and 
the  southern  shores  of  Lake  Erie.  The  French  fur-gatherers  in  this  dis¬ 
trict  were  regarded  as  intruders  not  to  be  tolerated.  In  order  to  prevent 
further  encroachment,  a  number  of  prominent  Virginians  joined  them¬ 
selves  together  in  a  body  called  the  Ohio  Company,  with  a  view  to 
the  immediate  occupation  of  the  disputed  territory.  Robert  Dinwiddie, 
governor  of  the  State,  Lawrence  and  Augustus  Washington,  and  Thomas 
Lee,  president  of  the  Virginia  council,  were  the  leading  members  of  the 
corporation.  In  March  of  1749  the  company  received  from  George  II. 
an  extensive  land-grant  covering  a  tract  of  five  hundred  thousand  acres, 
to  be  located  between  the  Kanawha  and  the  Monongahela,  or  on  the 
northern  bank  of  the  Ohio.  The  conditions  of  the  grant  were  that  the 
lands  should  be  held  free  of  rent  for  ten  years,  that  within  seven  years  a 


CAUSES . 


251 


colony  of  one  hundred  families  should  be  established  in  the  district,  and 
that  the  territory  should  be  immediately  selected. 

But  the  French  were  equally  active.  Before  the  Ohio  Company 
could  send  out  a  colony,  the  governor  of  Canada  despatched  Bienville 
with  three  hundred  men  to  explore  and  occupy  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 
The  expedition  was  successful.  Plates  of  lead  bearing  French  inscrip¬ 
tions  were  buried  here  and  there  on  both  banks  of  the  river,  the  region  was 
explored  as  far  west  as  the  towns  of  the  Miamis,  the  English  traders  were 
expelled  from  the  country,  and  a  letter  was  written  to  Governor  Hamil¬ 
ton  of  Pennsylvania  admonishing  him  to  encroach  no  farther  on  the 
territory  of  the  king  of  France.  This  work  occupied  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1749.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Ohio  Company  had  equipped  an 
exploring  party,  and  placed  it  under  command  of  Christopher  Gist.  In 
November  of  1750  he  and  his  company  reached  the  Ohio  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Beaver  Creek.  Here  the  expedition  crossed  to  the  northern 
side,  tarried  at  Logstown,  passed  down  the  river  through  the  several 
Indian  confederacies  to  the  Great  Miami,  and  thence  to  within  fifteen 
miles  of  the  falls  at  Louisville.  Returning  on  foot  through  Kentucky, 
the  explorers  reached  Virginia  in  the  spring  of  1751. 

This  expedition  was  followed  by  still  more  vigorous  movements  on 
the  part  of  the  French.  Descending  from  their  headquarters  at  Presque 
Isle,  now  Erie,  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  lake,  they  built  a  fortress 
called  Le  Boeuf,  on  French  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Alleghany.  Pro¬ 
ceeding  down  the  stream  to  its  junction  with  the  river,  they  erected  a 
second  fort,  named  Venango.  From  this  point  they  advanced  against  a 
British  post  on  the  Miami,  broke  up  the  settlement,  made  prisoners  (A 
the  garrison  and  carried  them  to  Canada.  The  king  of  the  Miami  con¬ 
federacy,  who  had  assisted  the  English  in  defending  their  outpost,  was 
inhumanly  murdered  by  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French.  About  the 
same  time  the  country  south  of  the  Ohio,  between  the  Great  Kanawha 
and  the  Monongahela,  was  explored  by  Gist  and  a  party  of  armed  sur¬ 
veyors,  acting  under  orders  of  the  company.  In  the  summer  of  1753  the 
English  opened  a  road  from  Will’s  Creek  through  the  mountains  into  the 
Ohio  valley,  and  a  colony  of  eleven  families  was  planted  on  the  Youglii- 
ogheny,  just  west  of  Laurel  Hill.  It  was  impossible  that  a  conflict  be¬ 
tween  the  advancing  settlements  of  the  two  nations  could  be  much  longer 
averted. 

The  Indian  nations  were  greatly  alarmed  at  the  threatening  pros¬ 
pect.  Solemn  councils  were  held  among  all  the  tribes,  and  the  affairs  of 
the  race  were  gravely  discussed  by  the  copper-colored  orators.  From  the 
first  the  Red  men  rather  favored  the  English  cause,  but  their  allegiance 


252 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


was  wavering  and  uncertain.  After  the  murder  of  the  Miami  chieftain 
their  hostility  to  the  French  became  more  decided.  When,  in  the  spring 
of  1753,  the  news  was  borne  to  the  council-fires  on  the  Ohio  that  Du 
Quesne,  the  governor  of  Canada,  had  despatched  a  company  of  twelve 
hundred  men  to  descend  the  Alleghany  and  colonize  the  country,  the 
jealousy  of  the  natives  was  kindled  into  open  resistance.  The  tribes 
most  concerned  were  the  Delawares,  the  Shawnees,  the  Miamis  and  the 
Mingoes.  The  chieftain  of  this  confederacy,  named  Tanacharisson,  was 
called  the  Half-King  from  the  fact  that  his  Subjects,  except  the  Miamis, 
owed  a  kind  of  indefinite  allegiance  to  the  Iroquois  or  Six  Nations.  By 
the  authority  of  a  great  council  held  at  Logstown  the  Half-King  was  now 
sent  to  Erie  to  remonstrate  with  the  French  commandant  against  a  further 
invasion  of  the  Indian  country.  “  The  land  is  mine,  and  I  will  have  it,” 
replied  the  Frenchman,  with  derision  and  contempt.  The  insulted 
sachem  returned  to  his  nation  to  lift  the  hatchet  against  the  enemies  of 
his  people.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  chiefs  of  many  tribes  met  Benja¬ 
min  Franklin  at  the  town  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  and  formed  a  treaty 
of  alliance  with  the  English. 

Virginia  was  now  thoroughly  aroused.  But  before  proceeding  to 
actual  hostilities,  Governor  Dinwiddie  determined  to  try  the  effect  of  a 
final  remonstrance  with  the  French.  A  paper  was  accordingly  drawn  up 
setting  forth  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  English  claim  to  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio,  and  solemnly  warning  the  authorities  of  France  against  further 
intrusion  into  that  region.  It  was  necessary  that  this  paper  should  be 
carried  to  General  St.  Pierre,  now  stationed  at  Erie  as  commander  of  the 
French  forces  in  the  West.  Who  should  be  chosen  to  bear  the  important 
parchment  to  its  far-off  destination  ?  It  was  the  most  serious  mission 
ever  yet  undertaken  in  America.  A  young  surveyor,  named  George 
Washington,  was  called  to  perform  the  perilous  duty.  Him  the 
governor  summoned  from  his  home  on  the  Potomac  and  commissioned  as 
ambassador,  and  to  him  was  committed  the  message  which  was  to  be 
borne  from  Williamsburg,  on  York  River,  through  the  untrodden  wilder¬ 
ness  to  Presque  Isle,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie. 

On  the  last  day  of  October,  1753,  Washington  set  out  on  his  long 
journey.  He  was  attended  by  four  comrades  besides  an  interpreter  and 
Christopher  Gist,  the  guide.  The  party  arrived  without  accident  at  the 
mouth  of  Will’s  Creek,  the  last  important  tributary  of  the  Potomac  on 
the  north.  From  this  place  Washington  proceeded  through  the  moun¬ 
tains  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Youghiogheny,  and  thence  down  that 
stream  to  the  site  of  Pittsburg.  The  immense  importance  of  this  place, 
lying  at  the  confluence  of  the  two  great  tributaries  of  the  Ohio,  and  com- 


CA  USES. 


253 


N  Y  O  R  K  ^ 


ro  m  - 


FIRST  SCENE  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND 
INDIAN  WAR,  1750. 


manding  them  both,  was  at  once  perceived  by  the  young  ambassador,  who 
noted  the  spot  as  the  site  of  a  fortress.  Washington  was  now  conducted 
across  the  Alleghany  by  the  chief  of 
the  Delawares,  and  thence  twenty 
miles  down  the  river  to  Logstown. 

Here  a  council  was  held  with  the 
Indians,  who  renewed  their  pledges 
of  friendship  and  fidelity  to  the  Eng¬ 
lish.  The  emissaries  of  the  French 
were  already  in  the  country  trying 
in  every  conceivable  way  to  entice 
the  Red  men  into  an  alliance ;  but 
every  proposal  was  rejected.  In  the 
beginning  of  December,  Washington 
and  his  party  moved  northward  to 
the  French  post  at  Venango.  The 
officers  of  the  fort  took  no  pains  to 
conceal  their  purpose ;  the  project  of 
Uniting  Canada  and  Louisiana  by 
Way  of  the  Ohio  valley  was  openly  avowed. 

From  Venango,  Washington  set  out  through  the  forest  to  Fort  le 
Boeuf  on  French  Creek,  fifty  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Alleghany. 
This  was  the  last  stage  in  the  journey.  It  was  still  fourteen  miles  to 
Presque  Isle;  but  St.  Pierre,  the  French  commander,  had  come  down 
from  that  place  to  superintend  the  fortifications  at  Le  Boeuf.  Here  the 
conference  was  held.  Washington  was  received  with  great  courtesy, 
but  the  general  of  the  French  refused  to  enter  into  any  discussion  on  the 
rights  of  nations.  He  was  acting,  he  said,  under  military  instructions 
given  by  the  governor  of  New  France.  He  had  been  commanded  by  his 
superior  officer  to  eject  every  Englishman  from  the  valley  of  the  Ohio, 
and  he  meant  to  carry  out  his  orders  to  the  letter.  A  firm  but  courteous 
reply  was  returned  to  Governor  Dinwiddie’s  message.  France  claimed 
the  country  of  the  Ohio  in  virtue  of  discovery,  exploration  and  occupa¬ 
tion,  and  her  claim  should  be  made  good  by  force  of  arms. 

Washington  was  kindly  dismissed,  but  not  until  he  had  noted  with 
keen  anxiety  the  immense  preparations  which  were  making  at  Le  Boeuf. 
There  lay  a  fleet  of  fifty  birch-bark  canoes  and  a  hundred  and  seventy 
boats  of  pine  ready  to  descend  the  river  to  the  site  of  Pittsburg.  For  the 
French,  as  well  as  the  English,  had  noted  the  importance  of  that  spot, 
and  had  determined  to  fortify  it  as  soon  as  the  ice  should  break  in  the 
rivers.  It  was  now  the  dead  of  winter.  Washington  returned  to  Ve- 


254 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


nango,  and  then,  with  Gist  as  his  sole  companion,  left  the  river  and 
struck  into  the  woods.  It  was  one  of  the  most  solitary  marches  ever 
made  by  man.  There  in  the  desolate  wilderness  was  the  future  President 
of  the  United  States.  Clad  in  the  rohe  of  an  Indian,  with  gun  in  hand 
and  knapsack  strapped  to  his  shoulders ;  struggling  through  interminable 
snows ;  sleeping  with  frozen  clothes  on  a  bed  of  pine-brush ;  breaking 
through  the  treacherous  ice  of  rapid  streams ;  guided  by  day  by  a  pocket 
compass,  and  at  night  by  the  North  Star,  seen  at  intervals  through  the 
leafless  trees ;  fired  at  by  a  prowling  savage  from  his  covert  not  fifteen 
steps  away ;  thrown  from  a  raft  into  the  rushing  Alleghany  ;  escaping  to 
an  island  and  lodging  there  until  the  river  was  frozen  over ;  plunging 
again  into  the  forest ;  reaching  Gist’s  settlement  and  then  the  Potomac, — 
the  strong-limbed  young  ambassador  came  back  without  wound  or  scar  to 
the  capital  of  Virginia.  For  his  flesh  was  not  made  to  be  torn  with 
bullets  or  to  be  eaten  by  the  wolves.  The  defiant  despatch  of  St.  Pierre 
was  laid  before  Governor  Dinwiddie,  and  the  first  public  service  of  Wash¬ 
ington  was  accomplished. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Ohio  Company  had  not  been  idle.  About 
mid-winter  a  party  of  thirty-three  men  had  been  organized  and  placed 
under  command  of  Trent,  with  orders  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  source  of 
the  Ohio  and  erect  a  fort.  The  company  must  have  been  marching  to  its 
destination  when  Washington  returned  to  Virginia.  It  was  not  far  from 
the  middle  of  March,  1754,  when  Trent’s  party  reached  the  confluence 
of  the  Alleghany  and  the  Monongahela,  and  built  the  first  rude  stockade 
on  the  site  of  Pittsburg.*  After  all  the  threats  and  boasting  of  the 
French,  the  English  had  beaten  them  and  seized  the  key  to  the  Ohio 
valley. 

But  it  was  a  short-lived  triumph.  As  soon  as  the  approaching 
spring  broke  the  ice-gorges  in  the  Alleghany,  the  French  fleet  of  boats, 
already  prepared  at  Venango,  came  sweeping  down  the  river.  It  was  in 
vain  for  Trent  with  his  handful  of  men  to  offer  resistance.  Washington 
had  now  been  commissioned  as  lieutenant-colonel,  and  was  stationed  at 
Alexandria  to  enlist  recruits  for  .  the  Ohio.  A  regiment  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  men  had  been  enrolled ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  bring  succor  to 
Trent  in  time  to  save  the  post.  On  the  17th  of  April  the  little  band  of 
Englishmen  at  the  head  of  the  Ohio  surrendered  to  the  enemy  and  with¬ 
drew  from  the  country.  The  French  immediately  occupied  the  place, 
felled  the  forest-trees,  built  barracks  and  laid  the  foundations  of  Fort 
DU  Quesne.  To  recapture  this  place  by  force  of  arms  Colonel  Wash¬ 
ington  set  out  from  Will’s  Creek  in  the  early  part  of  May,  1754.  Nego- 
*  The  accounts  of  this  important  event  are  very  obscure  and  unsatisfactory. 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  WASHINGTON  AND  BRADDOCK. 


365 


uations  had  failed ;  remonstrance  had  been  tried  in  vain ;  the  possession 
of  the  disputed  territory  was  now  to  be  determined  by  the  harsher  methods 

of  war. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

CAMPAIGNS  OF  WASHINGTON  AND  BRADDOCK. 

IT T ASHINGTON  now  found  himself  in  command  of  a  little  army  ot 
'  '  Virginians.  His  commission  was  brief  and  easily  understood  :  To 
construct  a  fort  at  the  source  of  the  Ohio ;  to  destroy  whoever  opposed 
him  in  the  work ;  to  capture,  kill  or  repel  all  who  interrupted  the  progress 
of  the  English  settlements  in  that  country.  In  the  month  of  April  the 
young  commander  left  Will’s  Creek,  but  the  march  westward  was  slow 
and  toilsome.  The  men  were  obliged  to  drag  their  cannons.  The  roads 
were  miserable ;  rain  fell  in  torrents  on  the  tentless  soldiers ;  rivers  were 
bridgeless ;  provisions  insufficient.  All  the  while  the  faithful  Half-King 
was  urging  Washington  by  repeated  despatches  to  hasten  to  the  rescue  of 
the  Red  men. 

On  the  26th  of  May  the  English  regiment  reached  the  Great 
Meadows.  Here  Washington  was  informed  that  a  company  of  French 
was  on  the  march  to  attack  him.  The  enemy  had  been  seen  on  the 
Youghiogheny  only  a  few  miles  distant.  A  stockade  was  immediately 
erected,  to  which  the  commander  gave  the  appropriate  name  of  Fort 
Necessity.  Ascertaining  from  the  scouts  of  the  Half-King  that  the  French 
company  in  the  neighborhood  was  only  a  scouting-party,  Washington, 
after  conference  with  the  Mingo  chiefs,  determined  to  strike  the  first  blow. 
Two  Indians  followed  the  trail  of  the  French,  and  discovered  their  hiding- 
place  in  a  rocky  ravine.  The  English  advanced  cautiously,  intending  to 
surprise  and  capture  the  whole  force;  but  the  French  were  on  the  alert, 
saw  the  approaching  soldiers  and  flew  to  arms.  Washington  with 
musket  in  hand  was  at  the  head  of  his  company.  “  Fire !”  was  the  clear 
command  that  rang  through  the  forest,  and  the  first  volley  of  a  great  war 
went  flying  on  its  mission  of  death.  The  engagement  was  brief  and 
decisive.  Jumonville,  the  leader  of  the  French,  and  ten  of  his  party  were 
killed,  and  twenty-one  were  made  prisoners. 

A  month  of  precious  time  was  now  lost  in  delays.  While  Washing¬ 
ton  at  Fort  Necessity  waited  in  vain  for  reinforcements,  the  French  at 


256 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Fort  du  Quesne  were  collecting  in  great  numbers.  One  small  company 
of  volunteers  from  South  Carolina  arrived  at  the  English  camp ;  but  the 
captain  was  an  arrogant  blockhead  who,  having  a  commission  from  the 
king,  undertook  to  supersede  Washington.  The  latter,  with  the  Vir¬ 
ginians,  spent  the  time  of  waiting  in  cutting  a  road  for  twenty  miles 
across  the  rough  country  in  the  direction  of  Fort  du  Quesne.  The  In¬ 
dians  were  greatly  discouraged  at  the  dilatory  conduct  of  the  colonies, 
and  the  strong  war-parties  which  had  been  expected  to  join  Washington 
from  the  Muskingum  and  the  Miami  did  not  arrive.  His  whole  effect¬ 
ive  force  scarcely  numbered  four  hundred.  Learning  that  the  French 
general  De  Villiers  was  approaching  with  a  large  body  of  troops,  besides 
Indian  auxiliaries,  Washington  deemed  it  prudent  to  fall  back  to  Fort 
Necessity.  The  Carolina  captain,  who  had  remained  within  the  fortifica¬ 
tions,  had  done  nothing  to  strengthen  the  works,  although  there  was  the 
greatest  need. 

The  little  fort  stood  in  an  open  space,  midway  between  two  emi¬ 
nences  covered  with  trees.  Scarcely  were  Washington’s  forces  safe  within 
the  enclosure,  when  on  the  3d  of  July  the  regiment  of  De  Villiers,  num¬ 
bering  six  hundred,  besides  the  savage  allies,  came  in  sight,  and  surrounded 
the  fort.  The  French  stationed  themselves  on  the  eminence,  about  sixty 
yards  distant  from  the  stockade.  From  this  position  they  could  fire  down 
upon  the  English  with  fatal  effect.  Many  of  the  Indians  climbed  into 
the  tree-tops,  where  they  were  concealed  by  the  thick  foliage.  For  nine 
hours,  during  a  rain-storm,  the  assailants  poured  an  incessant  shower  of 
balls  upon  the  heroic  band  in  the  fort.  Thirty  of  Washington’s  men 
were  killed,  but  his  tranquil  presence  encouraged  the  rest,  and  the  fire  of 
the  French  was  returned  with  unabated  vigor.  At  length  De  Villiers,  fear¬ 
ing  that  his  ammunition  would  be  exhausted,  proposed  a  parley.  Wash¬ 
ington,  seeing  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  hold  out  much  longer,  ac¬ 
cepted  the  honorable  terms  of  capitulation  which  were  offered  by  the 
French  general.  On  the  4th  of  July  the  English  garrison,  retaining  all 
its  accoutrements,  marched  out  of  the  little  fort,  so  bravely  defended,  and 
withdrew  from  the  country.  The  whole  valley  of  the  Ohio  remained  in 
undisturbed  possession  of  the  French. 

Meanwhile,  a  congress  of  the  American  colonies  had  assembled  at 
Albany.  The  objects  had  in  view,  were  twofold :  first,  to  renew  the 
treaty  with  the  Iroquois  confederacy ;  and  secondly,  to  stir  up  the  colonial 
authorities  to  some  sort  of  concerted  action  against  the  French.  The 
Iroquois  had  wavered  from  the  beginning  of  the  war ;  the  recent  reverses 
of  the  English  had  not  strengthened  the  loyalty  of  the  Red  men.  As  to 
the  French  aggressions,  something  must  be  done  speedily,  or  the  flag  of 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  WASHINGTON  AND  BRADDOCK. 


257 


England  could  never  be  borne  into  the  vast  country  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  The  congress  was  not  wanting  in  abilities  of  the  highest  order. 
No  such  venerable  and  dignified  body  of  men  had  ever  before  assembled 
on  the  American  continent.  There  were  Hutchinson  of  Massachusetts, 
Hopkins  of  Rhode  Island,  Franklin  of  Pennsylvania,  and  others  scarcely 
less  distinguished.  After  a  few  days’  consultation,  the  Iroquois,  but  half 
satisfied,  renewed  their  treaty  and  departed.  The  chieftains  were  anxious 
and  uneasy  lest,  through  inactivity  and  want  of  union  on  the  part  of  the 
colonies,  the  Six  Nations  should  be  left  to  contend  alone  with  the  power 
of  France. 

The  convention  next  took  up  the  important  question  of  uniting  the 
colonies  in  a  common  government.  On  the  10th  day  of  July,  Benjamin 
Franklin  laid  before  the  commissioners  the  draft  of  a  federal  constitu¬ 
tion.  His  vast  and  comprehensive  mind  had  realized  the  true  condition 
and  wants  of  the  country ;  the  critical  situation  of  the  colonies  demanded 
a  central  government.  How  else  could  revenues  be  raised,  an  army  be 
organized  and  the  common  welfare  be  provided  for?  According  to  the 
proposed  plan  of  union,  Philadelphia,  a  central  city,  was  to  be  the  cap¬ 
ital.  It  was  urged  in  behalf  of  this  clause  that  the  delegates  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Georgia,  the  colonies  most  remote,  could  reach  the  seat 
of  government  in  fifteen  or  twenty  days  !  Slow-going  old  patriots !  The 
chief  executive  of  the  new  confederation  was  to  be  a  governor-general 
appointed  and  supported  by  the  king.  The  legislative  authority  was 
vested  in  a  congress  composed  of  delegates  to  be  chosen  triennially  by  the 
general  assemblies  of  the  respective  provinces.  Each  colony  should  be 
represented  in  proportion  to  its  contributions  to  the  general  government, 
but  no  colony  should  have  less  than  two  or  more  than  seven  represent¬ 
atives  in  congress.  With  the  governor  was  lodged  the  power  of  appoint¬ 
ing  all  military  officers  and  of  vetoing  objectionable  laws.  The  appoint¬ 
ment  of  civil  officers,  the  raising  of  troops,  the  levying  of  taxes,  the  super¬ 
intendence  of  Indian  affairs,  the  regulation  of  commerce,  and  all  the 
general  duties  of  government,  belonged  to  congress.  This  body  was  to 
convene  once  a  year,  to  choose  its  own  officers,  and  to  remain  in  session 
not  longer  than  six  weeks.* 

Such  was  the  constitution  drafted  by  Franklin  and  adopted,  not 
without  serious  opposition,  by  the  commissioners  at  Albany.  It  remained 
for  the  colonies  to  ratify  or  reject  the  new  scheme  of  government.  Copies 
of  the  proposed  constitution  were  at  once  transmitted  to  the  several  colon¬ 
ial  capitals,  and  were  everywhere  received  with  disfavor ;  in  Connecticut, 
rejected  ;  in  Massachusetts,  opposed;  in  New  York,  adopted  with  indiffer¬ 
ence.  The  chief  objection  urged  against  the  instrument  was  the  power  of 

17  kRpf>  Appendix  C. 


258 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


veto  given  to  the  governor-general.  Nor  did  the  new  constitution  fare 
better  in  the  mother  country.  The  English  board  of  trade  rejected  it 
with  disdain,  saying  that  the  froward  Americans  were  trying  to  make  a 
government  of  their  own.  Meanwhile,  the  French  were  strengthening 
their  works  at  Crown  Point  and  Fort  Niagara,  and  rejoicing  over  their 
success  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

But  the  honor  of  England,  no  less  than  the  welfare  of  her  colonies, 
was  at  stake,  and  Parliament  came  to  the  rescue.  It  was  determined  to 
send  a  British  army  to  America,  to  accept  the  service  of  such  provincial 
troops  as  the  colonies  might  furnish,  and  to  protect  the  frontier  against 
the  aggressions  of  France.  As  yet  there  had  been  no  declaration  of  war. 
The  ministers  of  the  two  nations  kept  assuring  each  other  of  peaceable 
intentions ;  but  Louis  XV.  took  care  to  send  three  thousand  soldiers  to 
Canada,  and  the  British  government  ordered  General  Edward  Braddock 
to  proceed  to  America  with  two  regiments  of  regulars.  Early  in  1755 
the  English  armament  arrived  in  the  Chesapeake.  On  the  14th  of  April 
Braddock  met  the  governors  of  all  the  colonies  in  a  convention  at  Alex¬ 
andria.  The  condition  of  colonial  affairs  was  fully  discussed.  It  was 
resolved,  since  peace  existed,  not  to  invade  Canada,  but  to  repel  the 
•  French  on  the  western  and  northern  frontier.  The  plans  of  four  cam¬ 
paigns  were  accordingly  submitted  and  ratified.  Lawrence,  the  governor 
of  Nova  Scotia,  was  to  complete  the  conquest  of  that  province  according  to 
the  English  notion  of  boundaries.  Johnson  of  New  York  was  to  enroll 
a  force  of  volunteers  and  Mohawks  in  British  pay,  and  to  capture  the 
French  post  at  Crown  Point.  Shirley  of  Massachusetts  was  to  equip  a 
regiment  and  drive  the  enemy  from  their  fortress  at  Niagara.  Last  and 
most  important  of  all,  Braddock  himself  as  commander-in-chief  was  to 
lead  the  main  body  of  regulars  against  Fort  du  Quesne,  retake  that  post 
and  expel  the  French  from  the  Ohio  valley. 

In  the  latter  part  of  April  the  British  general  set  out  on  his  march 
from  Alexandria  to  Will’s  Creek.  The  name  of  the  military  post  at  the 
mouth  of  this  stream  was  now  changed  to  Fort  Cumberland.  Braddock’s 
army  numbered  fully  two  thousand  men.  They  were  nearly  all  veterans 
who  had  seen  service  in  the  wars  of  Europe.  A  few  provincial  troops 
had  joined  the  expedition ;  two  companies  of  volunteers,  led  by  Colonel 
Horatio  Gates  of  New  York,  were  among  the  number.  Washington  met 
the  army  at  Fort  Cumberland,  and  became  an  aid-de-camp  of  Braddock. 
The  colonies  would  have  assisted  with  large  levies  of  recruits,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  nature  of  the  general’s  authority.  It  was  prescribed  in  his 
commission  that  the  provincial  captains  and  colonels  should  have  no  rank 
when  serving  in  connection  with  the  British  army.  So  odious  was  this 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  WASHINGTON  AND  BRADDOCK. 


259 


regulation  that  Washington  had  set  the  example  of  withdrawing  from  the 
service;  patriotic  motives  and  the  wish  of  Virginia  now  induced  him  to 
return  and  to  accept  a  post  of  responsibility. 

On  the  last  day  of  May  the  march  began  from  Fort  Cumberland. 
A  select  force  of  five  hundred  men  was  thrown  forward  to  open  the  roads 
in  the  direction  of  Fort  du  Quesne.  Sir  Peter  Halket  led  the  advance, 
and  Braddock  followed  with  the  main  body.  The  army,  marching  in  a 
slender  column,  was  extended  for  four  miles  along  the  narrow  and  broken 
road  It  was  in  vain  that  Washington  pointed  out  the  danger  of  am¬ 
buscades  and  suggested  the  employment  of  scouting-parties.  Braddock 
was  self-willed,  arrogant,  proud ;  thoroughly  skilled  in  the  tactics  of 
European  warfare,  he  could  not  bear  to  be  advised  by  an  inferior.  The 
sagacious  Franklin  had  admonished  him  to  move  with  caution ;  but  he 
only  replied  that  it  was  impossible  for  savages  to  make  any  impression  on 
His  Majesty’s  regulars.  Now,  when  Washington  ventured  to  repeat  the 
advice,  Braddock  flew  into  a  passion,  strode  up  and  down  in  his  tent,  and 
said  that  it  was  high  times  when  Colonel  Buckskin  could  teach  a  British 
general  how  to  fight. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  Braddock  put  himself  at  the  head  of  twelve 
hundred  chosen  troops  and  pressed  forward  more  rapidly.  Colonel  Dun¬ 
bar  was  left  behind  with  the  remainder  of  the  army.  On  the  8th  of  July 
the  van  reached  the  junction  of  the  Youghiogheny  and  the  Monongahela. 
It  was  only  twelve  miles  farther  to  Fort  du  Quesne,  and  the  French  gave 
up  the  place  as  lost.  On  the  next  morning  the  English  army  advanced 
along  the  Monongahela,  and  at  noon  crossed  to  the  northern  bank  just 
beyond  the  confluence  of  Turtle  Creek.  Still  there  was  no  sign  of  an 
enemy.  Colonel  Thomas  Gage  was  leading  forward  a  detachment  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  The  road  was  but  twelve  feet  wide ;  the  country 
uneven  and  woody  There  was  a  dense  undergrowth  on  either  hand; 
rocks  and  ravines ;  a  hill  on  the  right  and  a  dry  hollow  on  the  left.  A 
few  guides  were  in  the  advance,  and  some  feeble  flanking-parties ;  in  the 
rear  came  the  general  with  the  main  division  of  the  army,  the  artillery 
and  the  baggage.  All  at  once  a  quick  and  heavy  fire  was  heard  in  the 
front. 

France  was  not  going  to  give  up  Fort  du  Quesne  without  a  strug¬ 
gle.  For  two  months  the  place  had  been  receiving  reinforcements;  still 
the  garrison  was  by  no  means  able  to  cope  with  Braddock’s  army.  Even 
the  Indians  realized  the  disparity  of  the  contest.  It  was  with  great  diffi¬ 
culty  that,  on  the  night  before  the  battle,  the  commandant  of  the  fort 
induced  the  savages  to  join  in  the  enterprise  of  ambuscading  the  British. 
At  last  a  force  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  French,  led  by  Beaujeu  and 
10 


260 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Dumas,  aud  a  body  of  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven  Indians  set  out  from 
Du  Quesne  with  a  view  to  harass  and  annoy  the  English  rather  than  to 
face  them  in  a  serious  battle.  It  was  the  purpose  of  the  French,  who 
were  entirely  familiar  with  the  ground,  to  lay  an  ambuscade  at  a  favor¬ 
able  point  seven  miles  distant  from  the  fort.  They  were  just  reaching 
the  selected  spot  and  settling  into  ambush  when  the  flank ing-parties  of 
the  English  came  in  sight.  The  French  fired ;  the  Indians  yelled  and 
slunk  into- their  hiding-places,  and  the  battle  began. 

If  Gage  had  at  once  thrown  forward  his  forces  to  the  support  of 

the  guards,  the  day  could  have  been 
saved ;  but  he  was  confused  and  un¬ 
decided.  The  flanking  parties  were 
driven  in,  leaving  their  six-pounders 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Gage’s 
men  wavered,  and  were  mixed  in  the 
thickset  underwood  with  a  regiment 
which  Braddock  had  pushed  forward 
to  the  rescue.  The  confusion  became 
greater,  and  there  were  symptoms  of 
a  panic.  The  men  fired  constantly, 
but  could  see  no  enemy.  Every 
volley  from  the  hidden  foe  flew  with 
deadly  certainty  into  the  crowded 
ranks  of  the  English.  The  rash  but 

SCENE  OE  BRADBOCK’S  DEFEAT,  1755.  We  t()  ^ 

rallied  his  men  with  the  energy  of  despair;  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  The 
men  stood  huddled  together  like  sheep,  or  fled  in  terror  to  the  rear.  The 
forest  was  strewn  with  the  dead ;  the  savages,  emboldened  by  their  unex¬ 
pected  success,  crept  farther  and  farther  along  the  flanks;  and  the  battle 
became  a  rout.  Braddock  had  five  horses  shot  under  him  ;  his  secretary 
was  killed ;  both  his  English  aids  were  disabled ;  only  Washington  re¬ 
mained  to  distribute  orders.  Out  of  eighty-two  officers  twenty-six  were 
killed  and  thirty-seven  wounded.  Of  the  privates  seven  hundred  and 
fourteen  were  dead  or  bleeding  with  wounds.  At  last  the  general  re¬ 
ceived  a  ball  in  his  right  side  and  sank  fainting  to  the  ground.  “What 
shall  we  do  now,  colonel  ?”  said  he  to  Washington,  who  came  to  his  assist¬ 
ance.  “  Retreat,  sir — retreat  by  all  means,”  replied  the  young  hero,  upon 
whom  everything  now  depended.  His  own  bosom  had  been  for  more 
than  two  hours  a  special  target  for  the  savages.  Two  horses  had  fallen 
under  him,  and  four  times  his  coat  had  been  torn  with  balls.  A  Shawnee 
chief  singled  him  out  and  bade  his  warriors  do  the  same ;  but  their  volleys 


FALL  OF  BRADDOCK, 


RUIN  OF  ACADIA. 


261 


Went  by  harmless.  The  retreat  began  at  once,  and  the  thirty  Virginians, 
who,  with  Washington,  were  all  that  remained  alive,  covered  the  flight  of 
the  ruined  army.  The  artillery,  provisions,  baggage  and  private  papers 
of  the  general  were  left  on  the  field. 

The  losses  of  the  French  and  Indians  were  slight,  amounting  to 
three  officers  and  thirty  men  killed,  and  as  many  others  wounded.  There 
was  no  attempt  made  at  pursuit.  The  savages  fairly  reveled  in  the  spoils 
of  the  battle-field.  They  had  never  known  so  rich  a  harvest  of  scalps 
and  booty.  The  tawny  chiefs  returned  to  Fort  du  Quesne  clad  in  the 
laced  coats,  military  boots  and  cockades  of  the  British  officers.  The 
dying  Braddock  was  borne  in  the  train  of  the  fugitives.  Once  he  roused 
himself  to  say,  “  Who  would  have  thought  it?”  and  again,  “  We  shall 
better  know  how  to  deal  with  them  another  time.”  On  the  evening  of 
the  fourth  day  he  died,  and  was  buried  by  the  roadside  a  mile  west  of  Fort 
Necessity.  When  the  fugitives  reached  Dunbar’s  camp,  the  confusion  was 
greater  than  ever.  Dunbar  was  a  man  of  feeble  capacity  and  no  courage ; 
pretending  to  have  the  orders  of  the  dying  general,  he  proceeded  to  de¬ 
stroy  the  remaining  artillery,  the  heavy  baggage,  and  all  the  public  stores, 
to  the  value  of  a  hundred  thousand  pounds.  Then  followed  a  precipitate 
retreat  to  Fort  Cumberland,  and  then  an  abandonment  of  that  place  for 
the  safer  precincts  of  Philadelphia.  It  was  only  the  beginning  of  August, 
yet  Dunbar  pleaded  the  necessity  of  finding  winter  quarters  for  his  forces. 
The  great  expedition  of  Braddock  had  ended  in  such  a  disaster  as  spread 
sonsternation  and  gloom  over  all  the  colonies. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

RUIN  OF  ACADIA. 

BY  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  made  in  1713,  the  province  of  Acadia,  or  Nova 
Scotia,  was  ceded  by  France  to  England.  During  the  following  fifty 
years  the  colony  remained  under  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain,  and  was 
ruled  by  English  officers.  But  the  great  majority  of  the  .people  were 
French,  and  the  English  government  amounted  only  to  a  military  occu¬ 
pation  of  the  peninsula.  The  British  colors,  floating  over  Louisburg  and 
Annapolis,  and  the  presence  of  British  garrisons  here  and  there,  were  the 
only  tokens  that  this,  the  oldest  French  colony  in  America,  had  passed 
under  the  control  of  foreigners. 


262 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


At  the  time  of  the  cession  the  population  amounted  to  about  three 
thousand;  by  the  outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  the  number 
had  increased  to  more  than  sixteen  thousand.  Lawrence,  the  deputy- 
governor  of  the  province,  pretended  to  fear  an  insurrection.  When  Brad- 
dock  and  the  colonial  governors  convened  at  Alexandria,  it  was  urged 
that  something  must  be  done  to  overawe  the  French  and  strengthen  the 
English  authority  in  Acadia.  The  enterprise  of  reducing  the  French 
peasants  to  complete  humiliation  was  entrusted  to  Lawrence,  who  was 
to  be  assisted  by  a  British  fleet  under  Colonel  Monckton.  On  the  20th  of 
May,  1755,  the  squadron,  with  three  thousand  troops,  sailed  from  Boston 
for  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

The  French  had  but  two  fortified  posts  in  the  province ;  both  of 
these  were  on  the  isthmus  which  divides  Nova  Scotia  from  New  Bruns¬ 
wick.  The  first  and  most  important  fortress,  named  Beau -Sej  our,  was  sit¬ 
uated  near  the  mouth  of  Messagouche 
Creek,  at  the  head  of  Chignecto  Bay. 
The  other  fort,  a  mere  stockade  called 
Gaspereau,  was  on  the  north  side  of 
16  the  isthmus,  at  Bay  Verte.  De  Ver- 
gor,  the  French  commandant,  had 
no  intimation  of  approaching  danger 
till  the  English  fleet  sailed  fearlessly 
into  the  bay  and  anchored  before  the 
walls  of  Beau-Sejour.  There  was  no 
preparation  for  defence.  On  the  3d 
«  of  June  the  English  forces  landed, 
and  on  the  next  day  forced  their  way 
across  the  Messagouche.  A  vigorous 
siege  of  four  days  followed.  Fear  and  confusion  reigned  among  the  gar¬ 
rison  ;  no  successful  resistance  could  be  offered.  On  the  16th  of  the  month 
Beau-Sejour  capitulated,  received  an  English  garrison  and  took  the  name 
of  Fort  Cumberland.  The  feeble  post  at  Gaspereau  was  taken  a  few  days 
afterward,  and  named  Fort  Monckton.  Captain  Rous  was  despatched  with 
four  vessels  to  capture  the  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John’s;  but  before 
the  fleet  could  reach  its  destination,  the  French  reduced  the  town  to  ashes 
and  escaped  into  the  interior.  In  a  campaign  of  less  than  a  month,  and 
with  a  loss  of  only  twenty  men,  the  English  had  made  themselves  masters 
of  the  whole  country  east  of  the  St.  Croix. 

The  war  in  Acadia  was  at  an  end ;  but  what  should  be  done  with 
the  people?  The  French  inhabitants  still  outnumbered  the  English 
nearly  three  to  one.  Governor  Lawrence  and  Admiral  Boscawen,  in  con- 


RUIN  OF  ACADIA. 


263 


ference  with  the  chief  justice  of  the  province,  settled  upon  the  atrocious 
measure  of  driving  the  people  into  banishment.  The  first  movement  was 
to  demand  an  oath  of  allegiance  which  was  so  framed  that  the  French,  as 
honest  Catholics,  could  not  take  it.  The  priests  advised  the  peasants  to 
declare  their  loyalty,  but  refuse  the  oath,  which  was  meant  to  ensnare  their 
souls.  The  next  step  on  the  part  of  the  English  was  to  accuse  the  Frencn 
of  treason,  and  to  demand  the  surrender  of  all  their  firearms  and  boats. 
To  this  measure  the  broken-hearted  people  also  submitted.  They  even 
offered  to  take  the  oath,  but  Lawrence  declared  that,  having  once  refused, 
they  must  now  take  the  consequences.  The  British  vessels  were  made 
readv,  and  the  work  of  forcible  embarkation  began. 

The  country  about  the  isthmus  was  covered  with  peaceful  hamlets. 


THE  EXILE  OF  THE  ACADIANS.* 

These  were  now  laid  waste,  and  the  people  driven  into  the  larger  towns  on 
the  coast.  Others  were  induced  by  artifice  and  treachery  to  put  them¬ 
selves  into  the  power  of  the  English.  Wherever  a  sufficient  number  of 
the  French  could  be  gotten  together  they  were  driven  on  shipboard. 
They  were  allowed  to  take  their  wives  and  children  and  as  much  property 
as  would  not  be  inconvenient  on  the  vessels.  The  estates  of  the  province 
were  confiscated,  and  what  could  not  be  appropriated  was  given  to  the 

*  Longfellow’s  Evangeline  is  founded  on  this  incident. 


264 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


flames.  The  wails  of  thousands  of  bleeding  hearts  were  wafted  to  heaven 
with  the  smoke  of  burning  homes.  At  the  village  of  Grand  Pre  four 
hundred  and  eighteen  unarmed  men  were  called  together  and  shut  up  in 
a  church.  Then  came  the  wives  and  children,  the  old  men  and  the 
mothers,  the  sick  and  the  infirm,  to  share  the  common  fate.  The  whole 
company  numbered  more  than  nineteen  hundred  souls.  The  poor  crea¬ 
tures  were  driven  down  to  the  shore,  forced  into  the  boats  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  and  carried  to  the  vessels  in  the  bay.  As  the  moaning 
fugitives  cast  a  last  look  at  their  pleasant  town,  a  column  of  black  smoke 
floating  seaward  told  the  story  of  desolation.  More  than  three  thousand 
of  the  hapless  Acadians  were  carried  away  by  the  British  squadron  and 
scattered,  helpless,  half  starved  and  dying,  among  the  English  colonies 
The  history  of  civilized  nations  furnishes  no  parallel  to  this  wanton  and 
wicked  destruction  of  an  inoffensive  colony. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

EXPEDITIONS  OF  SHIRLEY  AND  JOHNSON. 

THE  third  campaign  planned  by  Braddock  at  Alexandria  was  to  be 
conducted  by  Governor  Shirley  of  Massachusetts.  The  expedition 
was  to  proceed  from  Albany  to  Oswego,  and  thence  by  water  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Niagara.  It  was  known  that  Fort  Niagara  was  an  insig¬ 
nificant  post,  depending  for  its  defence  upon  a  small  ditch,  a  rotten 
palisade  and  a  feeble  garrison.  To  capture  this  place,  to  obtain  command 
of  the  river,  and  to  cut  off  the  communications  of  the  French  by  way  of 
the  lakes,  were  the  objects  of  the  campaign.  “  Fort  du  Quesne  can  hardly 
detain  me  more  than  three  or  four  days,”  said  Braddock  to  Shirley,  “  and 
then  I  will  meet  you  at  Niagara.” 

In  the  early  part  of  August,  Shirley  set  out  at  the  head  of  nearly 
two  thousand  men.  It  was  the  last  of  the  month  before  he  reached 
Oswego.  Here  the  provincial  forces  had  been  ordered  to  assemble.  Four 
weeks  were  spent  in  preparing  boats  for  embarkation.  When  everything 
was  in  readiness,  a  storm  arose ;  and  when  the  storm  abated,  the  winds  blew 
in  the  wrong  direction.  Then  came  another  tempest  and  another  delay ; 
then  sickness  prevailed  in  the  camp.  With  the  beginning  of  October 


EXPEDITIONS  OF  SHIRLEY  AND  JOHNSON. 


2G5 


Shirley  declared  the  lake  to  be  dangerous  for  navigation.  The  Indians 
deserted  the  standard  of  a  leader  whose  skill  in  war  consisted  in  framing 
excuses.  The  fact  was  that  the  general,  while  on  the  march  to  Oswego, 
had  learned  of  the  destruction  of  Braddock’s  army,  and  feared  that  a  sim¬ 
ilar  fate  might  overtake  his  own.  On  the  24th  of  October  the  greater 
part  of  the  provincial  forces,  led  by  Shirley,  marched  homeward.  Only 
one  result  of  any  importance  fol loved  from  the  campaign — the  fort  at 
Oswego  was  well  rebuilt  and  garrisoned  with  seven  hundred  men  under 
Mercer. 

Far  more  important  was  the  expedition  entrusted  to  General  Wil¬ 
liam  Johnson.  The  object  had  in  view  was  to  capture  the  enemy’s  fort¬ 
ress  at  Crown  Point,  and  to  drive  the  French  from  the  shores  of  Lake 
Champlain.  Johnson’s  army  numbered  three  thousand  four  hundred 
men,  including  a  body  of  friendly  Mohawks.  The  active  work  of  the 
campaign  began  early  in  August,  when  General  Phineas  Lyman,  at  the 
head  of  the  New  England  troops,  proceeded  to  the  Hudson  above  Albany, 
and  at  a  point  just  below  where  the  river  bends  ab¬ 
ruptly  to  the  west  built  Fort  Edward.  Thither  in 
the  last  days  of  summer  came  the  commanding  general 
with  the  main  division.  The  watershed  between  the- 
Hudson  and  Lake  George  is  only  twelve  miles  wide. 

Johnson’s  army  marched  across  to  the  head  of  the  lake 
and  laid  out  a  commodious  camp.  A  week  was  spent 
in  bringing  forward  the  artillery  and  stores.  The 
soldiers  were  busy  preparing  boats  for  embarkation, 
and  the  important  matter  of  fortifying  the  camp  was 
wholly  neglected. 

In  the  mean  time,  Dieskau,  the  daring  command¬ 
ant  at  Crown  Point,  determined  to  anticipate  the 
movements  of  the  English.  With  a  force  of  fourteen 
hundred  French,  Canadians  and  Indians  he  sailed  up 
Lake  Champlain  to  South  Bay.  From  this  point  he  marched  to  the 
upper  springs  of  Wood  Creek,  intending  to  strike  to  the  south,  pass  the 
English  army  and  capture  Fort  Edward  before  the  alarm  could  be  given. 
But  the  news  was  carried  to  General  Johnson ;  and  a  force  of  a  thousand 
men  under  command  of  Colonel  Williams,  accompanied  by  Hendrick,  the 
gray-haired  chieftain  of  the  Mohawks,  with  two  hundred  warriors,  was 
sent  to  the  relief  of  the  endangered  fort.  On  the  previous  night  Dieskau’s 
guides  had  led  him  out  of  his  course.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of 
September  the  French  general  found  himself  and  his  army  about  four 
miles  north  of  Fort  Edward,  on  the  main  road  from  the  Hudson  to  Lake 


**  F.o  rt'A  a 

.TameYielcl 
(J  len^F.^Ua2/^San3y  B 

TrortEitt?! 


vicinity  op  lake 
GEORGE,  1755. 


266 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


George.  Just  at  this  time  Colonel  Williams’s  regiment  and  the  Mohawks 
came  in  sight,  marching  toward  the  fort.  Dieskau  quickly  formed  an 
ambush,  and  the  English  were  entrapped ;  but  the  Indian  allies  of  the 
French  showed  themselves  to  their  countrymen,  and  would  not  fire.  The 
Canadians  and  the  French  poured  in  a  deadly  volley ;  both  Williams  and 
Hendrick  fell  dead,  and  the  English  were  thrown  into  confusion.  But 
Colonel  Whiting  rallied  the  troops,  returned  the  enemy’s  fire,  and  re¬ 
treated  toward  the  lake.  St.  Pierre,  one  of  the  French  generals,  was 
killed. 

The  noise  of  battle  was  heard  in  Johnson’s  camp,  and  preparations 
were  made  for  a  general  engagement.  There  were  no  entrenchments,  but 
trees  were  hastily  felled  for  breastworks,  and  the  cannons  were  brought 
into  position.  It  was  Dieskau’s  plan  to  rush  into  the  English  camp 
along  with  the  fugitives  whom  he  was  driving  before  him ;  but  the  In¬ 
dians,  afraid  of  Johnson’s  guns,  would  not  join  in  the  assault ;  the  Bed 
men  retired  to  a  hill  at  a  safe  distance.  The  Canadians  were  disheartened ; 
and  the  handful  of  French  regulars  made  the  onset  almost  unsupported. 
It  was  the  fiercest  battle  which  had  yet  been  fought  on  American  soil. 
For  five  hours  the  conflict  wTas  incessant.  In  the  beginning  of  the  engage¬ 
ment  Johnson  received  a  slight  wound  and  left  the  field ;  but  the  troops 
of  New  England  fought  on  without  a  commander.  Nearly  all  of  Dieskau’s 
regulars  were  killed.  At  last  the  English  troops  leaped  over  the  fallen 
trees,  charged  across  the  field,  and  completed  the  rout.  Three  times 
Dieskau  was  wounded,  but  he  would  not  retire.  His  aids  came  to  bear 
him  off ;  one  was  shot  dead,  and  he  forbade  the  others.  He  ordered  his 
servants  to  bring  him  his  military  dress,  and  then  seated  himself  on  the 
stump  of  a  tree.  A  renegade  Frenchman  belonging  to  the  English  army 
rushed  up  to  make  him  a  prisoner.  The  wounded  general  felt  for  his 
watch  to  tender  it  in  token  of  surrender.  The  Frenchman,  thinking  that- 
Dieskau  wras  searching  for  a  pistol,  fired,  and  the  brave  commander  fell, 
mortally  wounded. 

The  victory,  though  complete,  was  dearly  purchased.  Two  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixteen  of  the  English  were  killed,  and  many  others  wounded. 
General  Johnson,  who  had  done  but  little,  was  greatly  praised ;  Parliament 
made  him  a  baronet  for  gaining  a  victory  which  the  provincials  gained 
for  him.  Made  wiser  by  the  battle,  he  now  constructed  on  the  site  of  his 
camp  a  substantial  fort,  and  named  it  William  Henry.  The  defences  of 
Fort  Edward  were  strengthened  with  an  additional  garrison,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  troops  returned  to  their  homes.  Meanwhile,  the  French 
had  reinforced  Crown  Point,  and  had  seized  and  fortified  Ticonderoga. 
Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  at  the  close  of  1755. 


TWO  YEARS  OF  DISASTER. 


267 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

TWO  YEARS  OF  DISASTER. 

AFTER  the  death  of  Braddock  the  chief  command  of  the  English 
forces  in  America  was  given  to  Governor  Shirley.  But  no  regular 
military  organization  had  been  effected ;  and  the  war  was  carried  on  in  a 
desultory  manner.  Braddock  had  ruined  one  army ;  Shirley  had  scat¬ 
tered  another.  On  Lake  George,  Johnson  had  achieved  a  marked  suc¬ 
cess.  In  the  beginning  of  1756,  Washington  at  the  head  of  the  Vir¬ 
ginian  provincials  repelled  the  French  and  Indians  in  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah.  At  the  same  time  the  Pennsylvania  volunteers,  choosing 
Franklin  for  their  colonel,  marched  to  the  banks  of  the  Lehigh,  built  a 
fort,  and  made  a  successful  campaign.  In  the  preceding  December, 
Shirley  met  the  colonial  governors  at  New  York  and  planned  the  move¬ 
ments  for  the  following  year.  One  expedition,  proceeding  by  way  of  the 
Kennebec,  was  to  threaten  Quebec.  F orts  F rontenac,  Toronto  and  Niagara 
were  to  be  taken.  Du  Quesne,  Detroit  and  Mackinaw,  deprived  of  their 
communications,  must  of  course  surrender. 

In  the  mean  time,  after  *much  debate  in  Parliament,  it  was  decided 
to  consolidate  and  put  under  one  authority  all  the  military  forces  in 
America.  The  earl  of  Loudoun  received  Ihe  appointment  of  commander- 
in-chief.  General  Abercrombie  was  second  in  rank ;  and  forty  British 
and  German  officers  were  commissioned  to  organize  and  discipline  the 
colonial  army.  In  the  last  of  April,  1756,  Abercrombie,  with  two  bat¬ 
talions  of  regulars,  sailed  for  New  York.  Lord  Loudoun  was  to  follow 
with  a  fleet  of  transports,  bearing  the  artillery,  tents,  ammunition  and 
equipage  of  the  expedition.  The  commander  waited  a  month  for  his 
vessels,  and  then  sailed  without  them.  On  the  15th  of  June  a  man-of- 
war  was  despatched  to  America  with  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  to  reim¬ 
burse  the  colonies  for  the  expenses  of  the  previous  campaigns.  At  the 
same  time  the  corps  of  British  officers  arrived  at  New  York.  Meanwhile, 
on  the  17th  of  May,  Great  Britain,  after  nearly  two  years  of  actual  hos¬ 
tilities,  made  an  open  declaration  of  war,  which  was  followed  by  a  similar 
declaration  on  the  part  of  France. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  Abercrombie  reached  Albany.  He  began  his 
great  campaign  by  surveying  the  town,  digging  a  ditch  and  quartering 


268 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


his  soldiers  with  the  citizens.  In  July,  Lord  Loudoun  arrived  and 
assumed  the  command  of  the  colonial  army.  The  French,  meanwhile, 
profiting  by  these  delays,  organized  a  force  of  more  than  five  thousand 
men,  crossed  Lake  Ontario  and  laid  siege  to  Oswego.  The  marquis  of 
Montcalm,  who  had  succeeded  Dieskau  as  commander-in-chief,  led  the 
expedition.  At  the  mouth  of  Oswego  River  there  were  two  forts ;  the 
old  block-house  on  the  west  and  the  new  Fort  Ontario  on  the  east.  The 
latter  was  first  attacked.  Thirty  pieces  of  cannon  were  brought  to  bear 
on  the  fortress.  After  a  brave  defence  of  one  day,  the  little  garrison 
abandoned  the  works  and  escaped  to  the  old  fort  across  the  river.  This 
place  was  also  invested  by  the  French.  For  two  days  the  English,  num¬ 
bering  only  fourteen  hundred,  held  out  against  the  besiegers,  and  then  sur¬ 
rendered.  A  vast  amount  of  ammunition,  small  arms,  accoutrements 
and  provisions  fell  to  the  captors.  Six  vessels  of  war,  three  hundred 
boats,  a  hundred  and  twenty  cannon  and  three  chests  of  money  were  the 
further  fruits  of  a  victory  by  which  France  gained  the  only  important 
outpost  of  England  on  the  lakes.  To  please  his  Indian  allies,  Montcalm 
ordered  Oswego  to  be  razed  to  the  ground. 

During  this  summer  the  Delawares,  false  to  their  treaty,  rose  in 
Western  Pennsylvania  and  almost  ruined  the  country.  More  than  a 
thousand  people  were  killed  or  carried  into  captivity.  In  August,  Colonel 
John  Armstrong,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  volunteers,  crossed  the 
Alleghanies,  and  after  a  twenty  days’  march  reached  the  Indian  town  of  Kit- 
taning,  forty-five  miles  north-east  from  Pittsburg.  Lying  in  concealment 
until  daydawn  on  the  morning  of  September  8th,  the  English  rose  against 
the  savages,  and  after  a  desperate  battle  destroyed  them  almost  to  a  man. 
The  village  was  burned  and  the  spirit  of  the  barbarians  completely  broken. 
The  Americans  lost  sixteen  men.  Colonel  Armstrong  and  Captain  Hugh 
Mercer,  afterward  distinguished  in  the  Revolution,  were  both  severely 
wounded. 

Lord  Loudoun  continued  at  Albany.  His  forces  were  amply  suffi¬ 
cient  to  capture  every  stronghold  of  Canada  in  the  space  of  six  weeks. 
Instead  of  marching  boldly  to  the  north,  he  whiled  away  the  summer  and 
fall,  talked  about  an  attack  from  the  Ifrench,  digged  ditches,  slandered 
the  provincial  officers  and  waited  for  winter.  When  the  frosts  came,  he 
made  haste  to  distribute  the  colonial  troops  and  to  quarter  the  regulars  on 
the  principal  towns.  The  vigilant  French,  learning  what  sort  of  a  general 
they  had  to  cope  with,  crowded  Lake  Champlain  with  boats,  strengthened 
Crown  Point  and  completed  a  fort  at  Ticonderoga.  With  the  exception 
of  Armstrong’s  expedition  against  the  Indians,  the  year  1756  closed  with¬ 
out  a  single  substantial  success  on  the  part  of  the  English. 


TWO  YEARS  OF  DISASTER. 


269 


And  the  year  1757  was  equally  disastrous.  The  campaign  which 
was  planned  by  Loudoun  was  limited  to  the  conquest  of  Louisburg.  Ever 
since  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  the  French  had  retained  Cape  Breton;  and 
the  fortress  at  Louisburg  had  been  made  one  of  the  strongest  on  the  con¬ 
tinent.  On  the  20th  of  June,  Lord  Loudoun  sailed  from  New  York  with 
an  army  of  six  thousand  regulars.  By  the  first  of  July  he  was  at  Hal¬ 
ifax,  where  he  was  joined  by  Admiral  Holbourn  with  a  powerful  fleet  of 
sixteen  men-of-war.  There  were  on  board  five  thousand  additional 
troops  fresh  from  the  armies  of  England.  Never  was  such  a  use  made  of 
a  splendid  armament.  Loudoun  landed  before  Halifax,  cleared  off  a  mus¬ 
tering  plain,  and  set  his  officers  to  drilling  regiments  already  skilled  in 
every  manoeuvre  of  war.  To  heighten  the  absurdity,  the  fields  about  the 
c,ity  were  planted  with  onions.  For  it  was  said  that  the  men  might  take 
the  scurvy !  By  and  by  the  news  came  that  the  French  vessels  in  the 
harbor  of  Louisburg  outnumbered  by  one  the  ships  of  the  English  squad¬ 
ron.  To  attack  a  force  that  seemed  superior  to  his  own  was  not  a  part  of 
Loudoun’s  tactics.  Ordering  the  fleet  to  go  cruising  around  Cape  Breton, 
he  immediately  embarked  with  his  army,  and  sailed  for  New  York. 
Arriving  at  this  place,  he  proposed  to  his  officers  to  fortify  Long  Island 
in  order  to  defend  the  continent  against  an  enemy  whom  he  outnumbered 
four  to  one. 

Meanwhile,  the  daring  Montcalm  had  made  a  brilliant  campaign  in 
the  country  of  Lake  George.  With  a  force  of  six  thousand  French  and 
Canadians  and  seventeen  hundred  Indians  he  proceeded  up  the  Sorel, 
entered  Lake  Champlain,  and  reached  Ticonderoga.  The  object  of  the 
expedition  was  to  capture  and  destroy  Fort  William  Henry.  The  French 
and  the  Iroquois,  who  had  now  abandoned  the  cause  of  the  colonies,  were 
fired  with  enthusiasm.  Dragging  their  artillery  and  boats  across  the 
portage  to  Lake  George,  they  re-embarked,  and  on  the  3d  of  August  laid 
siege  to  the  English  fort.  The  place  was  defended  by  only  five  hundred 
men  under  the  brave  Colonel  Monro ;  but  there  were  seventeen  hundred 
additional  troops  within  supporting  distance  in  the  adjacent  trenches.  All 
this  while  General  Webb  was  at  Fort  Edward,  but  fourteen  miles  distant, 
with  an.  army  of  more  than  four  thousand  British  regulars.  Instead  of 
advancing  to  the  relief  of  Fort  William  Henry,  Webb  held  a  council  to 
determine  if  it  were  not  better  to  retire  to  Albany,  and  sent  a  message  to 
Colonel  Monro  advising  capitulation. 

For  six  days  the  French  pressed  the  siege  with  vigor.  The  ammu¬ 
nition  of  the  garrison  was  nearly  exhausted  ;  half  of  the  guns  were  burst ; 
nothing  remained  but  to  surrender.  Honorable  terms  were  granted.  The 
English,  retaining  their  private  effects,  were  released  on  a  pledge  not  to 


270 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


re-enter  the  service  for  eighteen  months.  A  safe  escort  was  promised  to 
Fort  Edward.  On  the  9th  of  August  the  French  took  possession  of  the 
fortress.  Unfortunately,  the  Indians  procured  a  quantity  of  spirits  from 
the  English  camp.  Maddened  with  intoxication,  and  in  spite  of  the 
utmost  exertions  of  Montcalm  and  his  officers,  the  savages  fell  upon  the 
prisoners  and  began  a  massacre.  Thirty  of  the  English  were  tomahawked 
and  many  others  dragged  away  into  captivity.  The  retirement  of  the 
garrison  to  Fort  Edward  became  a  panic  and  a  rout. 

Such  had  been  the  successes  of  France  during  the  year  that  the 
English  had  not  a  single  hamlet  or  fortress  remaining  in  the  whole  basin 
of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Every  cabin  where  English  was  spoken  had  been 
swept  out  of  the  Ohio  valley.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1757,  France  pos¬ 
sessed  twenty  times  as  much  American  territory  as  England ;  and  five 
times  as  much  as  England  and  Spain  together.  Such  had  been  the  im¬ 
becility  of  the  English  management  in  America  that  the  flag  of  Great 
Britain  was  brought  into  disgrace. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

TWO  YEARS  OF  SUCCESSES. 

aREAT  was  the  discouragement  in  England.  The  duke  of  Newcastle 
and  his  associates  in  the  government  were  obliged  to  resign.  A  new 
ministry  was  formed,  at  the  head  of  which  was  placed  that  remarkable 
man  William  Pitt,  called  the  Great  Commoner.  The  imbecile  Lord 
Loudoun  was  deposed  from  the  American  army.  General  Abercrombie 
was  appointed  to  succeed  him ;  but  the  main  reliance  for  success  wras 
placed,  not  so  much  on  the  commander-in-chief,  as  on  an  efficient  corps 
of  subordinate  officers  whom  the  wisdom  of  Pitt  now  directed  to  America. 
Admiral  Boscawen  was  put  in  command  of  the  fleet,  consisting  of  twenty- 
two  ships  of  the  line  and  fifteen  frigates.  The  able  general  Amherst  was 
to  lead  a  division.  Young  Lord  Howe,  brave  and  amiable,  was  next  in 
rank  to  Abercrombie.  The  gallant  James  Wolfe  led  a  brigade.  General 
Forbes  held  an  important  command;  and  Colonel  Richard  Montgomery 
was  at  the  head  of  a  regiment. 

Three  campaigns  were  planned  for  1758.  Amherst,  acting  in  con- 


TWO  YEARS  OF  SUCCESSES. 


271 


junction  with  the  fleet,  was  to  capture  Louisburg.  Lord  Howe,  under 
the  direction  of  the  commander-in-chief,  was  to  reduce  Crown  Point 
and  Ticonderoga.  The  recovery  of  the  Ohio  valley  was  entrusted  to 
General  Forbes.  On  the  28th  of  May,  Amherst,  at  the  head  of  ten 
thousand  effective  men,  reached  Halifax.  In  six  days  more  the  fleet  was 
anchored  in  Gabarus  Bay.  Wolfe  put  his  division  into  boats,  rowed 
through  the  surf  under  fire  of  the  French  batteries,  and  gained  the  shore 
without  serious  loss.  The  French  dismantled  their  battery  and  retreated. 
Wolfe  next  gained  possession  of  the  north-east  harbor  and  planted  heavy 
guns  on  the  cape  near  the  lighthouse.  From  this  position  the  island 
battery  of  the  French  was  soon  silenced.  Louisburg  was  fairly  invested, 
and  the  siege  was  pressed  with  great  vigor.  On  the  21st  of  July  three 
French  vessels  were  burned  in  the  harbor.  Two  days  later,  the  Prudent, 
a  seventy-four  gun  ship,  was  fired  and  destroyed  by  the  English  boats. 
The  town  was  already  a  heap  of  ruins,  and  the  walls  of  the  fortress  began 
to  crumble.  For  a  whole  week  the  French  soldiers  had  no  place  where 
they  could  rest  in  safety  ;  of  their  fifty -two  cannon  only  twelve  remained 
in  position.  Further  resistance  was  hopeless.  On  the  28th  of  July 
Louisburg  capitulated.  Cape  Breton  and  Prince  Edward’s  Island  were  sur¬ 
rendered  to  Great  Britain.  The  garrison,  together  with  the  marines,  in 
all  nearly  six  thousand  men,  became  prisoners  of  war  and  were  sent  to 
England.  Amherst  after  his  great  success  abandoned  Louisburg,  and  the 
fleet  took  station  at  Halifax. 

Meanwhile,  General  Abercrombie  had  not  been  idle.  On  the  5th  of 
July  an  army  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  led  by  Lord  Howe,  reached  Lake 
George  and  embarked  for  Ticonderoga.  With  heavy  guns  and  abundant 
stores  the  expedition  proceeded  to  the  northern  extremity  of  the  lake  and 
landed  on  the  western  shore.  The  country  about  the  French  fortress  was 
very  unfavorable  for  military  operations.  The  English  proceeded  with 
great  difficulty,  leaving  their  artillery  behind.  Lord  Howe  led  the  ad¬ 
vance  in  person.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th,  when  the  English  were 
nearing  the  fort,  they  fell  in  with  the  picket  line  of  the  French,  number¬ 
ing  no  more  than  three  hundred.  A  severe  skirmish  ensued;  the  French 
were  overwhelmed,  but  not  until  they  had  inflicted  on  the  English  a 
terrible  loss  in  the  death  of  Lord  Howe.  The  soldiers  were  stricken  with 
grief,  and  began  a  retreat  to  the  landing.  Abercrombie  was  in  the  rear, 
but  the  soul  of  the  expedition  had  departed. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  the  English  engineer  reported  falsely 
that  the  fortifications  of  Ticonderoga  were  flimsy  and  trifling.  Again  the 
army  was  put  in  motion ;  and  when  just  beyond  the  reach  of  the  French 
guns,  the  divisions  were  arranged  to  carry  the  place  by  assault.  For  more 


272 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


than  four  hours  column  after  column  dashed  with  great  bravery  against 
the  breastworks  of  the  enemy,  which  were  found  to  be  strong  and  well 
constructed.  The  defence  was  made  by  nearly  four  thousand  French 
under  Montcalm,  who,  with  coat  off  in  the  hot  July  afternoon,  was  every¬ 
where  present  encouraging  his  men.  At  six  o’clock  in  the  evening  the 
English  were  finally  repulsed.  The  carnage  was  dreadful,  the  loss  on  the 
side  of  the  assailants  amounting  in  killed  and  wounded  to  nineteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixteen.  In  no  battle  of  the  Revolution  did  the  British  have  so 
large  a  force  engaged  or  meet  so  terrible  a  loss. 

The  English  still  outnumbered  the  French  three  to  one;  and  they 
might  have  easily  returned  with  their  artillery  and  captured  the  fort.  But 
Abercrombie  was  not  the  man  to  do  it.  He  returned  to  Fort  George,  at 
the  head  of  the  lake,  and  contented  himself  with  sending  a  force  of  three 
thousand  men  under  Colonel  Bradstreet  against  Fort  Frontenac.  This 
fortress  was  situated  on  the  present  site  of  Kingston,  at  the  outlet  of  Lake 
Ontario.  Marching  through  the  country  of  the  Indians  who  were  still 
friendly  to  the  English,  Bradstreet  reached  Oswego,  embarked  his  forces, 
crossed  the  lake  and  landed  within  a  mile  of  Frontenac.  The  place  was 
feebly  defended,  and  a  siege  of  two  days  compelled  a  capitulation.  The 
fortress,  so  important  to  the  French,  was  demolished.  Forty-six  cannon, 
nine  vessels  of  war  and  a  vast  quantity  of  stores  were  the  fruits  of  the 
victory.  Except  in  the  waste  of  life,  Bradstreet’s  success  more  than  coun¬ 
terbalanced  the  failure  of  the  English  at  Ticonderoga.  The  French  were 
everywhere  weakened  and  despairing.  In  Canada  the  crops  had  failed, 
and  there  was  almost  a  famine.  “  Peace,  peace,  no  matter  with  what 
boundaries,”  was  the  message  which  the  brave  Montcalm  sent  to  the 
French  ministry. 

Late  in  the  summer,  Forbes,  at  the  head  of  nine  thousand  men,  ad¬ 
vanced  from  Philadelphia  against  Fort  du  Quesne.  Washington  led  the 
Virginia  provincials,  and  Armstrong,  who  had  so  distinguished  himself 
at  Kittaning,  the  Pennsylvanians.  The  main  body  moved  slowly,  clear¬ 
ing  a  broad  road  and  bridging  the  streams.  Washington  and  the  pro¬ 
vincials  were  impatient.  Major  Grant,  more  rash  than  wise,  pressed  on 
to  within  a  few  miles  of  Du  Quesne.  Attempting  to  lead  the  French 
and  Indians  into  an  ambuscade,  he  was  himself  ambuscaded,  and  lost  a 
third  of  his  forces.  Slowly  the  main  division  approached  the  fort,  which 
was  defended  by  no  more  than  five  hundred  men.  On  the  24th  of  No¬ 
vember,  Washington  with  the  advance  was  within  ten  miles  of  Du 
Quesne.  During  that  night  the  garrison  took  the  alarm,  burned  the  fort¬ 
ress  and  floated  down  the  Ohio.  On  the  25th  the  victorious  army 
marched  over  the  ruined  bastions,  raised  the  English  flag,  and  named 


TWO  YEARS  OF  SUCCESSES. 


273 


the  place  Pittsburg.  The  name  of  the  great  British  minister  was  justly 
written  over  “  the  gateway  of  the  West.” 

General  Amherst  was  now  promoted  to  the  chief  command  of  the 
American  forces.  Parliament  cheerfully  voted  twelve  million  pounds 
sterling  to  carry  on  the  war.  The  colonies  exerted  themselves  to  the 
utmost.  By  the  beginning  of  summer,  1759,  the  British  and  colonial 
forces  numbered  nearly  fifty  thousand  men.  The  whole  population  of 
Canada  was  only  eighty-two  thousand;  and  the  entire  French  army 
scarcely  exceeded  seven  thousand.  Nothing  less  than  the  conquest  of  all 
Canada  would  satisfy  Pitt’s  ambition.  Three  campaigns  were  planned 
for  the  year.  General  Prideaux  was  to  conduct  an  expedition  against 
Niagara,  capture  the  fortress  and  descend  the  lake  to  Montreal.  Amherst 
was  to  lead  the  main  division  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 
General  Wolfe  was  to  proceed  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and  finish  the  work 
by  capturing  Quebec. 

By  way  of  Schenectady  and  Oswego,  Prideaux  led  his  forces  to 
Niagara.  On  the  10th  of  July  the  place  was  invested.  The  French 
general  D’Aubry  collected  from  Detroit,  Erie,  Le  Boeuf  and  Venango  a 
body  of  twelve  hundred  men,  and  marched  to  the  relief  of  the  fort.  On 
the  15th,  by  the  accidental  bursting  of  a  mortar,  General  Prideaux  was 
killed.  Sir  William  Johnson,  succeeding  to  the  command,  disposed  his 
forces  so  as  to  intercept  the  approaching  French.  On  the  morning  of  the 
24th,  D’Aubry’s  army  came  in  sight.  A  bloody  engagement  ensued,  in 
which  the  French  were  completely  routed,  leaving  their  unnumbered 
dead  scattered  for  miles  through  the  forest.  On  the  next  day  Niagara 
capitulated  and  received  an  English  garrison.  The  French  forces  in  the 
town,  to  the  number  of  six  hundred,  became  prisoners  of  war.  Commun¬ 
ication  between  Canada  and  Louisiana  was  for  ever  broken. 

At  the  same  time  Amherst  was  conquering  on  Lake  Champlain. 
With  an  army  of  more  than  eleven  thousand  men  he  proceeded  against 
Ticonderoga.  On  the  22d  of  July  the  English  forces  were  disembarked 
near  the  landing-place  of  Abercrombie.  The  French  did  not  dare  to 
stand  against  them.  There  was  a  slight  skirmish,  and  then  the  trenches 
were  deserted.  Fort  Carillon  was  given  up.  On  the  26th  the  French 
garrison,  having  partly  destroyed  the  fortifications,  abandoned  Ticon¬ 
deroga  and  retreated  to  Crown  Point.  Five  days  afterward  they  de¬ 
serted  this  place  also,  and  entrenched  themselves  on  Isle-aux-Noix,  in  the 
river  Sorel.  The  whole  country  of  Lake  Champlain  had  been  recovered 
without  a  battle. 

It  remained  for  General  Wolfe  to  achieve  the  final  victory.  As 
soon  as  a  tardy  spring  had  cleared  the  St.  Lawrence  of  ice,  he  began  the 

20 


274 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ascent  of  the  river.  His  force  consisted  of  nearly  eight  thousand  men, 
assisted  by  a  fleet  of  forty-four  vessels  under  command  of  Admiral  Saun¬ 
ders.  On  the  27th  of  June  the  armament  arrived  without  accident  at 
the  Isle  of  Orleans,  four  miles  below  Quebec.  The  English  camp  was 

pitched  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
island.  Wolfe’s  vessels  gave  him 
immediate  command  of  the  river, 
and  the  southern  bank  was  unde¬ 
fended.  On  the  night  of  the  29th, 
General  Monckton  was  sent  with  four 
battalions  to  seize  Point  Levi.  The 
movement  was  successful,  and  an 
English  battery  was  planted  opposite 
the  city.  From  this  position  the 
Lower  Town  was  soon  reduced  to 
ruins,  and  the  Upper  Town  much 
injured ;  but  the  fortress  seemed  im¬ 
pregnable.  The  French,  knowing 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  storm 
the  city  from  the  river  side,  had  drawn  their  line  of  entrenchment  from  the 
northern  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  reaching  for  five  miles  from  the 
Montmorenci  to  the  St.  Charles.  ,  Here  Montcalm  with  ten  or  twelve 
thousand  French  and  Canadians  awaited  the  movements  of  his  antagonist. 

Wolfe  was  restless  and  anxious  for  battle.  On  the  9th  of  July  he 
crossed  the  north  channel,  and  encamped  with  his  army  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Montmorenci.  It  was  determined  in  a  council  of  war  to  hazard 
an  engagement.  The  Montmorenci  was  fordable  when  the  tide  ran  out. 
The  attack  was  planned  for  July  31st,  at  the  hour  of  low  water.  Generals 
Townshend  and  Murray  were  ordered  to  ford  the  stream  with  their  two 
brigades,  and  at  the  same  time  Monckton’s  regiments  of  regulars  were  to 
cross  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Point  Levi  and  aid  in  the  assault.  The 
signal  was  given,  and  the  grenadiers  of  Murray  and  Townshend  dashed 
across  the  Montmorenci ;  but  the  boats  of  Monckton  ran  aground,  and  there 
was  considerable  delay.  The  impatient  grenadiers,  without  waiting  for 
orders  or  support,  rushed  forward  against  the  French  entrenchments,  and 
were  driven  back  with  great  loss.  Before  the  regulars  could  be  formed 
in  line  the  battle  was  decided.  Night  was  approaching ;  the  tide  rising ; 
a  storm  portended ;  and  Wolfe,  after  losing  nearly  five  hundred  men,  with¬ 
drew  to  his  camp. 

Disappointment,  exposure  and  fatigue  threw  the  English  general 
into  a  violent  fever,  and  for  many  days  he  was  confined  to  his  tent.  A 


VICINITY  OF  QUEBEC,  1759. 


TWO  YEARS  OF  SUCCESSES. 


275 


council  ol  officers  was  called,  and  the  indomitable  leader  proposed  a  second 
assault  on  the  French  lines.  But  the  proposition  was  overruled,  and  it 
was  decided  to  ascend 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
if  possible  gain  pos¬ 
session  of  the  Plains 
of  Abraham,  in  the 
rear  of  the  city.  The 
camp  on  the  Mont- 
morenci  was  accord¬ 
ingly  broken  up,  and 
on  the  6th  of  Septem¬ 
ber  the  troops  and  ar¬ 
tillery  were  conveyed 
to  Point  Levi.  Keep¬ 
ing  the  French  excited 
with  appearances  of 
activity,  Wolfe  again 
transferred  his  army  to 
a  point  several  miles 
up  the  river.  He  then 
busied  himself  with  a 
careful  examination  of 
the  northern  bank,  in 


GENERAL  JAMES  WOLFE. 


the  hope  of  finding 

some  path  among  the  precipitous  cliffs  by  which  to  gain  the  plains.  On 
the  11th  he  discovered  the  place  called  Wolfe’s  Cove,  and  decided  that 
here  it  was  possible  to  make  the  ascent.  Montcalm,  deceived  by  the 
movements  of  the  fleet,  was  still  in  the  trenches  below  the  city. 

On  the  night  of  the  12th  of  September  everything  was  in  readi¬ 
ness.  The  English  silently  entered  their  transports  and  dropped  down 
the  river  to  the  cove.  With  great  difficulty  the  soldiers  clambered  up 
the  almost  perpendicular  precipice ;  the  feeble  Canadian  guard  on  the 
summit  was  dispersed;  and  in  the  gray  dawn  of  morning  Wolfe  mar¬ 
shaled  his  army  for  battle.  Montcalm  was  in  amazement  when  he  heard 
the  news.  “  They  are  now  on  the  weak  side  of  this  unfortunate  town,” 
said  he ;  “  and  we  must  crush  them  before  mid-day.”  With  great  haste 
the  French  were  brought  from  the  trenches  and  thrown  between  Quebec 
and  the  advancing  English.  The  battle  began  with  an  hour’s  cannonade ; 
then  Montcalm  attempted  to  turn  the  English  flank,  but  was  beaten  back. 
The  Canadians  and  Indians  were  routed.  Then  came  the  weakened  bat- 


276 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


talions  of  the  French  ;  but  they  were  poorly  disciplined ;  the  ground  was 
uneven,  and  Montcalm’s  lines  advanced  brokenly.  The  English  reserved 
their  fire  until  the  advancing  columns  were  within  forty  yards,  and  then 
discharged  volley  after  volley.  The  French  wavered  and  were  in  con¬ 
fusion.  Wolfe,  leading  the  charge,  was  wounded  in  the  wrist.  Again 
he  was  struck,  but  pressed  on  at  the  head  of  his  grenadiers.  Just  at  the 
moment  of  victory  a  third  ball  pierced  his  breast,  and  he  sank  quivering 
to  the  earth.  “  They  run,  they  run  !”  said  the  attendant  who  bent  over 
him.  “  Who  run  ?”  was  the  feeble  response.  “  The  French  are  flying 
everywhere,”  replied  the  officer.  “  Do  they  run  already  ?  Then  I  die 
happy,”  said  the  expiring  hero;  and  his  spirit  passed  away  amid  the 
smoke  of  battle.  Monckton  was  dangerously  wounded  and  borne  from  the 
field.  Montcalm,  still  attempting  to  rally  his  broken  regiments,  was 
struck  with  a  ball,  and  fell.  “  Shall  I  survive  ?”  said  he  to  his  surgeon. 
“  But  a  few  hours  at  most,”  replied  the  attendant.  “  So  much  the  better,” 
replied  the  heroic  Frenchman.  “I  shall  not  live  to  witness  the  surrender 
of  Quebec.” 

Further  defence  of  the  Canadian  stronghold  was  useless.  Five 
days  after  the  battle  the  French  authorities  surrendered  to  General  Town- 
shend,  and  an  English  garrison  took  possession  of  the  citadel.  The  year 
1759  closed  with  the  complete  triumph  of  the  English  arms.  In  the 
following  spring  France  made  a  great  effort  to  recover  her  losses.  A  severe 
battle  was  fought  a  few  miles  west  of  Quebec,  and  the  English  were 
driven  into  the  city.  But  reinforcements  came,  and  the  French  were 
beaten  back.  On  the  8th  of  September,  in  the  same  year,  Montreal,  the 
last  important  post  of  France  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  surren¬ 
dered  to  General  Amherst.  Canada  had  passed  under  the  dominion  of 
England. 

In  the  spring  of  1760  the  Cherokees  of  Tennessee  rose  against  the 
English.  Fort  Loudoun,  in  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  the  State,  was 
besieged  by  the  Red  men,  and  forced  to  capitulate.  Honorable  terms  were 
promised  to  the  garrison  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  surrender  was  made,  the 
savages  fell  upon  their  prisoners  and  massacred  or  dragged  into  captivity 
the  whole  company.  Colonels  Montgomery  and  Grant  were  despatched 
by  General  Amherst  to  chastise, the  Indians.  After  a  vigorous  campaign 
the  savages  were  driven  into  the  mountains  and  compelled  to  sue  for 
peace. 

The  conquest  of  Canada  was  the  overthrow  of  the  French  power 
in  America.  It  remained,  however,  for  the  English  authorities  to 
take  actual  possession  of  the  immense  territory  bordering  on  the  Great 
Lakes.  At  the  time  of  the  capture  of  Montreal  this  vast  domain  was 


TWO  YEARS  OF  SUCCESSES. 


277 


held  by  feeble  fortresses,  scattered  here  and  there,  and  garrisoned  by- 
detachments  of  French  soldiers.  The  Marquis  of  Vaudreuil  in  sur¬ 
rendering  Montreal  had  stipulated  that  all  the  western  forts  under  the 
control  of  France  should  be  given  up  to  England.  In  the  fall  of  1760 
Major  Robert  Rogers  was  accordingly  despatched  by  General  Amherst, 
with  a  company  of  two  hundred  provincial  rangers,  to  receive  the  sur¬ 
render  of  the  outposts. 

By  the  last  of  November,  Rogers,  having  ascended  the  St.  Law¬ 
rence  and  passed  through  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  reached  Detroit, 
Over  this,  the  most  important  of  the  French  posts  in  the  West,  the 
English  flag  was  raised;  Forts  Miami  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  and  Ouatanon  on  the  Wabash  were  also  given  up  without 
resistance.  Rogers  then  pressed  on  to  take  possession  of  Mackinaw, 
Green  Bay  and  St.  Marie,  but  was  turned  back  by  the  storms  on  Lake 
Huron  ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  following  summer  that  those  remote 
fortresses  were  garrisoned  by  detachments  of  British  soldiers. 

No  sooner  were  the  English  in  complete  possession  of  the  coun¬ 
try  than  they  began  by  neglect  and  ill-treatment  to  excite  the  dor¬ 
mant  passions  of  the  Red  men.  During  the  progress  of  the  war  the 
Indians  had  become  completely  subordinated  by  French  influence; 
and  the  English  were  hated  with  all  the  ferocity  of  the  savage  na¬ 
ture.  It  was  not  long  till  there  were  mutterings  of  an  outbreak. 
The  tribes  could  not  be  made  to  comprehend  that  Canada  had  been 
finally  taken  from  their  friends,  the  French.  They  confidently  ex¬ 
pected  the  day  when  the  king  of  France  should  send  new  armies  and 
expel  the  detested  English.  Infatuated  with  this  belief,  instigated 
by  the  French  themselves,  and  stung  by  many  insults  real  and  im¬ 
aginary,  the  warriors  began  their  usual  atrocities  on  the  frontiers. 
In  the  summer  of  1761,  the  Senecas  conspired  with  the  Wyandots  to 
capture  Detroit  by  treachery,  and  massacre  the  garrison;  and  the  plot 
was  barely  thwarted  by  Colonel  Campbell,  the  commandant.  In  the 
following  summer  another  attempt  of  a  similar  sort  was  discovered 
and  defeated.  It  was  in  this  condition  of  affairs  that  the  celebrated 
Pontiac  came  forward  and  organized  the  most  far-reaching  and  dan¬ 
gerous  conspiracy  ever  known  among  the  Indian  tribes  of  Anierica. 

Pontiac  was  chief  of  the  Ottawas,  whose  principal  seat  was  the 
district  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Michigan.  In  the  somewhat  pro¬ 
longed  interval  between  the  conquest  of  Canada  and  the  treaty  of 
1763,  this  sagacious  warrior,  doubting  the  possibility  of  a  peace  be¬ 
tween  the  rival  nations,  conceived  the  design  of  uniting  all  the  Indian 
tribes  from  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Mississippi  in  an  overwhelming 


278 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Major  Gladwyn,  the  commandant,  and  in  parting  with  him  manifested 
unusual  agitation  and  distress.  She  was  seen  to  linger  at  the  street 
corner,  and  the  sentinel  summoned  her  to  return  to  the  major’s  quar¬ 
ters.  There,  after  much  persuasion  and  many  assurances  of  protec¬ 
tion,  she  yielded  to  his  urgent  inquiries  into  the  cause  of  her  grief 
and  revealed  the  plot.  When  Pontiac’s  band  on  the  following  day 
attempted  to  gain  the  fort  by  treachery,  they  found  every  soldier  and 
citizen  under  arms  and  ready  to  receive  them.  Then  followed  a 
protracted  siege,  and  the  savage  horde  was  finally  driven  off.  But 


confederacy,  which  should  upon  a  given  day  strike  all  the  English 
forts  upon  the  frontier  a  deadly  blow,  and  sweep  away  in  a  common 
ruin  every  English  family  west  of  the  mountains.  The  plot  was  con¬ 
structed  with  the  White  man’s  skill  and  the  Red  man’s  cunning.  The 
7th  of  May,  1763,  was  named  as  the  day  of  destruction.  But  when 
the  time  came  the  impatient  savage  tribes  were  unable  to  act  in  per¬ 
fect  concert,  and  ultimate  failure  was  the  consequence,  though  the 
immediate  result  was  terribly  disastrous. 

Pontiac  reserved  for  himself  the  most  difficult  task  of  all — the 
capture  of  Detroit.  But  in  the  hour  of  impending  doom,  woman’s 
love  interposed  to  save  the  garrison  from  butchery.  An  Indian  girl 
of  the  Ojibwa  nation,  came  to  the  fort  with  a  pair  of  moccasins  for 


THE  REVELATION  OF  PONTIAC’S  CONSPIRACY. 


TWO  YEARS  OF  SUCCESSES. 


279 


in  all  other  quarters  the  attacks  were  attended  with  the  most  fatal 
results.  On  the  16th  of  May  Fort  Sandusky  was  taken  and  burned, 
and  the  garrison  butchered  by  a  band  of  Wyandots.  A  few  days 
later  Fort  St.  Joseph  suffered  a  similar  fate  at  the  hands  of  the  Pot- 
tawattamies.  On  the  29th  of  the  month  Fort  Mackinaw  was  taken 
and  its  defenders  nearly  all  murdered  by  the  Chippeways.  One  out¬ 
post  after  another  was  captured  and  burned,  until  by  the  middle  of 
summer  every  English  fort  in  the  West,  except  Niagara,  Fort  Pitt 
and  Detroit,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  savages.  But  in  the 
mean  time  rumors  of  a  treaty  between  France  and  England  were 
borne  to  the  Bed  men ;  and  they,  becoming  alarmed  at  their  own 
atrocities,  began  to  sue  for  peace.  The  confederacy  crumbled  into 
nothing.  Every  tribe  seemed  as  anxious  to  avoid  the  consequences 
as  it  had  been  to  take  up  the  hatchet.  Pontiac  and  his  band  of  Ot- 
tawas  held  out  for  two  years  longer;  then,  abandoned  by  his  follow¬ 
ers,  he  fled  to  the  Illinois,  among  whom  he  was  finally  killed  in  a 
drunken  brawl  at  the  Indian  town  of  Cahokia,  opposite  St.  Louis. 

For  three  years  after  the  fall  of  Montreal  the  war  between 
France  and  England  lingered  on  the  ocean.  The  English  fleets  were 
everywhere  victorious.  On  the  10th  of  February,  1763,  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  made  at  Paris.  All  the  French  possessions  in  North  Amer¬ 
ica  eastward  of  the  Mississippi  from  its  source  to  the  river  Iberville, 
and  thence  through  Lakes  Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  were  surrendered  to  Great  Britain.  At  the  same  time 
Spain,  with  whom  England  had  been  at  war,  ceded  East  and  West 
Florida  to  the  English  Crown.  As  reciprocal  with  this  provision 
France  was  obliged  to  make  a  cession  to  Spain  of  all  that  vast  terri¬ 
tory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  known  as  the  Province  of  Louisiana. 
By  the  sweeping  provisions  of  this  treaty  the  French  king  lost  his 
entire  possessions  in  the  New  World.  Thus  closed  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  history  of  mankind. 
By  this  conflict  it  was  decided  that  the  decaying  institutions  of  the 
Middle  Ages  should  not  prevail  in  the  West;  and  that  the  powerful 
language,  laws  and  liberties  of  the  English  race  should  be  planted 
for  ever  in  the  vast  domains  of  the  New  World. 


280 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 

BEFORE  entering  upon  the  stirring  events  of  the  Revolution,  it 
will  be  of  interest  to  glance  at  the  general  condition  of  the 
American  Colonies.  There  were  thirteen  of  them :  four  in  New 
England, — Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Xew  Hamp¬ 
shire;  four  Middle  Colonies, — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylva¬ 
nia,  Delaware ;  five  Southern, — Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  Georgia.  All  had  grown  and  prospered.  The  ele¬ 
ments  of  power  were  everywhere  present.  A  willful,  patriotic,  and 
vigorous  race  of  democrats  had  taken  possession  of  the  New  World. 
Institutions  unknown  in  Europe,  peculiar  to  the  West,  made  neces¬ 
sary  by  the  condition  and  surroundings  of  the  colonies,  had  sprung 
up  and  were  taking  deep  root  in  American  soil. 

According  to  estimates  made  for  the  year  1760  the  population 
of  the  colonies  amounted  to  a  million  six  hundred  and  ninety-five 
thousand  souls.  Of  these  about  three  hundred  and  ten  thousand  were 
blacks.  Massachusetts  was  at  this  period  perhaps  the  strongest  col¬ 
ony,  having  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  people  of  European 
ancestry  within  her  borders.  True,  Virginia  was  the  most  populous, 
having  an  aggregate  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-four  thousand  inhab¬ 
itants,  but  of  these  one  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  were  Africans, 
slaves.  Next  in  strength  stood  Pennsylvania  with  a  population  of 
nearly  two  hundred  thousand ;  next  Connecticut  with  her  hundred 
and  thirty  thousand  people ;  next  Maryland  with  a  hundred  and  four 
thousand;  then  New  York  with  eighty-five  thousand;  New  Jersey  not 
quite  as  many;  then  South  Carolina,  and  so  through  the  feebler  col¬ 
onies  to  Georgia,  in  whose  borders  were  less  than  five  thousand  in¬ 
habitants,  including  the  negroes. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  people  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  colonies  had  to  a  certain  extent  assumed  a  national  character ;  but 
they  were  still  strongly  marked  with  the  peculiarities  which  their  an¬ 
cestors  had  brought  from  Europe.  In  New  England,  especially  in  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  and  Connecticut,  the  principles  and  practices  of  Puritanism 
still  held  universal  sway.  On  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  the  language, 
manners,  and  customs  of  Holland  were  almost  as  prevalent  as  they 


CONDITION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


281 


had  been  a  hundred  years  before.  By  the  Delaware  the  Quakers 
were  gathered  in  such  numbers  as  to  control  all  legislation,  and  to 
prevent  serious  innovations  upon  the  simple  methods  of  civil  and 
social  organization  introduced  by  Penn.  On  the  northern  bank  of 
the  Potomac,  the  youth¬ 
ful  Frederick,  the  sixth 
Lord  Baltimore,  a  friv¬ 
olous  and  dissolute  gov¬ 
ernor,  ruled  a  people 
who  still  conformed  to 
the  order  of  things  es¬ 
tablished  a  hundred  and 
thirty  years  previously 
by  Sirs  George  and  Ce¬ 
cil  Calvert.  In  Vir¬ 
ginia,  mother  of  States 
and  statesmen,  the  peo¬ 
ple  had  all  their  old 
peculiarities ;  a  some¬ 
what  haughty  demean¬ 
or:  pride  of  ancestry; 
fondness  for  aristocratic 
sports;  hospitality;  love 
of  freedom.  The  North 
Carolinians  were  at  this 
epoch  the  same  rugged 
and  insubordinate  race 
of  hunters  that  they  had 
always  been.  The  leg¬ 
islative  assembly,  in  its 
controversies  with  Gov¬ 
ernor  Dobbs,  manifested  all  the  intractable  stubbornness  which  char¬ 
acterized  that  body  in  the  days  of  Seth  Sothel.  In  South  Carolina 
there  was  much  prosperity  and  happiness.  But  there,  too,  popular 
liberty  had  been  enlarged  by  the  constant  encroachment  of  the  leg¬ 
islature  upon  the  royal  prerogative.  The  people,  mostly  of  French 
descent,  were  as  hot-blooded  and  jealous  of  their  rights  as  their  an¬ 
cestors  had  been  in  the  times  of  the  first  immigrations.  Of  all  the 
American  colonies  Georgia  had  at  this  time  least  strength  and  spirit. 
Under  the  system  of  government  established  at  the  first  the  common¬ 
wealth  had  languished.  Not  until  1754,  when  Governor  Reynolds 


THE  OLD  THIRTEEN  COLONIES. 


282 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


assumed  control  of  the  colony,  did  the  affairs  of  the  people  on  the 
Savannah  begin  to  flourish.  Even  afterwards,  something  of  the 
indigence  and  want  of  thrift  which  had  marked  the  followers  of 
Oglethorpe  still  prevailed  in  Georgia.  Nevertheless,  after  making 
allowance  for  all  these  differences  of  colonial  character,  a  consid¬ 
erable  degree  of  American  unity  had  been  attained;  inter-colonial 
relations  were  well  established ;  and  the  people  were  far  less  antag¬ 
onistic  and  sectional  than  they  had  been. 

In  matters  of  education  New  England  took  the  lead.  Her 
system  of  free  schools  extended  everywhere  from  the  Hudson  to  the. 
Penobscot.  Every  village  furnished  facilities  for  the  acquirement  of 
knowledge.  So  complete  and  universal  were  the  means  of  instruc¬ 
tion  that  in  the  times  preceding  the  Revolution  there  was  not  to  be 
found  in  all  New  England  an  adult ,  born  in  the  country,  who  could 
not  read  and  write.  Splendid  achievement  of  Puritanism !  In  the 
Middle  Colonies  education  was  not  so  general ;  but  in  Pennsylvania 
there  was  much  intelligent  activity  among  the  people.  Especially  in 
Philadelphia  did  the  illustrious  Franklin  scatter  the  light  of  learn¬ 
ing.  South  of  the  Potomac  educational  facilities  were  irregular  and 
generally  designed  for  the  benefit  of  the  wealthier  classes.  But  in. 
some  localities  the  means  of  enlightenment  were  well  provided ;  in¬ 
stitutions  of  learning  sprang  up  scarcely  inferior  to  those  of  the  East¬ 
ern  provinces,  or  even  of  Europe.  Nor  should  the  private  schools  of 
the  colonial  times  be  forgotten.  Many  men — Scottish  reformers,  Irish 
liberals,  and  French  patriots — despising  the  bigotry  and  intolerance 
of  their  countrymen,  fled  for  refuge  to  the  New  World,  and  there  by 
the  banks  of  the  Housatonic,  the  Hudson,  the  Delaware,  the  Poto¬ 
mac,  the  Ashley,  and  the  Savannah,  taught  the  lore  of  books  and 
the  lesson  of  liberty  to  the  rugged  boys  of  the  American  wilderness. 
Among  the  Southern  colonies  Virginia  led  the  van  in  matters  of  edu¬ 
cation  ;  while  Maryland,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia  lagged  behind. 
Previous  to  the  Revolution  nine  colleges  worthy  of  the  name  had 
been  established  in  the  colonies.  These  were  Harvard,  William  and 
Mary,  Yale,  Princeton,  King’s  (now  called  Columbia),  Brown,  Queen’s 
(afterwards  called  Rutgers),  Dartmouth,  and  Hampden  and  Sydney. 
In  1764  the  first  medical  college  was  founded,  at  Philadelphia. 

Of  the  printing-press,  that  other  great  agent  and  forerunner  of 
civilization,  the  work  was  already  effective.  As  early  as  1704  the 
Boston  Neics-Letter,  first  of  periodicals  in  the  New  World,  was  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  city  of  the  Puritans;  but  fifteen  years  elapsed  before 
another  experiment  of  the  same  sort  was  made.  In  1721  the  New 
England  Courant ,  a  little  sheet  devoted  to  free  thought  and  the  ex- 


CONDITION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


283 


tinction  of  rascality,  was  established  at  Boston  by  the  two  Franklins 
— James  and  Benjamin.  In  1740  New  York  had  but  one  period¬ 
ical,  Virginia  one,  and  South  Carolina  one ;  and  at  the  close  of  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  there  were  no  more  than  ten  newspapers 
published  in  the  colonies.  The  chief  obstacles  to  such  publications 
were  the  absence  of  great  cities  and  the  difficulty  of  communication 
between  distant  sections  of  the  country.  Boston  and  Philadelphia 
had  each  no  more  than  eighteen  thousand  inhabitants;  New  York 
but  twelve  thousand.  In  all  Virginia  there  was  not  one  important 
town;  while  as  far  south  as  Georgia  there  was  scarcely  a  considerable 
village.  To  reach  this  widely  scattered  population  with  periodical 
publications  was  quite  impossible.  Books  were  few,  and  of  little 
value.  Some  dry  volumes  of  history,  theology,  and  politics  were  the 
only  stock  and  store.  On  the  latter  subject  the  publications  were 
sometimes  full  of  pith  and  spirit.  But  notwithstanding  this  barren¬ 
ness  of  books  and  general  poverty  of  the  resources  of  knowledge,  it 
was  no  unusual  thing  to  find  at  the  foot  of  the  Virginia  mountains, 
in  the  quiet  precincts  of  Philadelphia,  by  the  banks  of  the  Hudson, 
or  in  the  valleys  of  New  England,  a  man  of  great  and  solid  learn¬ 
ing.  Such  a  man  was  Thomas  Jefferson;  such  were  Franklin,  and 
Livingston,  and  the  Adamses — men  of  profound  scholarship,  bold  in 
thought,  ready  with  the  pen,  skillful  in  argument;  studious,  witty, 
and  eloquent. 

Nothing  impeded  the  progress  of  the  colonies  more  than  the 
want  of  thoroughfares  and  easy  communication  between  the  different 
sections.  No  general  system  of  post-offices  or  post-roads  had  as  yet 
been  established ;  and  the  people  were  left  in  comparative  or  total 
ignorance  of  passing  events.  No  common  sentiments  could  be  ex¬ 
pressed — no  common  enthusiasm  be  kindled  in  the  country — by  the 
slow-going  mails  and  packets.  The  sea-coast  towns  and  cities  found 
a  readier  intercourse  by  means  of  small  sloops  plying  the  Atlantic ; 
but  the  inland  districts  were  wholly  cut  off  from  such  advantages. 
Roads  were  slowly  built  from  point  to  point,  and  lines  of  travel  by 
coach  and  wagon  were  gradually  established.  To  the  very  beginning 
of  the  Revolution  the  people  lived  apart,  isolated  and  dependent  upon 
their  own  resources  for  life  and  enjoyment.  When  in  1766  an  ex¬ 
press  wagon  made  the  trip  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  in  two 
days,  it  was  considered  a  marvel  of  rapidity.  Six  years  later  the  first 
stage-coach  began  to  run  regularly  between  Boston  and  Providence.* 

*  It  is  remarkable  to  note  bow  tardily  the  attention  of  a  people  will  be  turned  to  the 
building  of  roads.  Thus,  for  instance,  in  so  old  a  country  as  Scotland  there  were  no 
great  thoroughfares  constructed  until  after  the  Scotch  Rebellion  of  1745. 


284 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Before  the  Revolution  the  Americans  were  for  the  most  part 
an  agricultural  people.  Within  the  tide-water  line  of  Virginia  the 
lands  were  divided  into  estates,  and  the  planters  devoted  themselves 
almost  exclusively  to  the  cultivation  of  tobacco.  Farther  inland  the 
products  were  more  various :  wheat,  maize,  potatoes ;  upland  cotton, 
hemp,  and  flax.  In  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  the  rice  crop  was 
most  important ;  after  that,  indigo,  cotton,  and  some  silk ;  tar,  tur¬ 
pentine,  and  what  the  hunter  and  fisherman  gathered  from  the  woods 
and  streams.  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Boston  were  then  as  now 
the  great  centers  of  trade ;  but  commerce  was  carried  on  in  a  slow 
and  awkward  manner,  wholly  unlike  the  rushing  activity  of  more 
recent  times.  Ship-building  was  one  of  the  most  important  colonial 
interests.  In  the  year  1738  no  less  than  forty-one  sailing  vessels, 
with  an  average  burden  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  were  built  and 
launched  at  the  ship-yards  of  Boston.  New  England  was  the  seat  of 
whatever  manufacturing  interest  prevailed  in  the  country.  But  all 
enterprise  in  this  direction  was  checked  and  impeded  by  the  British 
Board  of  Trade,  whose  stupid  and  arbitrary  restrictions  acted  as  a 
damper  on  every  kind  of  colonial  thrift.  No  sooner  would  some 
enterprising  company  of  New  England  men  begin  the  building  of  a 
factory  than  this  officious  Board  would  interfere  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  success  impossible.  So  jealous  was  the  English  ministry  of 
American  progress !  If,  previous  to  the  Revolution,  any  colonial 
manufacture  was  successfully  established,  it  was  done  against  the  will 
of  Great  Britain,  and  in  spite  of  her  mean  and  churlish  opposition. 

Such  were  the  American  colonies — such  the  people  whose  bud¬ 
ding  nationality  was  now  to  be  exposed  to  the  blasts  of  war.  These 
people,  whose  ancestors  had  been  driven  into  exile  by  the  exactions 
of  European  governments  and  the  bigotry  of  ecclesiastical  power,  had 
become  the  rightful  proprietors  of  the  New  World.  They  had  fairly 
won  it  from  savage  man  and  savage  nature.  They  had  subdued  it 
and  built  States  within  it.  They  owned  it  by  all  the  claims  of  actual 
possession ;  by  toil  and  trial ;  by  the  ordeal  of  suffering ;  by  peril, 
privation,  and  hardship ;  by  the  baptism  of  sorrow  and  the  shedding 
of  blood.  No  wonder  that  patriotism  was  the  child  of  such  travail 
and  discipline !  No  wonder  that  the  men  who  from  mountain  and 
sky  and  river,  from  orchard  and  valley  and  forest,  from  the  memo¬ 
ries  of  the  past,  the  aspirations  of  the  present  and  the  hopes  of  the 
future,  had  drank  in  the  spirit  of  Liberty  until  their  souls  were  per¬ 
vaded  with  her  sublime  essence, — were  now  ready  when  the  iron  heel 
of  oppression  was  set  upon  their  cherished  rights,  to  draw  the  vindic¬ 
tive  sword  even  agninst  the  venerable  monarchy  of  England  ' 


PART  IV. 

REVOLUTION  AND  CONFEDERATION, 


A.  D.  1775—1789. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

CA  USES. 

THE  war  of  American  Independence  was  an  event  of  vast  moment, 
affecting  the  destinies  of  all  nations.  The  question  decided  by  the 
conflict  was  this :  Whether  the  English  colonies  in  America,  becoming 
sovereign,  should  govern  themselves  or  be  ruled  as  dependencies  of  a 
European  monarchy.  The  decision  was  rendered  in  favor  of  separation 
and  independence.  The  result  has  been  the  grandest  and  most  promising 
example  of  republican  government  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The 
struggle  was  long  and  distressing,  though  not  characterized  by  great 
violence ;  the  combatants  were  of  the  same  race  and  spoke  a  common  lan¬ 
guage.  It  is  of  the  first  importance  to  understand  the  causes  of  the  war. 

The  most  general  cause  of  the  American  Revolution  was  the  eight 
of  aebitraey  government,  claimed  by  Great  Britain  and  denied  by 
the  colonies.  So  long  as  this  claim  was  asserted  by  England  only  as  a 
theory,  the  conflict  was  postponed ;  when  the  English  government  began 
to  enforce  the  principle  in  practice,  the  colonies  resisted.  The  question 
began  to  be  openly  discussed  about  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  in  1748  ;  and  from  that  period  until  the  beginning  of  hostilities, 
in  1775,  each  year  witnessed  a  renewal  of  the  agitation.  But  there  were 
also  many  subordinate  causes  tending  to  bring  on  a  conflict. 

First  of  these  was  the  influence  of  France ,  which  was  constantly 
exerted  so  as  to  incite  a  spirit  of  resistance  in  the  colonies.  The  French 
king  would  never  have  agreed  to  the  treaty  of  1763 — by  which  Canada 
was  ceded  to  Great  Britain — had  it  not  been  with  the  hope  of  securing 
American  independence.  It  was  the  theory  of  France  that  by  giving  up 
Canada  on  the  north  the  English  colonies  would  become  so  strong  as  to 
renounce  their  allegiance  to  the  crown.  England  feared  such  a  result. 

More  than  once  it  was  proposed  in  Parliament  to  re-cede  Canada  to  France 

(285) 


286 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


in  order  to  check  the  growth  of  the  American  States.  “  There,  now  V* 
said  a  French  statesman  when  the  treaty  of  1763  was  signed;  “  we  have 
arranged  matters  for  an  American  rebellion  in  which  England  will  lose 
her  empire  in  the  West.” 

Another  cause  leading  to  the  Revolution  was  found  in  the  natural 
disposition  and  inherited  character  of  the  colonists.  They  were,  for  the 
most  part,  republicans  in  politics  and  dissenters  in  religion.  The  people 
of  England  were  monarchists  and  High  Churchmen.  The  colonists  had 
never  seen  a  king.  The  Atlantic  lay  between  them  and  the  British  min¬ 
istry.  Their  dealings  with  the  royal  officers  had  been  such  as  to  engender 
a  dislike  for  monarchical  institutions.  The  people  of  America  had  not 
forgotten — could  not  well  forget — the  circumstances  under  which  their 
ancestors  had  come  to  the  New  World.  For  six  generations  the  colonists 
had  managed  their  own  affairs ;  and  their  methods  of  government  were 
necessarily  republican.  The  experiences  of  the  French  and  Indian  War 
had  shown  that  Americans  were  fully  able  to  defend  themselves  and  their 
country. 

The  growth  of  public  opinion  in  the  colonies  tended  to  independence. 
The  more  advanced  thinkers  came  to  believe  that  a  complete  separation 
from  England  was  not  only  possible,  but  desirable.  As  early  as  1 7 55,  John 
Adams,  then  a  young  school-teacher  in  Connecticut,  wrote  in  his  diary : 
“  In  another  century  all  Europe  will  not  be  able  to  subdue  us.  The  only 
way  to  keep  us  from  setting  up  for  ourselves  is  to  disunite  us.”  Such 
opinions  were  at  first  expressed  only  in  private,  then  by  hints  in  pam¬ 
phlets  and  newspapers,  and  at  last  publicly  and  everywhere.  The  mass 
of  the  people,  however,  were  slow  to  accept  an  idea  which  seemed  so  rad¬ 
ical  and  dangerous.  Not  until  the  war  had  actually  begun  did  the  ma¬ 
jority  declare  for  independence. 

Another  cause  of  the  conflict  with  the  mother  country  was  found  in 
the  personal  character  of  the  Icing.  George  III.,  who  ascended  the  Eng¬ 
lish  throne  in  1760,  was  one  of  the  worst  monarchs  of  modern  times# 
His  notions  of  government  were  altogether  despotic.  He  was  a  stubborn, 
stupid,  thick-headed  man  in  whose  mind  the  notion  of  human  rights  was 
entirely  wanting.  It  was  impossible  for  him  to  conceive  of  a  magnan¬ 
imous  project  or  to  appreciate  the  value  of  civil  liberty.  His  reign  of 
sixty  years  was  as  odious  as  it  was  long.  In  the  management  of  the 
British  empire  he  employed  only  those  who  were  the  narrow-minded 
partisans  of  his  own  policy.  His  ministers  were,  for  the  most  part,  men 
as  incompetent  and  illiberal  as  himself  With  such  a  king  and  such  a 
ministry  it  was  not  likely  that  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  would  get 
on  smoothly. 


CA  USES. 


287 


The  more  immediate  cause  of  the  Revolution  was  the  passage  by 

Parliament  of  a  number  of  acts  destructive  of  colonial  liberty.  These  acts 

were  resisted  by  the  colonies,  and  the  attempt  was  made  by  Great  Britain 

to  enforce  them  with  the  bayonet.  The  subject  of  this  unjust  legislation, 

which  extended  over  a  period  of  twelve  years  just  preceding  the  war,  was 

the  question  of  taxation.  It  is  a  well-grounded  principle  of  English 

common  law  that  the  people,  by  their  representatives  in  the  House  of 

Commons,  have  the  right  of  voting  whatever  taxes  and  customs  are  neces-= 

sary  for  the  support  of  the  kingdom.  The  American  colonists  claimed 

the  full  rights  of  Englishmen.  With  good  reason  it.  was  urged  that  the 

general  assemblies  of  colonies  held  the  same  relation  to  the  American. 

people  as  did  the  House  of  Commons  to  the  people  of  England.  The 

English  ministers  replied  that  Parliament,  and  not  the  colonial  assemblies, 

was  the  proper  body  to  vote  taxes  in  any  and  all  parts  of  the  British 

empire.  But  we  are  not  represented  in  Parliament,  was  the  answer  of 

the  Americans;  the  House  of  Commons  may  therefore  justly  assess  taxes 

in  England,  but  not  in  America.  Many  of  the  towns,  boroughs  and 

shires  in  these  British  isles  have  no  representatives  in  Parliament,  and 

yet  the  Parliament  taxes  them,  replied  the  ministers,  now  driven  to 

sophistry.  If  any  of  yonr  towns,  boroughs  and  shires  are  not  represented 

in  the  House  of  Commons,  they  ought  to  be,  was  the  American  rejoinder ; 

and  there  the  argument  ended.  Such  were  the  essential  points  of  the 

controversy.  It  is  now  proper  to  notice  the  several  parliamentary  acts 

which  the  colonies  complained  of  and  resisted. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  Importation  Act,  passed  in  1733. 

This  statute  was  itself  a  kind  of  supplement  to  the  old  Navigation  Act 

of  1651.  Bv  the  terms  of  the  newer  law  exorbitant  duties  were  laid  on 
* 

all  the  sugar,  molasses  and  rum  imported  into  the  colonies.  At  first  the 
payment  of  these  unreasonable  customs  was  evaded  by  the  merchants, 
and  then  the  statute  was  openly  set  at  naught.  In  1750  it  was  further 
enacted  that  iron-works  should  not  be  erected  in  America.  The  man¬ 
ufacture  of  steel  was  specially  forbidden  ;  and  the  felling  of  pines,  outside 
of  enclosures,  was  interdicted.  All  of  these  laws  were  disregarded  and 
denounced  by  the  people  of  the  colonies  as  being  unjust  and  tyrannical. 
In  1761  a  strenuous  effort  was  made  by  the  ministry  to  enforce  the  Im¬ 
portation  Act.  The  colonial  courts  were  authorized  to  issue  to  the  king’s 
officers  a  kind  of  search-warrants,  called  Writs  of  Assistance.  Armed 
with  this  authority,  petty  constables  might  enter  any  and  every  place, 
searching  for  and  seizing  goods  which  were  suspected  of  having  evaded 
the  duty.  At  Salem  and  Boston  the  greatest  excitement  prevailed.  The 
application  for  the  writs  was  resisted  before  the  courts.  James  Otis,  an 


288 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


able  and  temperate  man,  pleaded  eloquently  for  colonial  rights,  and  de¬ 
nounced  the  parliamentary  acts  as  unconstitutional.  The  address  was  a 
masterly  defence  of  the  people,  and  produced  a  profound  sensation  through¬ 
out  the  colonies.  Already  there  were  hints  at  resistance  by  force  of  arms. 

In  1763,  and  again  in  the  following  year,  the  English  ministers 
undertook  to  enforce  the  law  requiring  the  payment  of  duties  on  sugar 
and  molasses.  The  officers  of  the  admiralty  were  authorized  to  seize  and 
confiscate  all  vessels  engaged  in  the  unlawful  trade.  Before  the  passage 
of  this  act  was  known  at  Boston,  a  great  town-meeting  was  held.  Samuel 
Adams  was  the  orator.  A  powerful  argument  was  produced  showing 
conclusively  that  under  the  British  constitution  taxation  and  representa¬ 
tion  were  inseparable.  Nevertheless,  vessels  from  the  English  navy  were 
sent  to  hover  around  the  American  harbors.  A  great  number  of  mer¬ 
chantmen  bearing  cargoes  of  sugar  and  wine  were  seized ;  and  the  colonial 
trade  with  the  West  Indies  was  almost  destroyed. 

The  year  1764  witnessed  the  first  formal  declaration  of  the  purpose 
of  Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies.  Mr.  Grenville  was  now  prime  minis¬ 
ter.  On  the  10th  of  March  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  House  of 
Commons  declaring  that  it  would  be  proper  to  charge  certain  stamp- 
duties  on  the  American  colonies.  It  was  announced  that  a  bill  embody¬ 
ing  this  principle  would  be  prepared  by  the  ministers  and  presented  at 
the  next  session  of  Parliament.  In  the  mean  time,  the  news  of  the  pro¬ 
posed  measure  was  borne  to  America.  Universal  excitement  and  indig¬ 
nation  prevailed  in  the  colonies.  Political  meetings  became  the  order  of 
the  day.  Orators  were  in  great  demand.  The  newspapers  teemed  with 
arguments  against  the  proposed  enactment.  Resolutions  were  passed  by 
the  people  of  almost  every  town.  Formal  remonstrances  were  addressed 
to  the  king  and  the  two  houses  of  Parliament.  Agents  were  appointed 
by  the  colonies  and  sent  to  London  in  the  hope  of  preventing  the  passage 
of  the  law. 

A  new  turn  was  now  given  to  the  controversy.  The  French  and 
Indian  War  had  just  been  concluded  with  a  treaty  of  peace.  Great 
Britain  had  incurred  a  heavy  debt.  The  ministers  began  to  urge  that  the 
expenses  of  the  war  ought  to  be  borne  by  the  colonies.  The  Americans 
replied  that  England  ought  to  defend  her  colonies,  from  motives  of 
humanity;  ffiat  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  the  colonists  had  aided 
Great  Britain  as  much  as  Great  Britain  had  aided  them ;  that  the  cession 
of  Canada  had  amply  remunerated  England  for  her  losses ;  that  it  was 
not  the  payment  of  money  which  the  colonies  dreaded,  but  the  surrender 
of  their  liberties.  It  was  also  added  that  in  case  of  another  war  the 
American  States  would  try  to  fight  their  own  battles. 


CAUSES. 


289 


Early  in  March  of  1765,  the  English  Parliament,  no  longer  guided 
by  the  counsels  of  Pitt,  passed  the  celebrated  Stamp  Act.  In  the  House 
of  Commons  the  measure  received  a  majority  of  five  to  one.  In  the 
House  of  Lords  the  vote  was  unanimous.  At  the  time  of  the  passage  of 
the  act  the  king  was  in  a  fit  of  insanity,  and  could  not  sign  the  bill.  On 
the  22d  of  the  month  the  royal  assent  was  given  by  a  board  of  commis¬ 
sioners  acting  for  the  king.  “  The  sun  of  American  liberty  has  set,” 
wrote  Benjamin  Franklin  to  a  friend  at  home.  “Now  we  must  light  the 
lamps  of  industry  and  economy.”  “  Be  assured,”  said  the  friend,  in  reply, 
“  that  we  shall  light  torches  of  another  sort.”  And  the  answer  reflected 
the  sentiment  of  the  whole  country. 

The  provisions  of  the  Stamp  Act  were  briefly  these :  Every  note, 
bond,  deed,  mortgage,  lease,  license  and  legal  document  of  whatever  sort, 
required  in  the  colonies,  should,  after  the  1st  day  of  the  following  No¬ 
vember,  be  executed  on  paper  bearing  an  English  stamp.  This  stamped 
paper  was  to  be  furnished  by  the  British  government ;  and  for  each  sheet 
the  colonists  were  required  to  pay  a  sum  varying,  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  document,  from  three  pence  to  six  pounds  sterling.  Every  colonial 
pamphlet,  almanac  and  newspaper  was  required  to  be  printed  on  paper 
of  the  same  sort,  the  value  of  the  stamps  in  this  case  ranging  from  a  half¬ 
penny  to  four  pence ;  every  advertisement  was  taxed  two  shillings.  No 
contract  should  be  of  any  binding  force  unless  written  on  paper  bearing 
the  royal  stamp. 

The  news  of  the  hateful  act  swept  over  America  like  a  thunder¬ 
cloud.  The  people  were  at  first  grief-stricken ;  then  indignant ;  and  then 
wrathful.  Crowds  of  excited  men  surged  into  the  towns,  and  there  were 
some  acts  of  violence.  The  muffled  bells  of  Philadelphia  and  Boston 
rung  a  funeral  peal;  and  the  people  said  it  was  the  death-knell  of  liberty. 
In  New  York  a  copy  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  carried  through  the  streets 
with  a  death’s-head  nailed  to  it,  and  a  placard  bearing  this  inscription : 
The  Folly  of  England  and  the  Ruin  of  America.  The  general 
assemblies  were  at  first  slow  to  move ;  there  were  many  loyalists  among 
the  members ;  and  the  colonial  governors  held  their  offices  by  appointment 
of  the  king.  It  was  hazardous  for  a  provincial  legislator  to  say  that  an 
act  of  the  British  Parliament  was  the  act  of  tyrants.  But  the  younger 
representatives,  hot-blooded  as  well  as  patriotic,  did  not  hesitate  to  ex¬ 
press  their  sentiments.  In  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  there  was  a 
memorable  scene. 

Patrick  Henry,  the  youngest  member  of  the  House,  an  uneducated 
mountaineer  recently  chosen  to  represent  Louisa  county,  waited  for  some 
cider  delegate  to  lead  the  burgesses  in  opposition  to  Parliament.  But  the 

21 


290 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


older  members  hesitated  or  went  home.  Offended  at  this  lukewarmness. 
Henrv  in  his  passionate  way  snatched  a  blank-leaf  out  of  an  old  law¬ 
book  and  hastily  drew  up  a  series  of  fiery  resolutions,  declaring  that  the 

Virginians  were  Eng¬ 
lishmen  with  English 
rights ;  that  the  people 
of  Great  Britain  had 
the  exclusive  privilege 
of  voting  their  own 
taxes,  and  so  had  the 
Americans ;  that  the 
colonists  were  not 
bound  to  yield  obedi¬ 
ence  to  any  law  im¬ 
posing  taxation  on 
them ;  and  that  who¬ 
ever  said  the  contrary 
was  an  enemy  to  the 
country.  The  resolu¬ 
tions  were  at  once  laid 
before  the  house. 

A  violent  de¬ 
bate  ensued,  in  which 
the  patriots  had  the 
best  of  the  argument. 

PATRICK  HENKY.  ° 

It  was  a  moment  of 
intense  interest.  Twto 

future  Presidents  of  the  United  States  were  in  the  audience;  Washington 
occupied  his  seat  as  a  delegate,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  a  young  collegian, 
stood  just  outside  of  the  railing.  The  eloquent  and  audacious  Henry 
bore  down  all  opposition.  “  Tarquin  and  Caesar  had  each  his  Brutus,” 
said  the  indignant  orator ;  “  Charles  I.  had  his  Cromwell,  and  George 
III. — ”  ‘‘Treason !”  shouted  the  speaker.  “Treason!  treason !”  exclaimed 
the  terrified  loyalists,  springing  to  their  feet.  “  — -And  George  III.  may 
profit  by  their  example,”  continued  Henry ;  and  then  added  as  he  took 
his  seat,  “  If  that  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it !”  The  resolutions  were 
put  to  the  house  and  carried ;  but  the  majorities  on  some  of  the  votes  were 
small,  and  the  next  day,  when  Henry  was  absent,  the  most  violent  par¬ 
agraph  was  reconsidered  and  expunged :  some  of  the  members  were 
greatly  frightened  at  their  own  audacity.  But  the  resolutions  in  their 
entire  form  had  gone  before  the  country  as  the  formal  “expression  of  the 


CA  USES. 


291 


oldest  American  commonwealth,  and  the  effect  on  the  other  colonies  was 
like  the  shock  of  a  battery. 

Similar  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  assemblies  of  New  York 
and  Massachusetts — in  the  latter  State  before  the  action  of  Virginia  was 
known.  At  Boston,  James  Otis  successfully  agitated  the  question  of  an 
American  Congress.  It  was  proposed  that  each  colony,  acting  without 
leave  of  the  king,  should  appoint  delegates,  who  should  meet  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  autumn  and  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  The  proposition  was 
favorably  received ;  nine  of  the  colonies  appointed  delegates ;  and  on  the 
7th  of  October  the  First  Colonial  Congress  assembled  at  New  York. 
There  were  twenty-eight  representatives :  jl  imethy  Ruggles  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  was  chosen  president.  After  much  discussion  A  Declaration  of 
Rights  was  adopted  setting  forth  in  unmistakable  terms  that  the  Amer¬ 
ican  colonists,  as  Englishmen,  could  not  and  would  not  consent  to  be 
taxed  but  by  their  own  representatives.  Memorials  were  also  prepared 
and  addressed  to  the  two  houses  of  Parliament.  A  manly  petition,  pro¬ 
fessing  loyalty  and  praying  for  a  more  just  and  humane  policy  toward 
his  American  subjects,  was  directed  to  the  king. 

The  1st  of  November  came.  On  that  day  the  Stamp  Act  was  to 
take  effect.  During  the  summer  great  quantities  of  the  stamped  paper 
had  been  prepared  and  sent  to  America.  Ten  boxes  of  it  were  seized  by 
the  people  of  New  York  and  openly  destroyed.  In  Connecticut,  the 
stamp-officer  was  threatened  with  hanging.  In  Boston,  houses  were  de¬ 
stroyed  and  the  stamps  given  to  the  winds  and  flames.  Whole  cargoes 
of  the  obnoxious  paper  were  reshipped  to  England ;  and  every  stamp- 
officer  in  America  was  obliged  to  resign  or  leave  the  country.  By  the 
1st  of  November  there  were  scarcely  stamps  enough  remaining  to  furnish 
after  times  with  specimens.  The  day  was  kept  as  a  day  of  mourning. 
The  stores  were  closed;  flags  were  hung  at  half  mast;  the  bells  were 
tolled ;  effigies  of  the  authors  and  abettors  of  the  Stamp  Act  were  borne 
about  in  mockery,  and  then  burned.  The  people  of  New  Hampshire 
formed  a  funeral  procession  and  buried  a  coffin  bearing  the  inscription  of 
Liberty.  A  cartoon  was  circulated  hinting  at  union  as  the  remedy  for 
existing  evils.  The  picture  represented  a  snake  broken  into  sections. 
Each  joint  was  labeled  with  the  initials  of  a  colony ;  the  head  was  marked 
“  N.  E.”  for  New  England ;  and  the  title  was  Join  or  Die  ! 

At  first,  legal  business  was  almost  entirely  suspended.  The  court¬ 
houses  were  shut  up.  Society  was  at  a  standstill ;  not  even  a  marriage 
license  could  be  legally  issued.  By  and  by,  the  people  breathed  more 
freely  ;  the  offices  were  opened,  and  business  went  on  as  before ;  but  was 
not  transacted  with  stamped  paper.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the 


•292 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


patriotic  society  known  as  the  Sons  of  Liberty  was  organized.  The 
members  were  pledged  to  oppose  British  tyranny  to  the  utmost,  and  to 
defend  with  their  lives  the  freedom  of  the  colonies.  Equally  important 
was  the  action  of  the  colonial  merchants.  The  importers  of  New  York, 
Boston  and  Philadelphia  entered  into  a  solemn  compact  to  purchase  no 
more  goods  of  Great  Britain  until  the  Stamp  Act  should  be  repealed 
And  the  people,  applauding  the  action  of  their  merchants,  cheerfully  de¬ 
nied  themselves  of  all  imported  luxuries. 

Great  was  the  wrath  of  the  British  government  when  the  news  of 
these  proceedings  was  borne  across  the  ocean.  But  a  large  party  of  Eng¬ 
lish  tradesmen  and  manufacturers  sided  with  the  colonists.  Better  still, 
some  of  the  most  eminent  statesmen  espoused  the  cause  of  America.  Even 
Lord  Camden  in  the  House  of  Lords  spoke  favorably  of  colonial  rights. 
Before  the  House  of  Commons  Mr.  Pitt  delivered  a  powerful  address. 
“  You  have,”  said  he,  “no  right  to  tax  America.  I  rejoice  that  America 
has  resisted.  Three  millions  of  our  fellow-subjects  so  lost  to  every  sense 
of  virtue  as  tamely  to  give  up  their  liberties  would  be  fit  instruments  to 
make  slaves  of  the  rest.”  The  new  Whig  prime  minister,  the  marquis 
of  Bockingham,  was  also  a  friend  of  the  colonies,  and  looked  with  dis¬ 
favor  on  the  legislation  of  his  predecessor.  On  the  18th  of  March,  1766, 
the  Stamp  Act  was  formally  repealed.  As  a  kind  of  balm  to  soothe  the 
wounded  feelings  of  the  Tories — as  the  adherents  of  Grenville  were  now 
called — a  supplemental  resolution  was  added  to  the  repeal  declaring  that 
Parliament  had  the  right  to  bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

The  joy  both  in  England  and  America  was  unbounded.  The 
vessels  in  the  river  Thames  were  decked  with  flags,  and  the  colonial 
orators  spoke  to  enthusiastic  crowds  gathered  around  bonfires.  There  was 
a  great  calm  in  all  the  country ;  but  it  was  only  the  lull  before  the  com¬ 
ing  of  a  greater  storm.  A  few  months  after  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act 
the  ministry  of  Rockingham  was  dissolved  and  a  new  cabinet  formed 
under  the  leadership  of  Pitt,  who  was  now  made  earl  of  Chatham.  Un¬ 
fortunately,  however,  the  prime  minister  was  for  a  long  time  confined  by 
sickness  to  his  home  in  the  country.  During  his  absence,  Mr.  Towns- 
hend,  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  in  a  moment  of  unparalleled  folly, 
brought  forward  a  new  scheme  for  taxing  America.  On  the  29th  of  June, 
1767,  an  act  was  passed  imposing  a  duty  on  all  the  glass,  paper,  painters' 
colors  and  tea  which  should  thereafter  be  imported  into  the  colonies. 
At  the  same  time  a  resolution  was  adopted  suspending  the  powers  of  the 
general  assembly  of  New  York  until  that  body  should  vote  certain  sup¬ 
plies  for  the  royal  troops  stationed  in  the  province.  A  more  rash  and 
disastrous  piece  of  legislation  never  was  enacted. 


CAUSES. 


293 


All  the  smothered  resentment  of  the  colonies  burst  out  anew. 
Another  agreement  not  to  purchase  British  goods  was  immediately  en¬ 
tered  into  by  the  American  merchants.  The  newspapers  were  tilled  with 
bitter  denunciations  of  Parliament.  Early  in  1768  the  assembly  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  adopted  a  circular  calling  upon  the  other  colonies  for  assistance 
in  the  effort  to  obtain  redress  of  grievances.  The  ministers  were  enraged 
and  required  the  assembly  in  the  king’s  name  to  rescind  their  action,  and 
to  express  regret  for  that  “  rash  and  hasty  proceeding.”  Instead  of  that, 
the  sturdy  legislature  reaffirmed  the  resolution  by  a  nearly  unanimous 
vote.  Thereupon  Governor  Bernard  dissolved  the  assembly ;  but  the 
members  would  not  disperse  until  they  had  prepared  a  list  of  charges 
against  the  governor  and  requested  the  king  to  remove  him. 

In  the  month  of  June  fuel  was  added  to  the  flame.  A  sloop, 
charged  with  attempting  to  evade  the  payment  of  duty,  was  seized  by  the 
custom-house  officers.  The  people  rose  in  a  mob ;  attacked  the  houses 
of  the  officers,  and  obliged  the  occupants  to  seek  shelter  in  Castle  William, 
at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  The  governor  now  appealed  to  the  min¬ 
isters  for  help ;  and  General  Gage,  commander-in-chief  of  the  British 
forces  in  America,  was  ordered  to  bring  from  Halifax  a  regiment  of  reg¬ 
ulars  and  overawe  the  people.  On  the  1st  of  October  the  troops,  seven 
hundred  strong,  marched  with  fixed  bayonets  into  the  capital  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts.  The  people  were  maddened  by  this  military  invasion  of  their 
city.  When  the  governor  required  the  selectmen  of  Boston  to  provide 
quarters  for  the  soldiers,  he  was  met  with  an  absolute  refusal ;  and  the 
troops  were  quartered  in  the  state-house. 

In  February  of  1769,  Parliament  advanced  another  step  toward 
war.  The  people  of  Massachusetts  were  declared  rebels,  and  the  governor 
was  directed  to  arrest  those  deemed  guilty  of  treason  and  send  them  to 
England  for  trial.  The  general  assembly  met  this  additional  outrage 
with  defiant  resolutions.  Scenes  almost  as  violent  as  these  were  at  the 
same  time  enacted  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  In  the  latter  State 
a  popular  insurrection  was  suppressed  by  Governor  Tryon ;  the  insur¬ 
gents,  escaping  across  the  mountains,  obtained  lands  of  the  Cherokees,  and 
became  the  founders  of  Tennessee. 

Early  in  1770  a  serious  affray  occurred  in  New  York.  The 
soldiers  wantonly  cut  down  a  liberty  pole  which  had  stood  for  several 
years  in  the  park.  A  conflict  ensued,  in  which  the  people  came  out  best ; 
another  pole  was  erected  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city.  On  the  5th 
of  March  a  more  serious  difficulty  occurred  in  Boston.  An  altercation 
had  taken  place  between  a  party  of  citizens  and  the  soldiers.  A  crowd 
gathered,  surrounded  Captain  Preston’s  company  of  the  city  guard,  hooted 


294 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


at  them,  and  dared  them  to  fire.  At  length  the  exasperated  soldiers  dis¬ 
charged  a  volley,  killing  three  of  the  citizens  and  wounding  several  others. 
This  outrage,  known  as  the  Boston  Massacre,  created  a  profound  sensa¬ 
tion.  The  city  was  ablaze  with  excitement.  Several  thousand  men 
assembled  under  arms.  Governor  Hutchinson  came  out,  promising  that 
justice  should  be  done  and  trying  to  appease  the  multitude.  The  brave 
Samuel  Adams  spoke  for  the  people.  An  immediate  withdrawal  of  the 
troops  from  the  city  was  demanded,  and  the  governor  was  obliged  to 
yield.  Captain  Preston  and  his  company  were  arrested  and  tried  for 
murder.  The  prosecution  was  conducted  with  great  spirit,  and  two  of 
the  offenders  were  convicted  of  manslaughter. 

On  the  very  day  of  the  Boston  massacre,  Lord  North,  who  had 
become  prime  minister,  secured  the  passage  by  Parliament  of  an  act  re¬ 
pealing  all  the  duties  on  American  imports  except  that  on  tea.  The 
exception  was  made  only  to  show  that  the  right  of  taxing  the  colonies 
was  not  relinquished.  The  merchants  of  New  York  and  Boston  at  once 
relaxed  their  non-importation  agreement  except  so  far  as  it  related  to  tea ; 
to  that  e-xtent  the  compact  was  retained;  and  the  people  voluntarily 
pledged  themselves  to  use  no  more  tea  until  the  duty  should  be  uncon¬ 
ditionally  repealed.  The  antagonism  toward  the  mother  country  was 
abating  somewhat,  when  in  1772  an  act  was  passed  by  Parliament  requir¬ 
ing  that  the  salaries  of  the  governor  and  judges  of  Massachusetts  should 
be  paid  out  of  the  colonial  revenues  without  consent  of  the  assembly. 
That  body  retaliated  by  a  declaration  that  the  parliamentary  statute  was 
a  violation  of  the  chartered  rights  of  the  people,  and  therefore  void. 
About  the  same  time  the  Gaspee,  a  royal  schooner  which  had  been  annoy¬ 
ing  the  people  of  Providence,  was  boarded  by  a  company  of  patriots  and 
burned. 

In  1773  the  ministers  attempted  to  enforce  the  tea-tax  by  a  strat¬ 
agem.  Owing  to  the  duty,  the  price  of  tea  in  the  American  market  had 
been  doubled.  But  there  was  no  demand  for  the  article ;  for  the  people 
would  not  buy.  As  a  consequence  the  warehouses  of  Great  Britain  were 
stored  with  vast  quantities  of  tea,  awaiting  shipment  to  America.  Par¬ 
liament  now  removed  the  export  duty  which  had  hitherto  been  charged 
on  tea  shipped  from  England.  The  price  was  by  so  much  lowered ;  and 
the  ministers  persuaded  themselves  that,  when  the  cheaper  tea  was  offered 
in  America,  the  silly  colonists  would  pay  their  own  import  duty  without 
suspicion  or  complaint. 

To  carry  out  this  scheme  English  ships  were  loaded  with  tea  for 
the  American  market.  Some  of  the  vessels  reached  Charleston ;  the  tea 
was  landed,  but  the  people  forbade  its  sale.  The  chests  were  stored  in 


CAUSES. 


295 


mouldy  cellars,  and  the  contents  ruined.  At  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
the  ports  were  closed  and  the  ships  forbidden  to  enter.  At  Boston  the 
vessels  entered  the  harbor.  The  tea  had  been  consigned  to  Governor  Hut¬ 
chinson  and  his  friends ;  and  special  precautions  were  taken  to  prevent  a 
failure  of  the  enterprise.  But  the  authorities  stubbornly  stood  their 
ground,  and  would  not  permit  the  tea  to  be  landed.  On  the  16th  of  De« 
cember  the  dispute  was  settled  in  a  memorable  manner.  There  was  a  great 
town-meeting  at  which  seven  thousand  people  were  assembled.  Adams 
and  Quincy  spoke  to 
the  multitudes.  Eve¬ 
ning  came  on,  and  the 
meeting  was  about  to 
adjourn,  when  a  war- 
whoop  was  heard,  and 
about  fifty  men  dis¬ 
guised  as  Indians  pass¬ 
ed  the  door  of  the  Old 
South  Church.  The 
crowd  followed  to 
Griffin’s  wharf,  where 
the  three  t  e  a-s  hips 
were  at  anchor.  Then 
everything  became 
quiet.  The  disguised 
men  quickly  boarded 
the  vessels,  broke  open 
the  three  hundred  and 
forty  chests  of  tea  that 
composed  the  cargoes, 
and  poured  the  con¬ 
tents  into  the  sea.  samuel  adams. 

Such  was  the  Boston  Tea-Party. 

Parliament  made  haste  to  find  revenge.  On  the  last  day  of  March, 
1774,  the  Boston  Port  Bill  was  passed.  It  was  enacted  that  no 
kind  of  merchandise  should  any  longer  be  landed  or  shipped  at  the 
wharves  of  Boston.  The  custom-house  was  removed  to  Salem,  but  the 
people  of  that  town  refused  the  benefits  which  were  proffered  by  the  hand 
of  tyranny.  The  inhabitants  of  Marblehead  tendered  the  free  use  of 
their  warehouses  to  the  merchants  of  Boston.  The  assembly  stood  stoutly 
by  the  cause  of  the  people.  When  the  news  of  the  passage  of  the  Port 
Bill  reached  Virginia,  the  burgesses  at  once  entered  a  protest  on  the 


296 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


journals  of  the  house.  When  Governor  Dunmore  ordered  the  members 
to  their  homes,  they  met  in  another  place,  and  passed  a  recommendation 
for  a  general  congress  of  the  colonies.  On  the  20th  of  May  the  vener¬ 
ated  charter  of  Massachusetts  was  annulled  by  act  of  Parliament.  The 
people  were  declared  rebels ;  and  the  governor  was  ordered  to  send 
abroad  for  trial  all  persons  who  should  resist  the  royal  officers.  The 
colonial  assembly  made  answer  by  adopting  a  resolution  that  the  powers 
of  language  were  not  sufficient  to  express  the  impolicy,  injustice,  in¬ 
humanity  and  cruelty  of  the  acts  of  Parliament. 

In  September  the  Second  Colonial  Congress  assembled  at 
Philadelphia.  Eleven  colonies  were  represented.  It  was  unanimously 
agreed  to  sustain  Massachusetts  in  her  conflict  with  a  wicked  ministry. 
One  address  was  sent  to  the  king ;  another  to  the  English  nation ;  and 
another  to  the  people  of  Canada.  Before  adjournment  a  resolution  was 
adopted  recommending  the  suspension  of  all  commercial  intercourse  with 
Great  Britain  until  the  wrongs  of  the  colonies  should  be  redressed.  Par¬ 
liament  immediately  retaliated  by  ordering  General  Gage,  who  had  been 
recently  appointed  governor  of  Massachusetts,  to  reduce  the  colonists  by 
force.  A  fleet  and  an  army  Qf  ten  thousand  soldiers  were  sent  to  America 
to  aid  in  the  work  of  subjugation. 

In  accordance  with  the  governor’s  orders,  Boston  Neck  was  seized 
and  fortified.  The  military  stores  in  the  arsenals  at  Cambridge  and 
Charlestown  were  conveyed  to  Boston ;  and  the  general  assembly  was 
ordered  to  disband.  Instead  of  doing  so,  the  members  resolved  them¬ 
selves  into  a  provincial  congress,  and  voted  to  equip  an  army  of  twelve 
thousand  men  for  the  defence  of  the  colony.  There  was  no  longer  any 
hope  of  a  peaceable  adjustment.  The  mighty  arm  of  Great  Britain  was 
stretched  out  to  smite  and  crush  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims.  The  colonists 
were  few  and  feeble  ;  but  they  were  men  of  iron  wills  who  had  made  up 
their  minds  to  die  for  liberty.  It  was  now  the  early  spring  of  1775,  and 
the  day  of  battle  was  at  hand. 


THE  BEGINNING , 


297 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


THE  BEGINNING. 


S  soon  as  the  intentions  of  General  Gage  were  manifest,  the  people 


-TA.  of  Boston,  concealing  their  ammunition  in  cart-loads  of  rubbish, 
conveyed  it  to  Concord,  sixteen  miles  away.  Gage  detected  the  move¬ 
ment,  and  on  the  night  of  the  18th  of  April  despatched  a  regiment  of 
eight  hundred  men  to  destroy  the  stores.  Another  purpose  of  the  expe¬ 
dition  was  to  capture  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  who  were  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  hidden  at  Lexington  or  Concord.  The  fact  was  that  they 
were  not  hidden  anywhere,  but  were  abroad  encouraging  the  people.  ' 
The  plan  of  the  British  general  was  made  with  great  secrecy ;  but  the 
patriots  were  on  the  alert,  and  discovered  the  movement. 

About  midnight  the  regiment,  under  command  of  Colonel  Smith 
and  Major  Pitcairn,  set  out  for  Concord.  The  people  of  Boston,  Charles¬ 
town  and  Cambridge  weire  roused  by  the  ringing  of  bells  and  the  firing 
of  cannons.  Two  hours  before,  the  vigilant  Joseph  Warren  had  de¬ 
spatched  William  Dawes  and  Paul  Revere  to  ride  with  all  speed  to  Lex¬ 
ington  and  to  spread  the  alarm  through  the  country.  Against  two  o’clock 
in  the  morning  the  minute-men  were  under  arms ;  and  a  company  of  a 
hundred  and  thirty  had  assembled  on  the  common  at  Lexington.  The 
patriots  loaded  their  guns  and  stood  ready ;  but  no  enemy  appeared,  and 
it  was  agreed  to  separate  until  the  drum-beat  should  announce  the  hour 
of  danger.  At  five  o’clock  the  British  van,  under  command  of  Pitcairn, 
came  in  sight.  The  provincials  to  the  number  of  seventy  reassembled ; 
Captain  Parker  was  their  leader.  Pitcairn  rode  up  and  exclaimed : 

“  Disperse,  ye  villains !  Throw  down  your  arms,  ye  rebels,  and  dis¬ 
perse  !”  The  minute-men  stood  still ;  Pitcairn  discharged  his  pistol  at 
them,  and  with  a  loud  voice  cried,  “  Fire !”  The  first  volley  of  the 
Revolution  whistled  through  the  air,  and  sixteen  of  the  patriots,  nearly  a 
fourth  of  the  whole  number,  fell  dead  or  wounded.  The  rest  fired  a  few 
random  shots,  and  then  dispersed. 

The  British  pressed  on  to  Concord ;  but  the  inhabitants  had  re¬ 
moved  the  greater  part  of  the  stores  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  there  was 
but  little  destruction.  Two  cannons  were  spiked,  some  artillery  carriages 


298 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


burned,  and  a  small  quantity  of  ammunition  thrown  into  a  mill-pond. 
While  the  British  were  ransacking  the  town  the  minute-men  began  to 
assemble  from  all  quarters.  Attempting  to  enter  the  village,  the  patriots 
encountered  a  company  of  soldiers  who  were  guarding  the  North  Bridge, 
over  Concord  River.  Here  the  Americans,  for  the  tirst  time,  fired  under 
orders  of  their  officers,  and  here  two  British  soldiers  were  killed.  The 
bridge  was  taken  by  the  provincials,  and  the  enemy  began  a  retreat — first 
into  the  town,  and  then  through  the  town  on  the  road  to  Lexington. 
This  was  the  signal  for  the  minute-men  to  attack  the  foe  from  every  side. 
For  six  miles  the  battle  was  kept  up  along  the  road.  Hidden  behind 
rocks,  trees,  fences  and  barns,  the  patriots  poured  a  constant  fire  upon  the 
thinned  ranks  of  the  retreating  enemy.  Nothing  but  good  discipline  and 
reinforcements  which,  under  command  of  Lord  Percy,  met  the  fugitives 
just  below  Lexington,  saved  the  British  from  total  rout  and  destruction. 
The  fight  continued  to  the  precincts  of  Charlestown,  the  militia  becoming 
more  and  more  audacious  in  their  charges.  At  one  time  it  seemed  that 
the  whole  British  force  would  be  obliged  to  surrender.  Such  a  result 
was  prevented  only  by  the  fear  that  the  fleet  would  burn  the  city.  The. 
American  loss  in  this  the  first  battle  of  the  war  was  forty-nine  killed, 
thirty-four  wounded  and  five  missing ;  that  of  the  enemy  was  two  hundred 
and  seventy-three — a  greater  loss  than  the  English  army  sustained  on  the 
Plains  of  Abraham. 

The  battle  of  Lexington  fired  the  country.  Within  a  few  days  an 
army  of  twenty  thousand  men  had  gathered  about  Boston.  A  line  of 
entrenchments  encompassing  the  city  was  drawn  from  Roxbury  to  Chel¬ 
sea.  To  drive  Gage  and  the  British  into  the  sea  was  the  common  talk 
in  that  tumultuous  camp.  And  the  number  constantly  increased.  John 
Stark  came  down  at  the  head  of  the  New  Hampshire  militia.  Israel 
Putnam,  with  a  leather  waistcoat  on,  was  helping  some  men  to  build  a 
stone  wall  on  his  farm  when  the  news  from  Lexington  came  flying. 
Hurrying  to  the  nearest  town,  he  found  the  militia  already  mustered. 
Bidding-  the  men  follow  as  soon  as  possible,  he  mounted  a  horse  and  rode 
to  Cambridge,  a  distance  of  a  hundred  miles,  in  eighteen  hours.  Rhode 
Island  sent  her  quota  under  the  brave  Nathaniel  Greene.  Benedict 
Arnold  came  with  the  provincials  of  New  Haven.  Ethan  Allen,  of 
Vermont,  made  war  in  the  other  direction. 

This  daring  and  eccentric  man  was  chosen  colonel  by  a  company  of 
two  hundred  and  seventy  patriots  who  had  assembled  at  Bennington. 
Before  the  battle  of  Lexington,  the  legislature  of  Connecticut  had  pri¬ 
vately  voted  a  thousand  dollars  to  encourage  an  expedition  against  Ticon- 
deroga.  To  capture  this  important  fortress,  with  its  vast  magazine  of 


THE  BEGINNING. 


299 


stores  was  the  object  of  Allen  and  the  audacious  mountaineers  of  whom  he 
was  the  leader.  Benedict  Arnold  left  Cambridge,  and  joined  the  expe¬ 
dition  as  a  private.  On  the  evening  of  the  9th  of  May,  the  force,  whose 
movements  had  not  been  discovered,  reached  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake 
Champlain,  opposite  Ticonderoga. 

Only  a  few  boats  could  be  procured ;  and  when  day  broke  on  the 
following  morning,  but  eighty-three  men  had  succeeded  in  crossing.  With 
this  mere  handful — for  the  rest  could  not  be  waited  for — Allen,  with 
Arnold  by  his  side,  made  a  dash,  and  gained  the  gateway  of  the  fort. 
The  sentinel  was  driven  in,  closely  followed  by  the  mountaineers,  who  set 
up  such  a  shout  as  few  garrisons  had  ever  heard.  Allen’s  men  hastily 
faced  the  barracks  and  stood  ready  to  fire ;  he  himself  rushed  to  the 
quarters  of  Delaplace,  the  commandant,  and  shouted  for  the  incumbent  to 
get  up.  The  startled  official  thrust  out  his  head.  “  Surrender  this  fort 
instantly,”  said  Allen.  “  By  what  authority  ?”  inquired  the  astounded 
officer.  “  In  the  name  of  the  great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Con¬ 
gress  !”  *  said  Allen,  flourishing  his  sword.  Delaplace  had  no  alternative. 
The  garrison,  numbering  forty-eight,  were  made  prisoners  and  sent  to 
Connecticut.  A  fortress  which  had  cost  Great  Britain  eight  million 
pounds  sterling  was  captured  in  ten  minutes  by  a  company  of  undiscip¬ 
lined  provincials.  By  this  daring  exploit  a  hundred  and  twenty  cannon 
and  vast  quantities  of  military  stores  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 
Two  days  afterward  Crown  Point  was  also  taken  without  the  loss  of  life. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  Generals  Howe,  Clinton  and  Burgoyne  arrived 
at  Boston.  They  brought  with  them  powerful  reinforcements  from  Eng¬ 
land  and  Ireland ;  the  British  army  was  augmented  to  more  than  ten  thou¬ 
sand  men.  Gage,  becoming  arrogant,  issued  a  proclamation,  branding 
those  in  arms  as  rebels  and  traitors,  offering  pardon  to  all  who  would 
submit,  but  excepting  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock;  these  two  were 
to  suffer  the  penalty  of  treason — provided  Gage  could  inflict  it.  It  was  now 
rumored — and  the  rumor  was  well  founded — that  the  British  were  about 
to  sally  out  of  Boston  with  the  purpose  of  burning  the  neighboring  towns 
and  devastating  the  country.  The  Americans  determined  to  anticipate 
this  movement  by  seizing  and  fortifying  Bunker  Hill,  a  height  which 
commanded  the  peninsula  of  Charlestown. 

On  the  night  of  the  16th  of  June  the  brave  Colonel  Prescott, 
grandfather  of  Prescott  the  historian,  was  sent  with  a  thousand  men  to 
occupy  and  entrench  the  hill.  Marching  by  way  of  Charlestown  Neck, 

*  This  saying  will  appear  especially  amusing  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  “Conti¬ 
nental  Congress  ”  referred  to  did  not  convene  until  about  six  hours  after  Ticonderoga  was 
captured. 


800 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  provincials  came  about  eleven  o’clock  to  the  eminence  which  they 
were  instructed  to  fortify.  Prescott  and  his  engineer  Grid  ley,  not  liking 
the  position  of  Bunker  Hill,  proceeded  down  the  peninsula  seven  hundred 
yards  to  another  height,  afterward  called  Breed’s  Hill.  The  latter  was 
within  easy  cannon  range  of  Boston.  On  this  summit  a  redoubt  eight 
rods  square  was  planned  by  the  engineer ;  and  there,  from  midnight  to 
day-dawn,  the  men  worked  in  silence.  The  British  ships  in  the  harboi 
were  so  near  that  the  Americans  could  hear  the  sentinels  on  deck  repeat¬ 
ing  the  night  call,  “  All  is  well.”  The  works  were  not  yet  completed 
when  morning  revealed  the  new-made  redoubt  to  the  astonished  British 
of  Boston. 

“  We  must  carry  those  works  immediately,”  said  General  Gage  to 
his  officers.  For  he  saw  that  Prescott’s  cannon  now  commanded  the  city. 

As  soon  as  it  was  light,  the  ships  in 
the  harbor  began  to  cannonade  the 
American  position.  The  British  bat¬ 
teries  on  Copp’s  Hill  also  opened  a 
heavy  fire.  But  little  damage  was 
done  in  this  way ;  and  the  Americans 
returned  only  an  occasional  shot ;  for 
their  supply  of  ammunition  was  very 
limited.  Just  after  noon  a  British 
column  of  about  three  thousand  vet¬ 
erans,  commanded  by  Generals  Howe 
and  Pigot,  landed  at  Morton’s  Point. 
The  plan  was  to  carry  Breed’s  Hill 
by  assault.  The  Americans  num¬ 
bered  in  all  about  fifteen  hundred.  They  were  worn  out  with  toil  and 
hunger;  but  there  was  no  quailing  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  During 
the  cannonade  Prescott  climbed  out  of  the  defences  and  walked  leisurely 
around  the  parapet  in  full  view  of  the  British  officers.  Generals  Putnam 
and  Warren  volunteered  as  privates,  and  entered  the  trenches.  At  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon  Howe  ordered  his  column  forward.  At  the  same 
time  every  gun  in  the  fleet  and  batteries  was  turned  upon  the  American 
position.  Charlestown  was  wantonly  set  on  fire  and  four  hundred  build¬ 
ings  burned.  Thousands  of  eager  spectators  climbed  to  the  house-tops 
in  Boston  and  waited  to  behold  the  shock  of  battle.  On  came  the  British 
in  a  stately  and  imposing  column. 

The  Americans  reserved  their  fire  until  the  advancing  line  was 
within  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  “Fire!”  cried  Prescott;  and  instantly 
from  breastwork  and  redoubt  every  gun  was  discharged.  The  front  rank 


SCENE  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER 
HILL,  1775. 


THE  BEGINNING. 


301 


of  the  British  melted  away ;  there  was  a  recoil,  and  fifteen  minutes  after¬ 
ward  a  precipitate  retreat.  Beyond  musket  range  Howe  rallied  his  men 
and  led  them  to  the  second  charge.  Again  the  American  fire  was  with¬ 
held  until  the  enemy  was  but  a  few  rods  distant.  Then  with  steady  aim 
volley  after  volley  was  poured  upon  the  charging  column  until  it  was 
broken  and  a  second  time  driven  into  flight. 

The  British  officers  were  now  desperate.  The  vessels  of  the  fleet 
changed  position  until  the  guns  were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  inside  of 
the  American  works.  For  the  third  time  the  assaulting  column  was  put 
in  motion.  The  British  soldiers  came  on  with  fixed  bayonets  up  the 
hillside  strewn  with  the  dead  and  dying.  The  Americans  had  but  three 
or  four  rounds  of  ammunition  remaining.  These  were  expended  on  the 
advancing  enemy.  Then  there  was  a  lull.  The  British  clambered  over 
the  ramparts.  The  provincials  clubbed  their  guns  and  hurled  stones  at 
the  assailants.  It  was  in  vain ;  the  heroic  defenders  of  liberty  were  driven 
out  of  their  trenches  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Prescott  lived  through 
the  battle,  but  the  brave  Warren  gave  his  life  for  freedom.  The  loss  of 
the  British  in  this  terrible  engagement  was  a  thousand  and  fifty-four  in 
killed  and  wounded.  The  Americans  lost  a  hundred  and  fifteen  killed, 
three  hundred  and  five  wrounded,  and  thirty-two  prisoners.  Prescott  and 
Putnam  conducted  the  retreat  by  way  of  Charlestown  Neck  to  Prospect 
Hill,  where  a  new  line  of  entrenchments  was  formed  which  still  com¬ 
manded  the  entrance  to  Boston. 

The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  rather  inspired  than  discouraged  the 
colonists.  It  was  seen  that  the  British  soldiers  were  not  invincible.  To 
capture  a  few  more  hills  would  cost  General  Gage  his  whole  army.  The 
enthusiasm  of  war  spread  throughout  the  country.  The  news  was  borne 
rapidly  to  the  South,  and  a  spirit  of  determined  opposition  was  every¬ 
where  aroused.  The  people  began  to  speak  of  the  United  Colonies 
of  America.  At  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  the  citizens  ran  together  in 
a  hasty  convention,  and  startled  the  country  by  making  a  declaration  of 
independence.  The  British  ministers  had  little  dreamed  of  raising  such 
a  storm. 

On  the  day  of  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  the  colonial  Congress, 
which  had  adjourned  in  the  previous  autumn,  reassembled  at  Philadelphia, 
Washington  was  there,  and  John  Adams  and  Samuel  Adams,  Franklin 
and  Patrick  Henry ;  Jefferson  came  soon  afterward.  A  last  appeal  was 
addressed  to  the  king  of  England ;  and  the  infatuated  monarch  was  plainly 
told  that  the  colonists  had  chosen  war  in  preference  to  voluntary  slavery. 
Early  in  the  session  John  Adams  made  a  powerful  address,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  sketched  the  condition  and  wants  of  the  country  and  of  the 


302 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


army.  The  necessity  of  appointing  a  commander-in-chief  and  the  qual¬ 
ities  requisite  in  that  high  officer  were  dwelt  upon  ;  and  then  the  speaker 
concluded  by  putting  in  nomination  George  Washington  of  Virginia.  As 
soon  as  his  name  was  mentioned,  Washington  'arose  and  withdrew  from 
the  hall.  For  a  moment  he  was  overpowered  with  a  sense  of  the  respon¬ 
sibility  which  was  about  to  be  put  upon  him,  and  to  his  friend  Patrick 
Henry  he  said  with  tears  in  his  eyes :  “  I  fear  that  this  day  will  mark  the 
downfall  of  my  reputation.”  On  the  15th  of  June  the  nomination  was 
unanimously  confirmed  by  Congress ;  and  the  man  who  had  saved  the 
wreck  of  Braddock’s  army  was  called  to  build  a  nation. 

George  Washington,  descended  from  the  distinguished  family 
of  the  Wessyngtons  in  England,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,. 
Virginia,  on  the  11th  of  February  (Old  Style),  1732.  At  the  age  of 
eleven  he  was  left,  by  the  death  of  his  father,  to  the  sole  care  of  a  talented 
and  affectionate  mother.  His  education  was  limited  to  the  common 
branches  of  learning,  extending  only  to  geometry  and  trigonometry.  Sur¬ 
veying  was  his  favorite  study.  In  his  boyhood  he  was  passionately  fond 
of  athletic  sports  and  military  exercises.  As  he  grew  to  manhood  he  was 
marked  above  all  his  companions  for  the  dignity  of  his  manners,  the 
soundness  of  his  judgment  and  the  excellence  of  his  character.  At  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  was  sent  by  his  uncle  to  survey  a  tract  of  land  on  the 
South  Potomac,  and  for  three  years  his  life  was  in  the  wilderness.  On 
reaching  his  majority  he  was  already  more  spoken  of  than  any  other 
young  man  in  the  colony.  The  important  duties  which  he  performed  in 
the  service  of  the  Ohio  Company,  the  beginning  of  his  military  career 
and  his  noted  campaign  with  Braddock  have  already  been  narrated.  After 
the  French  and  Indian  War  he  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  House  of 
Burgesses ;  was  then  chosen  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress ;  and 
was  now  called  by  that  body  to  control  the  destinies  of  the  unorganized 
mass  of  men  composing  the  American  army.  With  great  dignity  lie 
accepted  the  appointment,  refused  all  compensation  beyond  his  actual 
expenses,  set  out  with  an  escort  by  way  of  New  York,  and  reach'ed  Cam¬ 
bridge  fifteen  days  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

Washington’s  duties  and  responsibilities  were  overwhelming.  Con¬ 
gress  had  voted  to  raise  and  equip  twenty  thousand  men,  but  the  means 
of  doing  so  were  not  furnished.  The  colonies  had  not  yet  broken  their 
allegiance  to  the  British  Crown.  For  six  months  Congress  stood  waiting 
for  the  king’s  answer  to  its  address.  The  country  was  sound  and  patri¬ 
otic;  but  its  methods  of  action  were  irregular  and  uncertain.  Washington 
had  a  force  of  fourteen  thousand  five  hundred  men,  but  they  were  undis¬ 
ciplined  and  insubordinate.  The  revenues  and  supplies  of  war  were 


THE  BEGINNING. 


303 


almost  wholly  wanting.  At  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  the  whole 
army  had  but  twenty-seven  half  barrels  of  powder.  The  work  of  organ¬ 
ization  was  at  once  begun.  Four  major-generals,  one  adjutant  and  eight 
brigadiers  were  appointed.  The  army  was  arranged  in  three  divisions. 
The  right  wing,  under  General  Ward,  held  Roxbury ;  the  left,  commanded 
by  General  Charles  Lee,  rested  at  Prospect  Hill,  near  Charlestown  Neck; 
the  centre,  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the  commander-in-chief,  lay 
at  Cambridge.  Boston  was  regularly  invested,  and  the  siege  was  pressed 
with  constantly  increasing  vigor. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1775,  the  king’s  authority  was 
overthrown  in  all  the  colonies.  The  royal  governors  either  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  people,  were  compelled  to  resign  or  were  driven  off  in  insur¬ 
rections.  Lord  Dunmore,  governor  of  Virginia,  seized  the  public  powder. 
Patrick  Henry  led  the  people,  and  demanded  restitution.  The  governor 
was  overawed,  and  paid  the  value  of  the  powder.  Fearing  further  aggres¬ 
sion,  he  went  on  board  a  man-of-war,  proclaimed  freedom  to  the  slaves, 
raised  a  force  of  loyalists,  met  the  provincials  at  the  village  of  Great 
Bridge  near  Norfolk,  and  was  defeated.  Obliged  to  retire  from  the  coun¬ 
try,  he  gratified  his  vindictive  disposition  by  burning  Norfolk. 

The  American  colonies  looked  to  Canada  for  sympathy  and  aid. 
It  was  believed  that  the  Canadians  would  make  common  cause  against 
Great  Britain.  In  order  to  encourage  such  a  movement  and  to  secure 
possession  of  the  Canadian  government,  an  expedition  was  planned  against 
the  towns  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  Generals  Schuyler  and  Montgomery 
were  placed  in  command  of  a  division  which  was  to  proceed  by  way  of 
Lake  Champlain  and  the  river  Sorel  to  St.  John  and  Montreal.  The 
former  fort  was  reached  on  the  10th  of  September,  but  the  Americans, 
finding  the  place  too  strong  to  be  carried  by  assault,  fell  back  twelve  miles 
to  Isle-aux-Noix  in  the  Sorel.  This  place  General  Schuyler  fortified, 
and  then  returned  to  Ticonderoga  for  reinforcements.  Sickness  detained 
him  there,  and  the  whole  command  devolved  on  Montgomery.  This 
gallant  officer  returned  to  St.  John  and  captured  the  fortress.  Fort 
Chambly,  ten  ft  files  farther  north,  was  also  taken.  Montreal  was  next 
invested,  and  on  the  13th  of  November  obliged  to  capitulate. 

Leaving  garrisons  in  the  conquered  towns,  Montgomery  proceeded 
with  his  regiment,  now  reduced  to  three  hundred  men,  against  Quebec. 
This  stronghold  was  already  threatened  from  another  quarter.  Late  in 
the  autumn,  Colonel  Benedict  Arnold  set  out  with  a  thousand  men  from 
Cambridge,  passed  up  the  Kennebec  and  urged  his  way  through  the  wil¬ 
derness  to  the  Chaudiere,  intending  to  descend  that  stream  to  Point  Levi. 
The  march  was  one  of  untold  hardship  and  suffering.  As  winter  came 


304 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


on  tlie  men  were  brought  to  the  verge  of  starvation.  The  daring  leader 
pressed  on  in  the  hope  of  gathering  supplies  from  some  unguarded  French 
village.  Before  his  return  the  famishing  soldiers  had  killed  and  devoured 
every  dog  that  could  be  found.  Then  the  brave  fellows  gnawed  the  roots 
of  trees  and  ate  their  moose-skin  moccasins  until  Arnold’s  return,  when 
the  whole  force  proceeded  to  Quebec.  Morgan,  Greene  and  Meigs,  all 
three  noted  leaders  of  the  Revolution,  and  Aaron  Burr,  one  day  to  be¬ 
come  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  were  in  this  company  of  suf¬ 
fering  heroes. 

Arnold  and  his  men,  climbing  to  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  as  Wolfe 
had  done  sixteen  years  previously,  offered  battle.  But  the  English  gar¬ 
rison  of  Quebec  remained  in  their  fortifications  awaiting  an  assault  which 
the  Americans  were  not  strong  enough  to  make.  Conscious  of  his  weak¬ 
ness,  Arnold  withdrew  his  men  to  Point  aux  Trembles,  twenty  miles  up 
the  river,  and  there  awaited  the  approach  of  Montgomery.  When  the 
latter  arrived,  he  assumed  command  of  the  whole  force,  which  did  not 
exceed  nine  hundred  effective  men.  Quebec  was  defended  by  greatly 
superior  numbers,  well  fortified  and  warmly  quartered.  For  three  weeks, 
with  his  handful  of  men,  Montgomery  besieged  the  town,  and  then,  rely¬ 
ing  only  on  the  courageous  valor  of  his  men,  determined  to  stake  every¬ 
thing  on  an  assault. 

It  was  the  last  day  of  December,  1775.  Before  daybreak  the  little 
army  was  divided  into  four  columns.  The  first  division,  under  Mont¬ 
gomery,  was  to  pass  down  the  St.  Lawrence  and  attack  the  Lower  Town 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  citadel.  The  second  column,  led  by  Arnold, 
was  to  sweep  around  the  city  to  the  north,  attack  by  way  of  the  St. 
Charles,  and  join  Montgomery  in  order  to  storm  the  Prescott  Gate.  The 
other  two  divisions  were  to  remain  in  the  rear  of  the  Upper  Town,  making 
.feigned  attacks  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  garrison.  Montgomery’s 
column  reached  the  point  from  which  the  charge  was  to  begin.  A  battery 
lay  just  before,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  gunners  had  not  discovered 
the  assailants.  “Men  of  New  York,”  said  the  brave  Montgomery,  “you 
will  not  fear  to  follow  where  your  general  leads!  Forward!”  There 
were  masses  of  ice  and  clouds  of  blinding  snow,  and  broken  ground  and 
the  cold  gray  light  of  morning.  As  the  Americans  were  rushing  forward, 
all  of  a  sudden  the  battery  burst  forth  with  a  storm  of  grape-shot.  At 
the  first  discharge  Montgomery  and  both  of  his  aids  fell  dead.  The 
column  was  shattered.  The  men  were  heartbroken  at  the  death  of  their 
beloved  general.  They  staggered  a  moment,  then  fell  back,  and  returned 
to  Wolfe’s  Cove,  above  the  city. 

Arnold,  ignorant  of  what  had  happened,  fought  his  way  into  the 


THE  WORK  OF  76. 


305 


Lower  Town  on  the  north.  While  leading  the  charge  he  was  severely 
wounded  and  borne  to  the  rear.  Captain  Morgan,  who  succeeded  him, 
Jed  his  brave  band  farther  and  farther  along  the  narrow  and  dangerous 
streets  until  he  was  overwhelmed  and  compelled  to  surrender.  Arnold 
retired  with  his  broken  remnant  to  a  point  three  miles  above  the  city. 
Reinforcements  soon  began  to  arrive ;  but  the  smallpox  broke  out  in  the 
camp,  and  active  operations  could  not  be  resumed.  As  soon  as  the  ice  dis¬ 
appeared  from  the  St.  Lawrence,  Quebec  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival 
of  fresh  troops  from  England.  Governor  Carleton  now  began  offensive 
movements ;  the  Americans  fell  back  from  post  to  post,  until,  by  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  the  following  June,  Canada  was  entirely  evacuated. 

The  worst  calamity  of  the  whole  campaign  was  the  death  of  Gen¬ 
eral  Richard  Montgomery.  He  was  one  of  the  noblest  of  the  many  noble 
men  who  gave  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  American  liberty.  Born  of  an 
illustrious  Irish  family,  he  became  a  soldier  in  his  boyhood.  He  had 
shared  the  toils  and  the  triumph  of  Wolfe.  To  the  enthusiasm  of  a  warm 
and  affectionate  nature  he  joined  the  highest  order  of  military  talents  and 
the  virtues .  of  an  exalted  character.  Even  in  England  his  death  was 
mentioned  with  sorrow.  New  York,  his  adopted  State,  claimed  his  body, 
brought  his  remains  to  her  own  metropolis  and  buried  them  with  tears. 
To  after  times  the  Congress  of  the  nation  transmitted  his  fame  by  erecting 
a  noble  monument. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  WORK  OF  76. 

AT  last  came  the  king’s  answer  to  the  appeal  of  Congress.  was 

such  an  answer  as  George  III.  and  his  ministers  always  mad  the 

petitioners  for  human  rights.  The  colonies  were  insulted  and  s(  ;ed; 
their  petition  was  treated  with  contempt.  The  king  of  England  J  not 
know  any  such  a  body  as  the  Continental  Congress.  The  first  tiling 
necessary  was  to  disband  the  army  and  to  submit  without  conditions. 
Then  the  monarch  would  settle  all  questions  with  each  colony  separately. 
By  this  offensive  and  tyrannical  answer  the  day  of  independence  was 
brought  nearer. 

Meanwhile,  General  Howe  had  succeeded  Gage  in  command  of  the 


306 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


British  troops  in  Boston.  All  winter  long  the  city  was  besieged  by 
Washington.  By  the  middle  of  February  the  American  army  had  in¬ 
creased  to  fourteen  thousand  men.  The  country  became  restless;  and 
Congress  urged  the  commander-in-chief  to  press  the  enemy  with  greater 
vigor.  Washington,  knowing  the  insufficiency  of  his  supplies,  and  fear¬ 
ing  the  consequences  of  rashness  more  than  the  charge  of  inactivity,  nar¬ 
rowed  his  lines,  strengthened  his  works,  and  waited  his  opportunity.  By 
the  first  day  of  spring,  1776,  he  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  risk  an 
assault ;  the  officers  of  his  staff  thought  otherwise,  and  a  different  plan 
was  adopted. 

On  the  north,  Boston  was  commanded  by  the  peninsula  of  Charles¬ 
town  ;  on  the  south,  by  Dorchester  Heights.  Since  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  the  former  position  had  been  held  by  the  British ;  the  latter  was,  as 
yet,  unoccupied.  Washington  now  resolved  to  take  advantage  of  the 

enemy’s  oversight,  to  seize  the 
Heights  and  drive  Howe  out  of 
Boston.  A  strong  entrenching  party 
was  prepared  and  put  under  com¬ 
mand  of  General  Thomas.  For  two 
days  the  attention  of  the  British  was 
drawn  by  a  constant  fire  from  the 
American  batteries.  Then,  on  the 
night  of  the  4th  of  March,  the  de¬ 
tachment  set  out  under  cover  of  the 
darkness,  passed  over  Dorchester 
Neck,  and  reached  the  Heights  un¬ 
perceived.  Through  the  night  the 
Americans  worked  with  an  energy 
rarely  equaled.  The  British,  dis¬ 
tracted  with  the  cannonade,  noticed  nothing  unusual ;  and  when  morning 
dawned,  they  could  hardly  trust  their  senses.  There  was  a  line  of  for¬ 
midable  entrenchments  frowning  upon'  the  city ;  cannon  were  mounted, 
and  the  Americans  in  force.  Howe  saw  at  a  glance  that  he  must  imme¬ 
diately  carry  the  threatening  redoubts  or  himself  abandon  Boston.  En¬ 
raged  at  being  outgeneraled,  he  ordered  Lord  Percy  to  select  a  column 
of  two  thousand  four  hundred  men  and  storm  the  American  works  before 
nightfall. 

Percy  put  his  men  in  order  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Castle  Island, 
intending  to  make  the  assault  in  the  afternoon.  Washington  visited  the 
trenches  and  exhorted  his  men.  It  was  the  anniversary  of  the  Boston 
Massacre,  and  the  soldiers  were  eager  to  avenge  the  deaths  of  their  coun- 


SIEGE  OP  BOSTON,  1776. 


THE  WORK  OF  76. 


307 


try  men.  A  battle  was  momentarily  expected ;  but  while  Percy  delayed, 
a  violent  storm  arose  and  rendered  the  harbor  impassable.  It  continued 
to  blow  for  a  whole  day,  and  the  attack  could  not  be  made.  Before  the 
following  morning  the  Americans  had  so  strengthened  and  extended  their 
fortifications  that  all  thoughts  of  an  assault  were  abandoned.  Howo 
found  himself  reduced  to  the  humiliating  extremity  of  giving  up  the 
capital  of  New  England  to  the  rebels. 

After  some  days  there  was  an  informal  agreement  between  Washing¬ 
ton  and  the  British  general  that  the  latter  should  be  allowed  to  retire 
from  Boston  unmolested  on  condition  that  the  city  should  not  be  burned. 
•  On  the  17th  of  March  the  arrangement  was  consummated,  and  the  whole 
British  army  went  on  board  the  fleet  and  sailed  out  of  the  harbor.  Nearly 
fifteen  hundred  loyalists,  fearing  the  vengeance  of  the  patriots,  left  their 
homes  and  fortunes  to  escape  with  Howe.  The  American  advance  at 
once  entered  the  city.  On  the  20th,  Washington  made  a  formal  entry  at 
the  head  of  the  triumphant  army.  The  desolated  town,  escaping  from 
the  calamities  of  a  ten  months’  siege,  broke  forth  in  exultation.  The 
exiled  patriots  returned  by  thousands  to  their  homes.  The  country  was 
wild  with  delight.  From  all  quarters  came  votes  of  thanks  and  messages 
of  encouragement.  Congress  ordered  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck  in  honor 
of  Washington,  victorious  over  an  enemy  “  for  the  first  time  put  to  flight.” 

The  next  care  of  the  commander-in-chief  was  to  strengthen  the 
defences  of  Boston.  That  done,  he  repaired  with  the  main  division  of 
the  army  to  New  York.  It  was  not  known  to  what  part  of  the  coast 
Howe  would  direct  his  course;  and  Washington  feared  that  his  antagonist 
might  make  a  sudden  descent  in  the  neighborhood  of  Long  Island.  Gen¬ 
eral  Lee  pressed  forward  with  the  Connecticut  militia,  and  reached  New 
York  just  in  time  to  baffle  an  attempt  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  whose 
fleet  arrived  off  Sandy  Hook  and  threatened  the  city.  Clinton  next 
sailed  southward,  and  on  the  3d  of  May  was  joined  by  Sir  Peter 
Parker,  in  command  of  another  fleet,  and  Lord  Cornwallis  with  two  thou¬ 
sand  five  hundred  men.  The  force  was  deemed  sufficient  for  any  enter¬ 
prise,  and  it  was  determined  to  capture  Charleston. 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Lee  had  reached  the  South,  and  was 
watching  the  movements  of  Clinton.  The  Carolinians  rose  in  arms  and 
flocked  to  Charleston.  The  city  was  fortified ;  and  a  fort,  which  com¬ 
manded  the  entrance  to  the  harbor,  was  built  on  Sullivan’s  Island.  On 
the  4th  of  June  the  British  squadron  came  in  sight,  and  a  strong  detach¬ 
ment  was  landed  on  Long  Island,  a  short  distance  east  of  Fort  Sullivan. 
There  was  a  delay  until  the  28th  of  the  month ;  then  the  British  fleet 
began  a  furious  bombardment  of  the  fortress,  which  was  commanded  by 


308 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Colonel  Moultrie.  Three  men-of-war,  attempting  to  pass  the  fort,  were 
stranded.  Clinton  ordered  a  storming-party  to  wade  the  channel  between 
Long  Island  and  Sullivan’s  Island  and  carry  the  works  by  assault;  but 
the  water  was  too  deep  to  be  forded,  and  Colonel  Thompson,  who  was 
stationed  with  a  company  of  riflemen  on  the  opposite  bank,  drove  the 
British  back  in  confusion.  For  eight  hours  the  vessels  of  the  fleet  poured 
a  tempest  of  balls  upon  the  fort ;  but  the  walls,  built  of  the  spongy  pal¬ 
metto,  were  little  injured.  The  four  hundred  militiamen  who  composed 
the  garrison  fought  like  veterans.  The  republican  flag  was  shot  away 
and  thrown  outside  of  the  parapet;  Sergeant  Jasper  leaped  down  from  the 
wall,  recovered  the  flag  and  set  it  in  its  place  again.  The  fire  from  the 
fleet  was  returned  with  great  spirit ;  and  as  evening  drew  on  the  British 
were  obliged  to  retire  with  a  loss  of  more  than  two  hundred  men.  Lord 
Campbell,  the  royal  governor  of  South  Carolina,  was  killed,  and  Admiral 
Parker  was  severely  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  garrison  amounted  in 
killed  and  wounded  to  thirty-two.  As  soon  as  the  British  could  repair 
their  shattered  fleet  they  abandoned  the  siege  and  set  sail  for  New  York. 
In  honor  of  its  brave  defender  the  fort  on  Sullivan’s  Island  was  named 
Fort  Moultrie. 

During  the  summer  Washington’s  forces  were  augmented  to  about 
twenty-seven  thousand  men ;  but  the  terms  of  enlistment  were  constantly 
expiring ;  sickness  prevailed  in  the  camp ;  and  the  effective  force  was  but 
little  more  than  half  as  great  as  the  aggregate.  On  the  other  hand,  Great 
Britain  was  making  the  vastest  preparations.  By  a  treaty  with  some  of 
the  petty  German  States,  seventeen  thousand  Hessian  mercenaries  were 
hired  to  fight  against  America.  George  III.  was  going  to  quell  his  re¬ 
volted  provinces  by  turning  loose  upon  them  a  brutal  foreign  soldiery. 
Twenty-five  thousand  additional  English  troops  were  levied ;  an  immense 
squadron  was  fitted  out  to  aid  in  the  reduction  of  the  colonies,  and  a 
million  dollars  were  voted  for  the  extraordinary  expenses  of  the  war 
department. 

By  these  measures  the  Americans  were  greatly  exasperated.  Until 
now  it  had  been  hoped  that  the  difficulty  with  the  mother  country  could 
be  satisfactorily  adjusted  without  breaking  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown. 
'The  colonists  had  constantly  claimed  to  be  loyal  subjects  of  Great  Britain, 
demanding  only  the  rights  and  liberties  of  Englishmen.  Now  the  case 
seemed  hopeless ;  and  the  sentiment  of  disloyalty  spread  with  alarming 
rapidity.  The  people  urged  the  general  assemblies,  and  the  general 
assemblies  urged  Congress,  to  a  more  decided  assertion  of  sovereignty. 
The  legislature  of  Virginia  led  the  way  by  advising  in  outspoken  terms  a 
declaration  of  independence.  Congress  responded  by  recommending  all 


THE  WORK  OF  76. 


309 


the  colonies  to  adopt  such  governments  as  might  best  conduce  to  the  hap¬ 
piness  and  safety  of  the  people.  This  action  was  taken  early  in  May,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  following  month  nearly  all  the  provinces  complied 
with  the  recommendation. 

Finally,  on  the  7th  of  June,  1776,  Richard  Henry  Lee  of  Virginia 
offered  a  resolution  in  Congress  declaring  that  the  United  Colonies  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States;  that  they  are 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown ;  and  that  all  political 
connection  between  them  and  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  dissolved. 
A  long  and  exciting  debate  ensued.  The  sentiment  of  independence 
gained  ground ;  but  there  was  still  strong  opposition  to  the  movement. 
After  some  days  the  final  consideration  of  Lee’s  resolution  was  postponed 
until  the  1st  of  July.  On  the  11th  of  June  a  committee,  consisting  of 
five  members,  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  more  elaborate  and  formal  dec¬ 
laration.  Mr.  Lee  had  been  called  home  by  sickness ;  and  his  colleague, 
Thomas  Jefferson,  was  accordingly  made  chairman  of  the  committee.  The 
other  members  were  John  Adams  of  Massachusetts,  Benjamin  Franklin 
of  Pennsylvania,  Roger  Sherman  of  Connecticut  and  Robert  R.  Livingston 
of  New  York.  The  special  work  of  preparing  the  paper  was  allotted  to 
Jefferson  and  Adams;  the  latter  deferred  to  the  former,  whose  vigorous 
style  of  writing  specially  fitted  him  for  the  task.  The  great  document 
was  accordingly  produced  in  Jefferson’s  hand,  with  a  few  interlinings  by 
Adams  and  Franklin. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  Lee’s  resolution  was  taken  up,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  committee’s  report  was  laid  before  Congress.  On  the  next  day 
the  original  resolution  was  adopted.  During  the  3d,  the  formal  declara¬ 
tion  was  debated  with  great  spirit,  and  it  became  evident  that  the  work 
of  the  committee  would  be  accepted.  The  discussion  was  resumed  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th,  and  at  two  o’clock  on  the  afternoon  of  that  memorable 
day  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence  was  adopted  by 
a  unanimous  vote. 

All  day  long  the  old  bellman  of  the  State  House  had  stood  in  the 
steeple  ready  to  sound  the  note  of  freedom  to  the  city  and  the  nation.  The 
hours  went  by  ;  the  gray-haired  veteran  in  the  belfry  grew  discouraged,  and 
began  to  say  :  “  They  will  never  do  it — they  will  never  do  it.”  Just  then 
the  lad  who  had  been  stationed  below  ran  out  and  exclaimed  at  the  top  of 
his  voice,  “  Ring  !  ring !”  And  the  aged  patriot  did  ring  as  he  had  never 
rung  before.  The  multitudes  that  thronged  the  streets  caught  the  signal 
and  answered  with  shouts  of  exultation.  Swift  couriers  bore  the  glad  news 
throughout  the  land.  Everywhere  the  declaration  was  received  with 
enthusiastic  applause.  At  Philadelphia  the  king’s  arms  were  torn  down 


310 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


from  the  court-house  and  burned  in  the  street.  At  Williamsburg, 
Charleston  and  Savannah  there  were  bonfires  and  illuminations.  At 
Boston  the  declaration  was  read  in  Faneuil  Hall,  while  the  cannon  from 
Fort  Hill  and  Dorchester  shook  the  city  of  the  Puritans.  At  New  York 
the  populace  pulled  down  the  leaden  statue  of  George  III.  and  cast  it  into 
bullets.  Washington  received  the  message  with  joy,  and  ordered  the 
declaration  to  be  read  at  the  head  of  each  brigade.  Former  suffering  and 
future  peril  were  alike  forgotten  in  the  general  rejoicing. 

The  leading  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  are 
these :  That  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that  all  have  a  natural  right  to 
liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that  human  governments  are  insti¬ 
tuted  for  the  sole  purpose  of  securing  the  welfare  of  the  people ;  that  the 
people  have  a  natural  right  to  alter  their  government  whenever  it  becomes 
destructive  of  liberty ;  that  the  government  of  George  III.  had  become 
destructive  of  liberty ;  that  the  despotism  of  the  king  and  his  ministers 
could  be  shown  by  a  long  list  of  indisputable  proofs — and  the  proofs  are 
given;  that  time  and  again  the  colonies  had  humbly  petitioned  for  a 
redress  of  grievances;  that  all  their  petitions  had  been  spurned  with 
derision  and  contempt ;  that  the  king’s  irrational  tyranny  over  his  Amer¬ 
ican  subjects  was  no  longer  endurable ;  that  an  appeal  to  the  sword  is  pref¬ 
erable  to  slavery ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  United  Colonies  of  America  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States.  To  the  support 
of  this  sublime  declaration  of  principles  the  members  of  the  Continental 
Congress  mutually  pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes  and  their  sacred 
honor. 

On  leaving  Boston,  General  Howe  sailed  to  Halifax.  There  he 
remained  until  the  middle  of  June,  when  he  embarked  his  forces  and 
set  sail  for  Sandy  Hook.  Early  in  July  he  landed  a  force  of  nine  thou¬ 
sand  men  on  Staten  Island.  Thither  Clinton  came  from  the  unsuccess¬ 
ful  siege  of  Charleston,  and  Admiral  Howe,  brother  of  General  Howe,  from 
England.  The  whole  British  force,  now  gathered  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
York,  amounted  to  fully  thirty  thousand  men.  Nearly  half  of  them  were 
the  hated  Hessians  whom  the  king  of  Great  Britain  had  hired  at  thirty- 
six  dollars  a  head.  Washington’s  army  was  inferior  in  numbers,  poolly 
equipped  and  imperfectly  disciplined. 

There  was  some  delay  in  military  operations ;  for  Lord  Howe,  the 
admiral,  had  been  instructed  to  tiy  conciliatory  measures  with  the  Amer¬ 
icans.  First,  he  sent  to  the  American  camp  an  officer  with  a  despatch 
directed  to  George  Washington,  Esquire.  Of  course  Washington  refused 
to  receive  a  communication  which  did  not  recognize  his  official  position. 
In  a  short  time  Howe  sent  another  message,  addressed  to  George  Wash- 

0 


THE  WORK  OF  76. 


311 


ington,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. ;  and  the  bearer,  who  was  Howe’s  adjutant-general, 
insisted  that  and-so-forth  might  be  translated  General  of  the  American 
Army.  Washington  was  the  last  man  in  the  world  to  be  caught  with  a 
subterfuge ;  and  the  adjutant  was  sent  away.  It  was  already  well  known 
that  Howe’s  authority  extended  only  to  granting  pardons,  and  to  unes¬ 
sential  matters  about  which  the  Americans  were  no  longer  concerned, 
Washington  therefore  replied  that  since  no  offence  had  been  committed 
no  pardon  was  required ;  that  the  colonies  were  now  independent,  and 
would  defend  themselves  against  all  aggression. 

Baffled  in  his  efforts,  Lord  Howe  and  his  brother  determined  to 
begin  hostilities.  On  the  22d  of  August  the  British,  to  the  number  of 
ten  thousand,  landed  on  the  south-western  coast  of  Long  Island,  near  the 
village  of  New  Utrecht.  The  Americans,  about  eight  thousand  strong, 
commanded  by  Generals  Sullivan  and  Stirling,  were  posted  in  the  vicinity 
of  Brooklyn.  The  advance  of  the  British  was  planned  with  great  skill. 
From  Gravesend,  where  Howe’s  forces  were  landed,  there  were  three 
roads  to  Brooklyn ;  the  British  army  was  accordingly  arranged  in  three 
divisions.  The  first  column,  commanded  by  General  Grant,  was  to  ad¬ 
vance  by  way  of  Utrecht  and  the  Narrows.  The  second  division,  com¬ 
posed  of  the  Hessians,  under  command  of  General  Heister,  was  to  proceed 
to  Flatbush,  and  thence  to  Bedford  and  Brooklyn.  The  third  and  strong¬ 
est  column,  led  by  Clinton  and  Cornwallis,  was  to  make  a  circuit  to  the 
right  as  far  as  Flatland,  reach  the 
Jamaica  road,  and  pass  by  way  of 
Bedford  to  the  rear  of  the  American 
left  wing.  All  of  the  movements 
were  executed  with  perfect  ease  and 
fatal  precision. 

The  advance  from  Gravesend 
began  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of 
August.  Grant’s  division  proceeded 
as  far  as  the  hill  now  embraced  in 
Greenwood  Cemetery,  where  he  met 
General  Stirling  with  fifteen  hundred 
men ;  and  the  battle  at  once  began. 

But  in  this  part  of  the  field  there  was 
no  decisive  result.  Heister,  in  com¬ 
mand  of  the  British  centre,  advanced 

beyond  Flatbush,  and  engaged  the  main  body  of  the  Americans,  under 
General  Sullivan.  Here  the  battle  began  with  a  brisk  cannonade,  in 
which  the  Hessians  gained  little  or  no  ground  until  Sullivan  was  suddenly 


BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND,  1776. 


312 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


alarmed  by  the  noise  of  battle  on  his  left  and  rear,  and  the  battalions  of 
Clinton  came  rushing  on  the  field. 

For  General  Putnam,  who  had  come  over  and  taken  command  of 
the  entire  force  of  the  island,  had,  neglectful  of  Washington’s  orders, 
failed  to  guard  the  passes  on  the  left  of  the  American  army.  During  the 
previous  night  Clinton  had  ocoupied  the  heights  above  the  Jamaica  road, 
and  now  his  force  came  down,  unopposed  and  unperceived,  by  way  of 
Bedford.  Sullivan  found  himself  surrounded,  cut  off,  hemmed  in  between 
the  two  divisions  of  Clinton  and  Heister.  From  that  moment  it  was  only 
a  question  as  to  what  part  of  the  army  could  be  saved  from  destruction. 
The  men  fought  desperately,  and  many  broke  through  the  closing  lines  of 
the  British.  The  rest  were  scattered,  killed  or  taken  prisoners. 

Cornwallis’s  division  pressed  on  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  Stirling. 
At  first  the  British  were  repulsed,  and  Stirling  began  his  retreat  toward 
Brooklyn.  At  Gowanus  Creek  a  number  of  his  men  were  drowned  and 
many  others  captured ;  the  rest  reached  the  American  lines  in  safety. 
Before  the  battle  was  ended  Washington  arrived  on  the  field,  and  his 
soul  was  wrung  with  anguish  at  the  sight.  At  first  his  army  seemed 
ruined ;  but  his  resolute  and  tranquil  spirit  rose  above  the  disasters  of  the 
battle.  Generals  Stirling,  Sullivan  and  Woodhull  were  all  prisoners  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Nearly  a  thousand  patriot  soldiers  were  killed, 
wounded  or  missing.  It  seemed  an  easy  thing  for  Clinton  and  Howe  to 
press  on  and  capture  all  the  rest.  Yet  in  a  few  hours  Washington 
brought  together  his  shattered  forces,  reorganized  his  brigades  and  stood 
ready  for  an  assault  in  the  trenches  back  of  Brooklyn. 

During  the  28th,  Howe,  who  was  a  sluggish,  sensual  man,  ate 
pudding  and  waited  for  a  fitter  day.  On  the  29th  there  was  a  heavy 
fog  over  island  and  bay  and  river.  Washington,  clearly  perceiving  that 
he  could  not  hold  his  position,  and  that  his  army  was  in  great  peril,  re¬ 
solved  to  withdraw  to  New  York.  The  enterprise  was  extremely  hazard¬ 
ous,  requiring  secrecy,  courage  and  despatch.  By  eight  o’clock  on  that 
memorable  night  every  boat  and  transport  that  could  be  obtained  was 
lying  at  the  Brooklyn  ferry.  There,  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  the 
embarkation  began.  Washington  personally  superintended  every  move¬ 
ment.  All  night  with  muffled  oars  the  boatmen  rowed  silently  back  and 
forth,  bearing  the  patriots  to  the  northern  side  of  the  channel.  At  day¬ 
light  on  the  following  morning,  just  as  the  last  boatload  was  leaving  the 
wharf,  the  movement  was  discovered  by  the  British.  They  rushed  into 
the  American  entrenchments,  and  found  nothing  there  except  a  few  worth¬ 
less  guns.  After  a  severe  battle  which  had  cost  him  nearly  four  hundred 
men,  Howe  had  gained  possession  of  Long  Island — and  nothing  more. 


THE  WORK  OF  76. 


313 


General  Greene,  who  was  a  competent  judge,  declared  that  Washington’s 
retreat  was  the  most  masterly  he  ever  read  or  heard  of. 

The  defeat  on  Long  Island  was  very  disastrous  to  the  American 
cause.  The  army  was  dispirited.  As  fast  as  their  terms  of  enlistment 
expired  the  troops  returned  to  their  homes.  Desertions  became  alarm¬ 
ingly  frequent;  and  it  was  only  by  constant  exertion  that  Washington 
kept  his  army  from  disbanding.  To  add  to  the  peril,  the  British  fleet 
doubled  Long  Island  and  anchored  within  cannon-shot  of  New  York. 
Washington,  knowing  himself  unable  to  defend  the  city,  called  a  council 
of  war,  and  it  was  determined  to  retire  to  the  Heights  of  Harlem.  On 
the  15th  of  September  the  British  landed  in  force  on  the  east  side  of 
Manhattan  Island,  about  three  miles  above  New  York.  Thence  they 
extended  their  lines  across  the  island  to  the  Hudson,  and  took  possession 
of  the  city.  It  was  in  this  juncture  of  affairs  that  Howe  made  overtures 
of  peace  to  Congress.  General  Sullivan  was  paroled  and  sent  to  Philadel¬ 
phia  as  Howe’s  agent;  but  Congress  was  in  no  mood  to  be  conciliated. 
Franklin,  on  behalf  of  that  body,  wrote  Howe  a  letter,  telling  him  many 
unpalatable  truths  about  what  might  henceforth  be  expected  from  the 
American  colonies. 

On  the  next  day  after  the  British  gained  possession  of  New  York, 
there  was  a  skirmish  between  the  advance  parties  of  the  two  armies  north 
of  the  city.  The  Americans  gained  a  decided  advantage,  and  the  British 
were  driven  back  with  a  loss  of  a  hundred  men.  On  the  American  side 
the  loss  included  Colonel  Knowlton  and  Major  Leitch — two  valuable 
officers — and  nearly  fifty  privates.  On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  Septem¬ 
ber  a  fire  broke  out  in  New  York  and  destroyed  nearly  five  hundred 
buildings.  On  the  16th  of  October,  while  the  Americans  were  still  in 
their  entrenchments  above  the  city,  Howe  embarked  his  forces,  passed 
into  Long  Island  Sound  and  landed  in  the  vicinity  of  Westchester.  The 
object  was  to  get  upon  the  American  left  flank  and  cut  off  communica¬ 
tions  with  the  Eastern  States.  Washington,  ever  on  the  alert,  detected 
the  movement,  put  his  army  in  motion  and  faced  the  British  east  of  Har¬ 
lem  River.  For  some  days  the  two  generals  manoeuvred,  and  on  the 
28th  a  battle  was  brought  on  at  White  Plains.  Howe  began  the  engage¬ 
ment  with  a  furious  cannonade,  which  was  answered  with  spirit.  The 
Americans  were  driven  from  one  important  position,  but  immediately  re- 
entrenched  themselves  in  ^mother.  Night  came  on ;  Howe  waited  for 
reinforcements,  and  Washington  withdrew  to  the  heights  of  North  Castle. 
Howe  remained  for  a  few  days  at  White  Plains,  and  then  returned  to 
New  York. 

Washington,  apprehending  that  the  British  would  now  proceed 


314 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


against  Philadelphia,  crossed  to  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson  and  took 
post  with  General  Greene  at  Fort  Lee.  Four  thousand  men  were  left  at 

North  Castle  under  command  of  General  Lee. 
Fort  Washington,  on  Manhattan  Island,  five 
miles  north  of  the 

thousand  men  under  Colonel  Magaw.  This 
fort 

strength.  The  skill  of  its  construction  had 
attracted  the 

to  an  acquaintance  with  the  engineer,  who 
from  that  time  forth,  through  the  stormy  vi¬ 
cissitudes  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  en¬ 
joyed  the  unclouded  confidence  of  his  chief; 
the  engineer  was  Alexander  Hamilton, 
then  a 

attacked  Fort  Washington  in  overwhelming 
scene  of  operations  about  force.  The  garrison  made  a  stubborn  defence. 

•  More  than  five  hundred  of  the  assailants  were 

killed  or  wounded.  But  valor  could  not  prevail  against  superior  num¬ 
bers,  and  Magaw,  after  losing  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  was  obliged  to 
capitulate.  The  garrison,  numbering  more  than  two  thousand,  were  made 
prisoners  of  war  and  crowded  into  the  foul  jails  of  New  York.  Two 
days  after  the  surrender,  Cornwallis  crossed  the  Hudson  with  a  body  of 
six  thousand  men  and  marched  against  Fort  Lee.  Seeing  that  a  defence 
would  only  end  in  worse  disaster,  Washington  hastily  withdrew  across  the 
Hackensack.  All  the  baggage  and  military  stores  collected  in  Fort  Lee 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  who  at  once  pressed  forward  after  the 
retreating  Americans.  Washington  with  his  army,  now  reduced  to  three 
thousand  men,  crossed  the  Passaic  to  Newark ;  but  Cornwallis  and  Knyp- 
hausen  came  hard  after  the  fugitives.  The  patriots  retreated  to  Elizabeth* 
town,  thence  to  New  Brunswick,  thence  to  Princeton,  and  finally  to 
Trenton  on  the  Delaware.  The  British  were  all  the  time  in  close  pursuit^ 
and  the  music  of  their  bands  was  frequently  heard  by  the  rearguard  of 
the  American  army.  Nothing  but  the  consummate  skill  of  Washington 
saved  the  remnant  of  his  forces  from  destruction.  Despair  seemed  settling 
on  the  country  like  a  pall.  , 

On  the  8th  of  December,  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware.  The 
British  essayed  to  do  the  same,  but  the  American  commander  had  secreted 
or  destroyed  every  boat  within  seventy  miles.  In  order  to  effect  his 
passage,  Cornwallis  must  build  a  bridge  or  wait  for  the  freezing  of  the 


stripling  of  but  twenty  years  of  age. 
On  the  16th  of  November  the  British 


attention  of  Washington  and  led 


was  a  place  of  great  natural  and  artificial 


city,  was  defended  by  three 


THE  WORK  OF  76. 


315 


river.  The  latter  course  was  chosen ;  and  the  British  array  was  stationed 
in  detachments  in  various  towns  and  villages  east  of  the  Delaware.  Tren¬ 
ton  was  held  by  a  body  of  nearly  two  thousand  Hessians  under  Colonel 
Rahl.  It  was  seen  that  as  soon  as  the  river  should  be  frozen  the  British 
would  march  unopposed  into  Philadelphia.  Congress  accordingly  ad¬ 
journed  to  Baltimore ;  and  there,  on  the  20th  of  the  month,  a  resolution 
was  adopted  arming  Washington  with  dictatorial  powers  to  direct  all  the 
operations  of  the  war. 

Meanwhile,  the  British  fleet  under  command  of  Admiral  Parker 
had  left  New  York  for  Narragansett  Bay.  On  the  same  day  that  Wash¬ 
ington  crossed  the  Delaware  the  islands  of  Rhode  Island,  Prudence  and 
Conanicut  were  taken ;  and  the  American  squadron  under  Commander 
Hopkins  was  blockaded  in  Blackstone  River.  During  his  retreat  across 
New  Jersey,  Washington  had  sent  repeated  despatches  to  General  Lee,  in 
command  of  the  detachment  at  North  Castle,  to  join  the  main  army  as 
soon  as  possible.  Lee  was  a  proud,  insubordinate  man,  and  virtually 
disobeyed  his  orders.  Marching  leisurely  into  New  Jersey,  he  reached 
Morristown.  Here  he  tarried,  and  took  up  his  quarters  at  an  inn  at 
Basking  Ridge.  On  the  13th  of  December,  a  squad  of  British  cavalry 
dashed  up  to  the  tavern,  seized  Lee  and  hurried  him  off  to  New  York. 
General  Sullivan,  who  had  recently  been  exchanged,  now  took  command 
of  Lee’s  division,  and  hastened  to  join  Washington.  Fifteen  hundred 
volunteers  from  Philadelphia  and  vicinity  were  added,  making  the  entire 
American  force  a  little  more  than  six  thousand. 

The  tide  of  misfortune  turned  at  last.  Washington  saw  in  the 
disposition  of  the  British  forces  an  opportunity  to  strike  a  blow  for  his 
disheartened  country.  The  leaders  of  the  enemy  were  off  their  guard. 
They  believed  that  the  war  was  ended.  Cornwallis  obtained  leave  of 
absence,  left  New  Jersey  under  command  of  Grant,  and  made  preparations 
to  return  to  England.  The  Hessians  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  were 
spread  out  from  Trenton  to  Burlington.  Washington  conceived  the  bold 
design  of  crossing  the  Delaware  and  striking  the  detachment  at  Trenton 
before  a  concentration  of  the  enemy’s  forces  could  be  effected.  The 
American  army  was  accordingly  arranged  in  three  divisions.  The  first, 
under  General  Cadwallader,  was  to  cross  the  river  at  Bristol  and  attack 
the  British  at  Burlington.  General  Ewing  with  his  brigade  was  to  pass 
over  a  little  below  Trenton  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  the  retreat. 
Washington  himself,  with  Greene  and  Sullivan  and  twenty-four  hundred 
men,  was  to  cross  nine  miles  above  Trenton,  march  down  the  river  and 
assault  the  town.  The  movement  was  planned  with  the  utmost  secrecy 
— the  preparations  made  with  prudence  and  care.  Christmas  night  was 


316 


HISTORY  OF  TIIF  UNITED  STATES. 


selected  as  the  time ;  for  it  was  known  that  the  Hessians  would  spend  the 
day  in  drinking  and  carousals. 

About  the  20th  of  the  month,  the  wreather  became  very  cold,  and 
by  the  evening  of  the  25th  the  Delaware  was  filled  with  floating  ice. 
Ewing  and  Cadwallader  were  both  baffled  in  their  efforts  to  cross  the 
river.  Washington’s  division  succeeded  in  getting  over,  but  the  passage 
was  delayed  till  three  o’clock  in  the  morning.  All  hope  of  reaching 
Trenton  before  daybreak  was  at  an  end ;  but  Washington,  believing  that 
the  Hessians  would  sleep  late  after  their  revels,  divided  his  army  into  two 
columns  and  pressed  forward.  One  division,  led  by  Sullivan,  passed 

down  the  river  to  attack  the  town  on  the  west ; 
the  other,  commanded  by  Washington  and  Greene, 
made  a  circuit  to  the  Princeton  road.  The  move-* 
ment  was  entirely  successful.  At  eight  o’clock 
in  the  morning  the  American  columns  came  rush¬ 
ing  into  the  village  from  both  directions.  The 
astonished  Hessians  sprang  from  their  quarters 
and  attempted  to  form  in  line.  At  the  first  onset 
Colonel  Rahl  was  mortally  wounded.  Forty  or 
fifty  others  fell  before  the  volleys  of  the  patriots. 
For  a  few  minutes  there  was  confusion,  and  then 
a  cry  for  quarter.  Nearly  a  thousand  of  the 
dreaded  Hessians  threw  down  their  arms  and 
begged  for  mercy.  At  the  first  alarm  about  six 
hundred  light  horse  and  infantry  had  escaped 
toward  Bordentown.  All  the  rest  were  made  prisoners  of  war.  Before 
nightfall  Washington,  with  his  victorious  men  and  the  whole  body  of 
captives,  was  safe  on  the  other  side  of  the  Delaware. 

The  battle  of  Trenton  roused  the  nation  from  despondency.  Con¬ 
fidence  in  the  commander  and  hope  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  cause  were  everywhere  revived.  The  militia  from  the  neighboring 
provinces  flocked  to  the  general’s  standard;  and  fourteen  hundred  sol¬ 
diers,  whose  term  of  enlistment  now  expired,  cheerfully  re-entered  the 
service.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Robert  Morris  of  Philadelphia,  the  great 
financier  of  the  Revolution,  came  forward  with  his  princely  fortune  to 
the  support  of  his  distressed  country.  As  to  Cornwallis,  he  found  it  nec¬ 
essary  to  postpone  his  visit  to  England  and  hasten  back  to  New  Jersey. 

Three  days  after  his  victory,  Washington  again  crossed  the  Del¬ 
aware  and  took  post  at  Trenton.  Here  all  the  American  detachments  in 
the  vicinity  were  ordered  to  assemble.  To  General  Heath,  in  command 
of  the  New  England  militia  stationed  at  Peekskill,  on  the  Hudson,  Wash- 


BATTLE  OF  TRENTON  AND 
PRINCETON,  1776-7. 


OPERATIONS  OF  77. 


317 


ington  sent  orders  to  move  into  New  Jersey.  The  British  fell  back  from 
their  outposts  on  the  Delaware  and  concentrated  in  great  force  at  Prince¬ 
ton.  Cornwallis  took  command  in  person,  and  resolved  to  attack  and 
overwhelm  Washington  at  Trenton.  So  closed  the  year.  Ten  days 
previously,  Howe  only  waited  for  the  freezing  of  the  Delaware  before 
taking  up  his  quarters  in  Philadelphia.  Now  it  was  a  question  whether 
he  would  be  able  to  hold  a  single  town  in  New  Jersey. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

OPERATIONS  OF  77. 

ON  the  1st  of  January,  1777,  Washington’s  army  at  Trenton  numbered 
about  five  thousand  men.  On  the  next  day  Cornwallis  approached 
from  Princeton  with  greatly  superior  forces.  The  British  were  exasper¬ 
ated  and  the  Americans  resolute.  During  the  afternoon  there  was  severe 
and  constant  skirmishing  in  the  fields  and  along  the  roads  to  the  east  and 
north  of  Trenton.  As  the  columns  of  the  enemy  pressed  on,  Washington 
abandoned  the  village  and  took  up  a  stronger  position  on  the  south  side 
of  Assanpink  Creek.  The  British,  attempting  to  force  a  passage,  were 
driven  back ;  it  was  already  sunset,  and  Cornwallis  deferred  the  attack 
till  the  morrow. 

2.  Washington’s  position  was  critical  in  the  extreme.  To  attempt  to 
recross  the  Delaware  was  hazardous.  To  retreat  in  any  direction  was  to 
lose  all  that  he  had  gained  by  his  recent  victory.  To  be  beaten  in  battle 
was  utter  ruin.  In  the  great  emergency  he  called  a  council  of  war  and 
announced  his  determination  to  leave  the  camp  by  night,  make  a  circuit 
to  the  east,  pass  the  British  left  flank  and  strike  the  detachment  at  Prince¬ 
ton  before  his  antagonist  could  discover  or  impede  the  movement.  Orders 
were  immediately  issued  for  the  removal  of  the  baggage  to  Burlington. 
In  order  to  deceive  the  enemy,  the  camp-fires  along  the  Assanpink  were 
brightly  kindled  and  a  guard  left  to  keep  them  burning  through  the  night. 
Then  the  army  was  put  in  motion  by  the  circuitous  route  to  Princeton. 
Everything  was  done  in  silence,  and  the  British  sentries  walked  their 
beats  until  the  morning  light  showed  them  a  deserted  camp.  Just  then 
the  roar  of  the  American  cannon,  thirteen  miles  away,  gave  Cornwallis 
notice  of  how  he  had  been  outgeneraled. 

At  sunrise ‘Washington  was  entering  Princeton.  At  the  same  mo 


318 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ment  the  British  regiments  stationed  there  were  marching  out  by  the 
Trenton  road  to  reinforce  Cornwallis.  The  Americans  met  them  in  the 
edge  of  the  village,  and  the  battle  at  once  began.  The  patriots,  under 
General  Mercer,  posted  themselves  behind  a  hedge,  and  were  doing  good 
work  with  their  muskets  until  the  British  charged  bayonets.  Then  the 
militia  gave  way  in  confusion,  and  Mercer,  one  of  the  bravest  of  the  brave,, 
received  a  mortal  wound.  But  the  Pennsylvania  reserves  and  regulars 
were  at  hand,  led  by  the  commander-in-chief.  The  valor  of  Washington 
never  shone  with  brighter  lustre.  He  spurred  among  his  flying  men,  who 
rallied  at  his  call.  He  rode  between  the  hostile  lines  and  reined  his  horse 
within  thirty  yards  of  the  enemy’s  column.  There  he  stood.  From  both 
sides  there  came  a  crash  of  musketry.  Washington’s  aid  drew  his  hat 
over  his  eyes  that  he  might  not  see  the  chieftain  die.  The  wind  tossed 
up  the  smoke,  and  there,  unhurt,  was  the  sublime  leader  of  the  American 
armies.  The  British  were  already  broken  and  flying,  with  a  loss  of  four 
hundred  and  thirty  men  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  The  loss  of 
the  Americans  was  small ;  but  the  gallant  Mercer  was  greatly  lamented. 

Washington  had  intended  to  press  on  to  Brunswick  and  destroy  the 
enemy’s  magazines.  His  men,  however,  were  too  much  exhausted  for  the 
march.  The  legions  of  Cornwallis  were  already  in  hearing,  and  there 
was  no  time  for  delay.  Washington  accordingly  withdrew  to  the  north, 
and  on  the  5th  of  January  took  a  strong  position  at  Morristown.  Corn¬ 
wallis  hastened  to  New  Brunswick  to  protect  his  stores.  In  a  short  time 
the  whole  of  New  Jersey  north  of  Newark  and  Elizabethtown  was  recov¬ 
ered  by  the  patriots.  In  all  parts  of  the  State  the  militia  rose  in  arms ; 
straggling  parties  of  the  British  were  cut  off,  and  the  outposts  of  the  enemy 
were  kept  in  constant  alarm.  The  Hessians,  whose  barbarous  invasion 
and  brutal  conduct  had  almost  ruined  the  country,  were  the  special  objects 
of  patriot  vengeance.  Vexed  by  the  perpetual  assaults  of  partisan  war¬ 
fare,  Cornwallis  gradually  contracted  his  lines,  abandoning  one  post  after 
another,  until  his  whole  force  was  cooped  up  in  New  Brunswick  and 
Amboy.  The  boastful  British  army  that  was  to  have  taken  Philadelphia 
now  thought  only  of  a  safe  return  to  New  York. 

In  the  early  spring,  General  Howe  despatched  a  fleet  up  the  Hudson 
to  destroy  the  American  stores  at  Peekskill.  Macdougal,  the  command¬ 
ant,  finding  himself  too  feeble  to  make  a  successful  defence,  blew  up  the 
magazines  and  retreated.  On  the  13th  of  April  Cornwallis  marched  a 
division  out  of  New  Brunswick  and  surprised  General  Lincoln,  who  was 
stationed  at  Boundbrook  on  the  Raritan ;  but  the  latter  made  good  his 
retreat  with  a  trifling  loss.  On  the  25th  of  the  same  month,  General 
Tryon  with  a  detachment  of  two  thousand  men  landed  on  the  north  shore 


OPERATIONS  OF  77. 


319 


of  Long  Island  Sound,  and  proceeded  against  Danbury,  Connecticut. 
After  destroying  a  large  quantity  of  stores  and  burning  the  town  the 
British  began  a  retreat  to  the  coast.  Immediately  they  were  attacked  on 
flank  and  rear  by  the  exasperated  patriots,  who,  led  by  the  aged  Wooster 
and  the  daring  Arnold,  made  charge  after  charge  on  the  retreating  foe. 
Before  regaining  their  shipping  the  British  lost  more  than  two  hundred 
men ;  of  the  patriots  about  sixty  were  killed  and  wounded.  The  veteran 
Wooster,  now  sixty-eight  years  of  age,  fell  in  this  engagement. 

A  similar  expedition,  undertaken  by  the  Americans,  was  more  suc¬ 
cessful.  Colonel  Meigs,  of  Connecticut,  learning  that  the  British  were 
collecting  stores  at  Sag  Harbor,  near  the  eastern  extremity  of  Long  Island, 
gathered  two  hundred  militiamen,  and  determined  to  surprise  the  post. 
On  the  night  of  the  22d  of  May  he  embarked  his  men  in  whale-boats, 
crossed  the  Sound,  and  reached  Sag  Harbor  just  before  daydawn  on  the 
following  morning.  The  British,  numbering  a  hundred,  were  over¬ 
powered  ;  only  four  of  them  escaped ;  five  or  six  were  killed,  and  the  re¬ 
maining  ninety  were  made  prisoners.  A  gun-ship,  ten  loaded  transports 
and  a  vast  amount  of  stores  were  destroyed  by  the  victorious  patriots,  who, 
without  the  loss  of  a  man,  returned  to  Guilford  with  their  captives.  For 
this  gallant  deed  Colonel  Meigs  received  an  elegant  sword  from  Congress. 

Washington  remained  in  his  camp  at  Morristown  until  the  latter 
part  of  May.  Cornwallis  was  still  at  New  Brunswick,  and  it  was  neces¬ 
sary  that  the  American  commander  should  watch  the  movements  of  his 
antagonist.  The  patriot  forces  of  the  North  were  now  concentrated  on  the 
Hudson ;  and  a  large  camp,  under  command  of  Arnold,  was  laid  out  on 
the  Delaware.  Both  divisions  were  within  supporting  distance  of  Wash¬ 
ington,  who  now  broke  up  his  winter-quarters  and  took  an  advantageous 
position  at  Boundbrook,  only  ten  miles  from  the  British  camp.  Howe 
now  crossed  over  from  New  York,  reinforced  Cornwallis  and  threatened 
an  attack  upon  the  American  lines ;  but  Washington  stood  his  ground, 
and  Howe  pressed  forward  as  far  as  Somerset  Court-House,  in  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  the  Delaware.  The  movement  was  only  a  feint  intended  to  draw 
Washington  from  his  position  ;  but  he  was  too  wary  to  be  deceived,  and 
the  British  fell  back  through  New  Brunswick  to  Amboy.  The  American 
lines  were  now  advanced  as  far  as  Quibbletown.  While  in  this  position, 
Howe,  on  the  night  of  the  25th  of  June,  turned  suddenly  about  and  made 
a  furious  attack  on  the  American  van ;  but  Washington  withdrew  his 
forces  without  serious  loss  and  regained  his  position  at  Boundbrook. 
Again  the  British  retired  to  Amboy,  and  on  the  30th  of  the  month  crossed 
over  to  Staten  Island.  After  more  than  six  months  of  manoeuvring  and 
fighting  the  invading  army  was  fairly  driven  out  of  New  Jersey. 


320 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


On  the  10th  of  July  a  brilliant  exploit  was  performed  in  Rhode 
Island.  Colonel  William  Barton,  of  Providence,  learning  that  Major- 
General  Prescott  of  the  British  army  was  quartered  at  a  farm-house  near 
Newport,  apart  from  his  division,  determined  to  capture  him.  On  the 
night  of  the  10th  of  July  the  daring  colonel,  with  forty  volunteers,  em¬ 
barked  at  Providence,  dropped  down  the  bay,  and  reached  the  island 
near  Prescott’s  lodgings.  The  movement  was  not  discovered.  The 
British  sentinel  was  deceived  with  a  plausible  statement,  and  then  threat¬ 
ened  with  death  if  he  did  not  remain  quiet.  The  patriots  rushed  forward, 
burst  open  Prescott’s  door,  seized  him  in  bed,  and  hurried  him,  half  clad, 
to  the  boats.  The  alarm  was  raised ;  a  squad  of  cavalry  came  charging 
to  the  water’s  edge ;  but  the  provincials  were  already  paddling  out  of 
sight  with  their  prisoner.  This  lucky  exploit  gave  the  Americans  an 
officer  of  equal  rank  to  exchange  for  General  Lee.  Colonel  Barton  was 
rewarded  with  promotion  and  an  elegant  sword. 

Meanwhile,  Congress  had  returned  to  Philadelphia.  The  American 
government  was  at  this  time  essentially  weak  in  its  structure  and  ineffi¬ 
cient  in  action.  Nevertheless,  there  was  much  valuable  legislation  which 
tended  to  strengthen  the  army  and  the  nation.  But  the  most  auspicious 
sign  that  gladdened  the  patriots  was  the  unequivocal  sympathy  of  the 
French.  From  the  beginning  of  the  contest  the  people  of  France  had 
espoused  the  American  cause.  Now,  after  the  lapse  of  two  years,  their 
sympathy  became  more  outspoken  and  enthusiastic.  True,  the  French 
government  would  do  nothing  openly  which  was  calculated  to  provoke  a 
war  with  Great  Britain.  Outwardly  the  forms  and  sentiments  of  peace 
were  preserved  between  the  two  nations;  but  secretly  the  French  rejoiced 
at  British  misfortune  and  applauded  the  action  of  the  colonies.  Soon  the 
Americans  came  to  understand  that  if  money  was  required  France  would 
lend  it;  if  supplies  were  needed,  France  would  furnish  them;  if  arms 
were  to  be  purchased,  France  had  arms  to  sell.  During  the  year  1777 
the  French  partisans  of  America  managed  to  supply  the  colonies  with 
more  than  twenty  thousand  muskets  and  a  thousand  barrels  of  powder. 

At  last  the  republicans  of  France,  displeased  with  the  double-deal¬ 
ing  of  their  government,  began  to  embark  for  America.  Foremost  of  all 
came  the  gallant  young  Marquis  of  La  Fayette.*  Though  the  king 
withheld  permission,  though  the  British  minister  protested,  though  family  ■ 
and  home  and  kindred  beckoned  the  youthful  nobleman  to  return,  he  left 
all  to  fight  the  battle  of  freedom  in  another  land.  Fitting  a  vessel  at  his 
own  expense,  he  eluded  the  officers,  and  with  the  brave  De  Kalb  and  a 
small  company  of  followers  reached  Georgetown,  South  Carolina,  in 

*  La  Fayette’s  name  was  Gilbert  Mo  tier. 


OPERATIONS  OF  77. 


321 


April  of  1777.  He  at  once  entered  the  patriot  army  as  a  volunteer,  and 
in  the  following  July  was  commissioned  as  a  major-general.  Not  yet 
twenty  years  of  age,  he  clung  to  Washington  as  son  to  father,  and  through 
life  their  friendship  was  unclouded. 

One  of  the  most  important  events  of  the  whole  war  was  the  cam¬ 
paign  of  Lieutenant-General  Burgoyne.  This  distinguished  British  officer 
arrived  at  Quebec  in  March  of  1777.  Superseding  Sir  Guy  Carleton  in 
command  of  the  English  forces  in  Canada,  he  spent  the  months  of  April 
and  May  in  organizing  a  powerful  army  for  the  invasion  of  New  York. 
By  the  beginning  of  June  he  had  thoroughly  equipped  a  force  of  ten  thou¬ 
sand  men,  of  whom  about  seven  thousand  were  British  and  Hessian  vet¬ 
erans;  the  rest  were  Canadians  and  Indians.  The  plan  of  the  campaign 
embraced  a  descent  upon  Albany  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  Lake 
George  and  the  Upper  Hudson.  From  Albany  it  was  Burgoyne’s  pur¬ 
pose  to  descend  the  river  to  New  York  and  unite  his  forces  with  the  main 
division  of  the  British  army.  By  this  means  New  England  was  to  be  cut 
off  from  the  Middle  and  Southern  colonies  and  the  whole  country  placed 
at  the  mercy  of  Howe.  That  any  successful  resistance  could  be  offered  to 
the  progress  of  the  invading  army  was  little  imagined. 

On  the  1st  of  June  Burgoyne  reached  St.  John’s,  at  the  foot  of 
Lake  Champlain,  and  on  the  16th  proceeded  to  Crown  Point.  This 
place,  which  was  undefended,  was  occupied  by  a  British  garrison ;  and 
the  main  army  swept  on  to  Ticonderoga,  which  was  at  that  time  held  by 
three  thousand  men  under  General  St.  Clair.  The  British  soon  gained 
possession  of  Mount  Defiance,  and  planted  a  battery  seven  hundred  feet 
above  the  American  works.  Mount  Hope  was  also  seized  and  retreat  by 
way  of  Lake  George  cut  off.  St.  Clair,  seeing  that  resistance  would  be 
hopeless,  abandoned  the  fort  on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  July,  and  escaped 
with  the  garrison  byway  of  Mount  Independence  and  Wood  Creek.  The 
British  pressed  after  the  fugitives,  and  overtook  them  at  Ilubbardton.  a 
village  in  Vermont,  seventeen  miles  from  Ticonderoga.  A  sharp  engage¬ 
ment  ensued,  in  which  the  Americans  fought  so  obstinately  as  to  check  the 
pursuit ;  and  then  continued  their  retreat  to  Fort  Edward.  On  the  fol¬ 
lowing  day  the  British  reached  Whitehall  and  captured  a  large  quantity 
of  baggage,  stores  and  provisions. 

At  this  time  the  American  army  of  the  North  was  commanded  by 
General  Schuyler,  a  man  whose  patriotism  was  greater  than  his  abilities. 
His  headquarters  were  at  Fort  Edward,  where  he  remained  until  after  the 
arrival  of  St.  Clair.  The  garrison  now  numbered  between  four  and  five 
thousand  men ;  but  this  force  was  deemed  inadequate  to  hold  the  place 
against  Burgoyne’s  army.  Schuyler  therefore  evacuated  the  post  aud 
23 


322 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


retreated  down  the  Hudson  as  far  as  the  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mohawk.  Burgoyne  came  on  by  way  of  Fort  Ann,  which  the  Americans 
had  demolished,  and  thence  through  the  woods  over  obstructed  roads  to 
Fort  Edward,  where  he  arrived  on  the  30th  of  July.  Fearing  that  his 
supplies  would  be  exhausted  before  he  could  reach  Albany,  the  British  . 
general  now  made  a  halt,  and  despatched  Colonel  Baum  with  five  hundred 
men  to  seize  the  provincial  stores  at  Bennington,  Vermont.  Colonel 
John  Stark  rallied  the  New  Hampshire  militia,  and  on  the  15th  of 
August  met  the  British  a  short  distance  from  the  village.  On  the  follow¬ 
ing  morning  there  was  a  furious  battle,  in  which  Baum’s  force  was  fairly 
annihilated.  A  battalion  of  Hessians,  led  by  Breymann,  arrived  on  the 
field,  only  to  be  utterly  routed  by  the  Americans,  who  were  reinforced  by 
the  gallant  colonel  Warner.  The  British  lost  a  hundred  and  forty  in 
killed  and  wounded,  and  nearly  seven  hundred  prisoners.  The  whole 
country  was  thrilled  by  the  victory,  and  the  patriots  began  to  rally  from 
all  quarters. 

A  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Bennington,  Burgoyne  received  in¬ 
telligence  of  a  still  greater  reverse.  At  the  beginning  of  the  invasion  a 
large  force  of  Canadians,  Tories  and  Indians,  commanded  by  General  St. 
Leger,  had  been  sent  by  way  of  Oswego  against  Fort  Schuyler,  at  the 
head  of  navigation  on  the  Mohawk.  This  important  post  was  held  by  a 
small  garrison  under  Colonel  Gansevoort.  On  the  3d  of  August  St.  Leger 
invested  the  fort,  and  it  seemed  that  a  successful  defence  was  impossible ; 
but  the  brave  General  Herkimer  rallied  the  militia  of  the  surrounding 
country  and  advanced  to  the  relief  of  the  garrison.  When  nearing  the 
fort,  the  patriots  fell  into  an  Indian  ambuscade,  and  a  terrible  hand-to- 
hand  conflict  ensued  in  the  woods.  Herkimer  was  defeated  with  a  loss 
of  a  hundred  and  sixty  men  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners.  The  loss 
of  the  savages  was  almost  as  great.  Hardly  had  the  conflict  ended  when 
the  garrison  made  a  sally,  carried  everything  before  them,  and  then  fell 
back  with  trophies  and  prisoners.  Already  the  impetuous  and  fearless 
Arnold  had  volunteered  to  lead  a  detachment  from  the  Hudson  for  the 
relief  of  the  fort.  At  his  approach  the  savages  plundered  the  British 
camp  and  fled.  St.  Leger,  dismayed  at  the  treachery  of  the  barbarians, 
raised  the  siege  and  retreated.  Fort  Schuyler  was  saved  and  strengthened. 
Such  was  the  news  that  was  borne  to  Burgoyne  at  Fort  Edward. 

The  British  general  had  now  lost  a  month  in  procuring  supplies 
from  Canada.  Should  he  retreat?  Ruin  and  disgrace  were  in  that 
direction.  Should  he  go  forward?  More  than  nine  thousand  patriot 
soldiers  were  in  that  direction.  For  General  Lincoln  had  arrived  with 
the  militia  of  New  England ;  Washington  had  sent  several  detachments 


•  OPERATIONS  OF  77. 


328 


SCENE  OF  BURG^YNE’S 
INVASION,  17  77. 


from  the  regular  army;  Morgan  had  come  with  his  famous  riflemen. 
Meanwhile,  General  Gates  had  superseded  Schuyler  in  command  of  the 
northern  army.  On  the  8th  of  September  the  American  headquarters 
were  advanced  to  Stillwater.  At  Bemis’s  Heights, 
a  short  distance  north  of  this  place,  a  strong 
camp  was  laid  out  and  fortified  under  direction 
of  the  noted  Polish  engineer  Thaddeus  Kos¬ 
ciusko.  On  the  14th  of  the  month,  Burgoyne 
crossed  the  Hudson  and  took  post  at  Saratoga. 

Until  the  18th  he  advanced  his  camp  a  mile  each 
day,  when  the  two  armies  were  face  to  face  and 
but  two  miles  apart.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
19th  the  advance  parties  of  the  British  attacked 
the  American  wings,  and  a  general  battle  ensued, 
continuing  until  nightfall.  The  conflict,  though 
severe,  was  indecisive;  the  Americans  retired 
within  their  lines,  and  the  British  slept  under 
arms  on  the  field.  To  the  patriots,  whose  num¬ 
bers  were  constantly  increasing,  the  result  of  the  battle  was  equivalent 
to  a  victory. 

The  condition  of  Burgoyne  grew  more  and  more  critical.  On  all 
sides  the  lines  of  Gates  were  closing  around  him.  His  supplies  failed ; 
his  soldiers  were  put  on  partial  rations ;  his  Canadian  and  Indian  allies 
deserted  his  standard.  But  the  British  general  was  courageous  and 
resolute;  he  strengthened  his  defences  and  flattered  his  men  with  the 
hope  that  General  Clinton,  who  now  commanded  the  British  army  in 
New  York,  would  make  a  diversion  in  their  favor.  The  latter  did 
ascend  the  river  as  far  as  Forts  Clinton  and  Montgomery.  Both  these 
forts,  after  an  obstinate  defence,  were  carried  by  assault.  Colonel  Vaughan, 
was  sent  on  with  a  thousand  men  as  far  as  the  town  of  Kingston,  which 
was  burned  •  besides  the  destruction  of  stores  and  private  property,  nothing 
further  was  accomplished,  and  the  condition  of  Burgoyne  became  des¬ 
perate.  On  the  7th  of  October  he  hazarded  another  battle,  in  which  he 
lost  his  bravest  officers  and  nearly  seven  hundred  privates.  The  conflict 
was  terrible,  lasting  from  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  till  twilight.  At 
last  Morgan’s  riflemen  singled  out  the  brave  General  Fraser,  who  com¬ 
manded  the  British  right,  and  killed  him.  His  disheartened  men  turned 
and  fled  from  the  field.  On  the  American  side,  Arnold,  who  had  re¬ 
signed  his  commission,  rode  at  full  speed  to  his  old  command,  and,  without 
authority ,  became  the  inspiring  genius  of  the  battle.  He  charged  like  a 
madman,  drove  the  enemy  before  him,  eluded  Gates’s  aid  who  was  sent  to- 


324 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


call  him  back,  burst  into  the  British  camp  and  was  severely  wounded. 
The  Americans  were  completely  victorious. 

On  the  night  after  the  battle  Burgoyne  led  his  shattered  army  to 
a  stronger  position.  The  Americans  immediately  occupied  the  abandoned 
camp,  and  then  pressed  after  the  fugitives ;  for  the  British  were  already 
retreating.  On  the  9th  of  October  Burgoyne  reached  Saratoga  and 
attempted  to  escape  to  Fort  Edward.  But  Gates  and  Lincoln  now  com¬ 
manded  the  river,  and  the  proud  Briton  was  hopelessly  hemmed  in.  He 
held  out  to  the  last  extremity,  and  finally,  when  there  were  only  three 
days  between  his  soldiers  and  starvation,  was  driven  to  surrender.  On 
the  17th  of  October  terms  of  capitulation  were  agreed  on,  and  the  whole 
army,  numbering  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-one,  became 
prisoners  of  war.  Among  the  captives  were  six  members  of  the  British 
Parliament.  A  splendid  train  of  brass  artillery  consisting  of  forty-two 
pieces,  together  with  nearly  five  thousand  muskets,  and  an  immense 
quantity  of  ammunition  and  stores,  was  the  further  fruit  of  the  victory. 
The  valor  of  the  patriots  had  fairly  eclipsed  the  warlike  renown  of  Great 
Britain. 

As  soon  as  Burgoyne’s  invasion  was  at  an  end,  a  large  portion  of 
the  victorious  army  of  the  North  was  despatched  to  the  aid  of  Washing¬ 
ton.  For,  in  the  mean  time,  a  great  campaign  had  been  in  progress  in 
the  South  ;  and  the  patriots  were  sorely  pressed.  At  the  beginning  of 
July,  Howe  had  abandoned  New  Jersey.  On  the  23d  of  the  same  month 
he  sailed  with  eighteen  thousand  men  to  attack  Philadelphia  by  way  of 
the  Delaware.  Washington/suspecting  the  object  of  the  expedition,  broke 
up  his  camp  and  marched  rapidly  southward.  Off  the  capes  of  Virginia 
Howe  learned  that  the  Americans  had  obstructed  the  Delaware,  so  as  to 
prevent  the  passage  of  his  fleet.  He  therefore  determined  to  enter  the 
Chesapeake,  anchor  at  the  head  of  the  bay  and  make  the  attack  by  land. 
As  soon  as  Washington  obtained  information  of  the  enemy’s  plans,  he 
advanced  his  headquarters  from  Philadelphia  to  Wilmington,  and  there 
the  American  army,  numbering  between  eleven  and  twelve  thousand 
men,  was  concentrated.  The  forces  of  Howe  were  vastly  superior  in 
numbers  and  equipments,  but  Washington  hoped  by  selecting  his  ground 
and  acting  on  the  defensive  to  beat  back  the  invaders  and  save  the 
capital. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  the  British  landed  at  Elk  Biver,  in  Mary¬ 
land,  and  nine  days  afterward  began  their  march  toward  Philadelphia. 
After  a  council  of  war  and  some  changes  in  the  arrangement  of  his  forces, 
Washington  selected  the  left  bank  of  the  Brandywine  as  his  line  of  de¬ 
fence.  The  left  wing  of  the  American  army  was  stationed  at  Chad’s  Ford 


OPERATIONS  OF  77. 


325 


to  dispute  the  passage,  while  the  right  wing,  under  General  Sullivan,  was 
extended  for  three  miles  up  the  river.  On  the  11th  of  September  the 
British  reached  the  opposite  bank  and  began  battle.  What  seemed  to  be 
their  principal  attack  was  made  by  the  Hessians  under  Knyphausen  at 
the  ford ;  and  here  Wayne’s  division  held  the  enemy  in  check.  But  the 
onset  of  Knyphausen  was  only  a  feint  to  keep  the  Americans  engaged 
until  a  stronger  column  of  the  British,  led  by  Cornwallis  and  Howe,  could 
march  up  the  south  bank  of  the  Brandywine  and  cross  at  a  point  above 
the  American  right.  In  this  wTay  Sullivan,  who  was  not  on  the  alert, 
allowed  himself  to  be  outflanked.  Washington  was  misled  by  false  in¬ 
formation;  the  right  wing,  though  the  men  under  La  Fayette  and  Stir¬ 
ling  fought  with  great  courage,  was  crushed  in  by  Cornwallis ;  and  the 
day  was  hopelessly  lost. 

During  the  night  the  defeated  patriots  retreated  to  Westchester. 
Greene  brought  up  the  rear  in  good  order ;  through  his  efforts  and  those 
of  the  commander-in-chief  the  army  was  saved  from  destruction.  The 
loss  of  the  Americans  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  amounted  to  fully 
a  thousand  men  ;  that  of  the  British  to  five  hundred  and  eighty-four.  The 
gallant  La  Fayette  was  severely  wounded  ;  Count  Pulaski,  a  brave  Pole 
who  had  espoused  the  patriot  cause,  so  distinguished  himself  in  this  en¬ 
gagement  that  Congress  honored  him  with  the  rank  of  brigadier  and  gave 
him  command  of  the  cavalry.  On  the  day  after  the  battle,  Washington 
continued  his  retreat  to  Philadelphia,  and  then  took  post  at  Germantown, 
a  few  miles  from  the  city.  Undismayed  by  his  reverse,  he  resolved  to 
risk  another  engagement.  Accordingly,  on  the  15th  of  the  month,  he 
recrossed  the  Schuylkill  and  marched  toward  the  British  camp.  Twenty 
miles  below  Philadelphia  he  met  Howe  at  Warren’s  Tavern.  For  a 
while  the  two  armies  manoeuvred,  the  enemy  gaining  the  better  position ; 
then  a  spirited  skirmish  ensued,  and  a  great  battle  was  imminent.  But 
just  as  the  conflict  was  beginning  a  violent  tempest  of  wind  and  rain 
swept  over  the  field.  The  combatants  were  deluged,  their  cartridges 
soaked,  and  fighting  made  impossible.  On  the  next  day  Plowe  marched 
down  the  Schuylkill ;  Washington  recrossed  the  river  and  confronted  his 
antagonist.  Howe  turned  suddenly  about  and  hurried  up  stream  along 
the  right  bank  in  the  direction  of  Beading.  Washington,  fearing  for  his 
stores,  pressed  forward  up  the  left  bank  to  Pottstown.  But  the  move¬ 
ment  of  the  British  westward  was  only  feigned;  again  Howe  wheeled, 
marched  rapidly  to  the  ford  above  Norristown,  crossed  the  river  and 
hastened  to  Philadelphia.  On  the  26th  of  September  the  city  was  entered 
without  opposition,  and  the  main  division  of  the  British  army  encamped 
at  Germantown. 


326 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


At  the  approach  of  Howe,  Congress  adjourned  to  Lancaster.  On 
the  27th  of  September  the  members  met  at  that  place,  and  again  adjourned 
to  York,  where  they  assembled  on  the  30th  and  continued  to  hold  their 
sessions  until  the  British  evacuated  Philadelphia  in  the  following  summer. 
Washington  now  made  his  camp  on  Skippack  Creek,  about  twenty  miles 
from  the  city.  As  soon  as  Howe  found  himself  safe  in  the  “  rebel  cap¬ 
ital,”  as  he  was  pleased  to  call  it,  he  despatched  a  large  division  of  his 
army  to  capture  forts  Mifflin  and  Mercer  on -the  Delaware.  Germantown 
was  thus  considerably  weakened,  and  Washington  resolved  to  attempt  a 
a  surprise.  The  same  plan  of  attack  which  had  been  so  successful  at 
Trenton  was  again  adopted.  On  the  night  of  the  3d  of  October  the 
American  army,  arranged  in  several  divisions,  marched  silently  toward 
Germantown.  The  roads  were  rough,  and  the  different  columns  reached 
the  British  outposts  at  irregular  intervals.  The  morning  was  foggy,  and 
the  movements  of  both  armies  were  unsteady  and  confused.  There  was 
much  severe-  fighting,  and  at  one  time  it  seemed  that  the  British  would  be 
overwhelmed;  but  they  gained  possession  of  a  large  stone  house  and 
held  it.  A  foolish  attempt  to  dislodge  them  gave  the  enemy  time  to 
rally.  Some  strong  columns  of  Americans  were  kept  out  of  the  battle 
by  the  inefficiency  of  their  commanders;  the  tide  turned  against  the 
patriots,  and  the  day  was  lost.  Of  the  Americans  a  hundred  and  fifty- 
two  were  killed,  five  hundred  and  twenty-one  wounded,  and  about  four 
hundred  missing.  Howe  reported  the  British  loss  at  five  hundred  and 
thirty-five.  The  retreat  of  the  Americans  was  covered  by  Greene  and 
Pulaski. 

On  the  22d  of  October  Fort  Mercer,  on  the  New  Jersey  side  of 
the  Delaware,  seven  miles  below  Philadelphia,  was  assaulted  by  twelve 
hundred  Hessians  under  Count  Donop.  The  garrison,  though  number¬ 
ing  but  four  hundred,  made  a  brave  and  successful  resistance.  The 
assault  was  like  that  at  Bunker  Hill.  Count  Donop  received  a  mortal 
wound,  and  nearly  four  hundred  of  his  men  fell  before  the  American 
entrenchments.  At  the  same  time  the  British  fleet,  assisted  by  a  land- 
force  from  Philadelphia,  attacked  Fort  Mifflin  on  Mud  Island,  in  the 
Delaware.  Here  also  the  assailants  met  with  an  obstinate  resistance. 
The  assault  became-a  siege,  which  lasted  till  the  15th  of  November.  The 
patriots  held  out  against  superior  numbers  until  every  gun  was  dismounted 
and  every  palisade  demolished.  Then  at  midnight  the  ruined  fortress 
was  set  on  fire,  and  the  garrison  escaped  to  Fort  Mercer.  To  make  a 
second  attack  on  this  place  Howe  despatched  two  thousand  men  under 
Cornwallis.  Washington  sent  General  Greene  to  succor  the  fortress ;  but 
Cornwallis  was  strongly  reinforced,  and  the  American  general  would  not 


OPERATIONS  OF  77. 


327 


hazard  a  battle.  On  the  20th  of  November  Fort  Mercer  was  abandoned 
to  the  British ;  and  thus  General  Howe  obtained  undisputed  control  of 
the  Delaware. 

After  the  battle  of  Germantown  Washington  took  up  his  head¬ 
quarters  at  Whitemarsh,  twelve  miles  from  Philadelphia.  Winter  was 
approaching,  and  the  patriots  began  to  suffer  for  food  and  clothing. 
Howe,  knowing  the  distressed  condition  of  the  Americans,  determined  to 
surprise  their  camp.  On  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  December  he  held  a 
council  of  war,  and  it  was  decided  to  march  against  Washington  on  the 
following  night.  But  Lydia  Darrah,  at  whose  house  the  council  was 
held,  overheard  the  plan  of  the  enemies  of  her  country.  On  the  follow¬ 
ing  morning  she  obtained  a  passport  from  Lord  Howe,  left  the  city  on 
pretence  of  going  to  mill,  rode  rapidly  to  the  American  lines,  and  sent 
information  of  the  impending  attack  to  Washington.  When,  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th,  the  British  approached  Whitemarsh  they  found  the 
cannon  mounted  and  the  patriots  standing  in  order  of  battle.  The  British 
general  manoeuvred  for  four  days,  and  then  marched  back  to  Philadel¬ 
phia.  During  the  remainder  of  the  winter  the  city  was  occupied  by 
nearly  twenty  thousand  English  and  Hessian  soldiers.  There  they 
reveled  and  rioted.  Everything  that  the  magazines  of  Great  Britain 
could  furnish  was  lavished  upon  the  army  of  invaders  who  lay  warmly 
housed  in  the  city  of  Penn.  In  the  patriot  camp  there  was  a  different 
scene. 


On  the  11th  of  December  Washington  left  his  position  at  White- 
marsh  and  went  into  winter-quarters  at  Valley  Forge  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Schuylkill.  The  march  thither  occupied  four  days.  Thousands 
of  the  soldiers  were  without  shoes,  and 
the  frozen  ground  was  marked  with  bloody 
footprints.  The  sagacity  of  Washington 
had  pointed  to  a  strong  position  for  his 
encampment.  To  the  security  of  the 
river  and  hills  the  additional  security  of 
redoubts  and  entrenchments  was  added. 

Log  cabins  were  built  for  the  soldiers,  and 
evervthing  was  done  that  could  be  done 
to  secure  the  comfort  of  the  suffering  pat¬ 
riots.  But  it  was  a  long  and  dreary  winter ;  moaning  and  anguish  were 
heard  in  the  camp,  and  the  echo  fell  heavy  on  the  soul  of  the  commander. 
These  were  the  darkest  days  of  Washington’s  life.  Congress  in  a  mea¬ 
sure  abandoned  him,  the  people  withheld  their  sympathies.  The  brilliant 
success  of  the  army  of  the  North  was  unjustly  compared  with  the  reverses 


ENCAMPMENT  AT  VALLEY  FORGE, 

1777-8. 


328 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  the  army  of  the  South.  Many  men  high  in  military  and  civil  station 
left  the  great  leader  unsupported  in  the  hour  of  his  grief ;  even  Samuel 
Adams,  impatient  under  calamity,  withdrew  his  confidence.  There  was 
a  miserable  conspiracy  headed  by  Gates,  Conway  and  Mifflin.  Washing¬ 
ton  was  to  be  superseded,  and  Gates  or  Lee  was  to  be  made  commander- 
in-chief.  But  the  alienation  Avas  only  for  a  moment ;  the  allegiance  of 
the  army  remained  unshaken,  and  the  nation’s  confidence  in  the  troubled 
chieftain  became  stronger  than  ever.  Still,  at  the  close  of  1777,  the 
patriot  cause  was  obscured  with  clouds  and  misfortune. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

FRANCE  TO  THE  RESCUE. 

FOUR  months  before  the  declaration  of  independence,  Silas  Deane  of 
Connecticut  Avas  appointed  commissioner  to  France.  His  business 
at  the  French  court  Avas  to  act  as  the  political  and  commercial  agent  of 
the  United  Colonies.  His  first  service  Avas  to  make  a  secret  arrangement 
with  Beaumarchais,  a  rich  French  merchant,  by  Avhich  the  latter  was  to 
supply  the  Americans  with  the  materials  necessary  for  carrying  on  the  war. 
The  king  of  France  and  his  prime  minister,  Vergennes,  winked  at  this 
proceeding ;  but  the  agents  of  Great  Britain  Avere  jealous  and  suspicious, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  autumn  of  1777  that  a  ship  laden  with  two  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  dollars’  Avorth  of  arms,  ammunition  and  specie  could  be 
sent  to  America.  In  that  ship  came  Baron  Steuben,  a  veteran  soldier  and 
disciplinarian  from  the  army  of  Frederic  the  Great.  Arriving  at  Ports¬ 
mouth,  the  baron  tarried  a  short  time  in  NeAV  England,  and  then  repaired 
to  York,  Avhere  Congress  Avas  in  session.  From  that  body  he  received  a 
commission,  and  at  once  joined  Washington  at  Valley  Forge.  His  acces¬ 
sion  to  the  American  army  Avas  an  event  of  great  importance.  He  re¬ 
ceded  the  appointment  of  inspector-general ;  and  from  the  day  in  Avhich 
lie  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  there  Avas  a  marked  improATe- 
ment  in  the  condition  and  discipline  of  the  soldiers.  The  American  reg¬ 
ulars  were  never  again  beaten  Avhen  confronted  by  the  British  in  equal 
numbers. 

In  November  of  1776  Arthur  Lee  and  Benjamin  Franklin  AArere 
appointed  by  Congress  to  negotiate  an  open  treaty  of  friendship  and  com- 


FRANCE  TO  THE  RESCUE. 


329 


merce  with  the  French  king.  In  the  following  month  they  reached  Paris 
and  began  their  conferences  with  Vergennes.  For  a  long  time  King 
Louis  and  his  minister  were  wary  of  the  proposed  alliance.  They  cor¬ 
dially  hated  Great  Britain,  they  rejoiced  that  the  British  empire  was  about 
to  be  dismembered,  they  gave  secret  encouragement  to  the  colonies  to  hold 
out  in  their  rebellion,  they  loaned  money  and  shipped  arms  to  America ; 
but  an  open  alliance  was  equivalent  to  a  war  with  England,  and  that  the 
French  court  dreaded. 

Now  it  was  that  the  genius  of  Dr.  Franklin  shone  with  a  peculiar 
lustre.  At  the  gay  court  of  Louis  XVI.  he  stood  as  the  representative 
of  his  country.  No  nation  ever  had  an  ambassador  of  greater  wisdom 
and  sagacity.  His  reputation  for  learning  had  preceded  him ;  the  dignity 
of  his  demeanor  and  the  simplicity  of  his  manners  added  to  his  fame. 
Whether  as  philosopher  or  diplomatist,  no  man  in  that  great  city  of  fashion 
was  the  equal  of  the  venerable  American  patriot.  His  wit  and  genial 
humor  made  him  admired  ;  his  talents  and  courtesy  commanded  respect ; 
his  patience  and  perseverance  gave  him  final  success.  During  the  whole 
of  1777  he  remained  at  Paris  and  Versailles,  availing  himself  of  every 
opportunity  to  promote  the  interests  of  his  country.  At  last  came  the 
news  of  Burgoyne’s  surrender.  A  powerful  British  army  had  been  sub¬ 
dued  by  the  colonists  without  aid  from  abroad.  The  success  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  arms  and  the  prospect  of  commercial  advantage  decided  the  wavering 
policy  of  the  king,  and  in  the  beginning  of  winter  he  made  an  announce¬ 
ment  of  his  determination  to  accept  an  alliance  with  the  colonies.  On  the 
6th  of  February,  1778,  a  treaty  was  concluded  ;  France  acknowledged  the 
independence  of  the  United  States  and  entered  into  relations  of  reciprocal 
friendship  with  the  new  nation.  It  was  further  stipulated  that  in  case 
England  should  declare  Avar  against  France,  the  Americans  and  the 
French  should  make  common  cause,  and  that  neither  should  subscribe  to 
a  treaty  of  peace  Avithout  the  concurrence  of  the  other.  In  America  the 
neAvs  of  the  neAV  alliance  Avas  received  Avith  great  rejoicing;  in  England, 
Avith  vindictive  anger. 

Benjamin  Franklin,  the  author  of  the  first  treaty  betAveen  the 
United  States  and  a  foreign  nation,  Avas  born  in  Boston  on  the  17th  of 
January,  1706.  His  father  Avas  a  manufacturer  of  soap  and  candles. 
To  this  humble  vocation  the  young  Benjamin  Avas  devoted  bv  his  parents; 
but  the  Avails  of  a  candle-shop  Avere  too  narroAV  for  his  aspiring  genius. 
At  the  age  of  tAvelve  he  Avas  apprenticed  to  his  brother  to  learn  the  art  of 
printing  ;  but  the  brother  beat  him,  and  he  ran  off  to  NeAV  York.  There 
he  found  no  employment.  In  1723  he  repaired  to  Philadelphia,  entered 
a  printing-office,  and  rose  to  distinction.  He  visited  England  ;  returned; 


330 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


founded  the  first  circulating  library  in  America ;  became  a  man  of  science; 
edited  Poor  Richard's  Almanac;  originated  the  American  Philosophical 

Society ;  discovered  the 
identity  of  electricity 
and  lightning;  made 
himself  known  in  both 
hemispheres;  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  pat¬ 
riots  ;  and  devoted  the 
unimpaired  energies  of 
his  old  age  to  per¬ 
fecting  the  American 
Union.  The  name  of 
Franklin  is  one  of  the 
brightest  in  the  history 
of  any  nation. 

In  May  of  1778 
Congress  ratified  the 
treaty  with  F ranee.  A 
month  before  this  time 
a  French  fleet,  com¬ 
manded  by  Count 
d’Estaing,  had  been 
despatched  to  Amer- 
benjamin  franklin.  ica.  The  object  was 

to  sail  into  the  Del¬ 
aware  and  blockade  the  British  squadron  at  Philadelphia.  Both  France 
and  Great  Britain  understood  full  well  that  war  was  inevitable,  and  each 
immediately  prepared  for  the  conflict.  George  III.  now  became  willing 
to  treat  with  his  American  subjects.  Lord  North,  the  prime  minister, 
brought  forward  two  bills  in  which  everything  that  the  colonists  had 
claimed  was  conceded.  The  bills  were  passed  by  Parliament,  and  the 
king  assented.  Commissioners  were  sent  to  America;  but  Congress  in¬ 
formed  them  that  nothing  but  an  express  acknowledgment  of  the  inde¬ 
pendence  of  the  United  States  would  now  be  accepted.  Then  the  com¬ 
missioners  tried  bribery  and  intrigue ;  and  Congress  would  hold  no  further 
conference  with  them. 

From  September  of  1777  until  the  following  June  the  British  army 
remained  at  Philadelphia.  The  fleet  of  Admiral  Howe  lay  in  the  Del¬ 
aware.  In  the  spring  of  1778,  General  Howe  was  superseded  by  Sir 
Henry  Clinton.  When  the  rumor  came  that  the  fleet  of  D’Estaing  was 


FRANCE  TO  THE  RESCUE. 


331 


approaching,  the  English  admiral  withdrew  from  the  Delaware  and  sailed 
for  New  York.  Finally,  on  the  18th  of  June,  the  British  army  evacuated 
Philadelphia  and  retreated  across  New  Jersey.  Washington  occupied  the 
city,  crossed  the  river,  and  followed  the  retreating  foe.  At  Monmouth, 
eighteen  miles  south-east  of  New  Brunswick,  the  British  were  overtaken. 
On  the  morning  of  the  28th  General  Lee  was  ordered  to  attack  the  enemy. 
The  first  onset  was  made  by  the  American  cavalry  under  La  Fayette; 
but  they  were  driven  back  by  Cornwallis  and  Clinton.  Lee,  who  had 
opposed  the  battle,  and  was  not  anxious  for  victory,  ordered  his  line  to 
fall  back  to  a  stronger  position ;  but  the  troops  mistook  the  order  and 
began  a  retreat,  the  British  charging  after  them.  Washington  met  the 
fugitives,  rallied  them,  administered  a  severe  rebuke  to  Lee,  and  ordered 
him  to  the  rear.  During  the  rest  of  the  engagement  the  haughty  officer, 
half  treacherous  in  his  principles  and  practices,  remained  at  a  distance, 
making  satirical  remarks  about  the  battle.  The  fight  continued  till  night¬ 
fall;  the  advantage  was  with  the  Americans;  and  Washington,  in  hope 
of  a  complete  victory,  anxiously  waited  for  the  morning.  During  the 
night,  however,  Clinton  sueceeded  in  withdrawing  his  forces  from  the 
field,  and  thus  escaped  the  peril  of  defeat. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth  was  sixty- 
seven  killed  and  a  hundred  and  sixty  wounded.  The  British  left  nearly 
three  hundred  dead  on  the  field.  On  the  day  after  the  battle  Washington 
received  an  insulting  letter  from  Lee  demanding  an  apology  for  the  lan¬ 
guage  which  the  commander-in-chief  had  used.  Washington  replied  that 
the  language  was  warranted  by  the  circumstances.  This  Lee  answered 
in  a  still  more  offensive  manner,  and  was  thereupon  arrested,  tried  by  a 
court-martial,  and  dismissed  from  his  command  for  twelve  months.  The 
brave,  rash  man  never  re-entered  the  service,  and  did  not  live  to  see  his 
country’s  independence. 

The  British  land  and  naval  forces  were  now  concentrated  at  New 
York.  Washington  followed,  crossed  the  Hudson,  and  took  up  his  head¬ 
quarters  at  White  Plains.  On  the  11th  of  July  Count  d’Estaing’s  fleet 
arrived  off  Sandy  Hook  and  attempted  to  attack  the  British  squadron  in 
the  bay ;  but  the  bar  at  the  entrance  prevented  the  passage  of  the  French 
vessels.  D’Estaing  next  sailed  for  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  where  the 
British,  commanded  by  General  Pigot,  were  in  strong  force.  At  the  same 
time  a  division  of  the  American  army,  led  by  General  Sullivan,  proceeded 
to  Providence  to  co-operate  with  the  French  fleet  in  the  attack  on  New¬ 
port.  Greene  and  La  Fayette  came  with  reinforcements,  and  the  whole 
army  took  post  at  Tiverton.  On  the  9th  of  August  Sullivan  succeeded 
in  crossing  the  eastern  passage  of  the  ba}' ,  and  secured  a  favorable  position 


832 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


on  the  island.  A  joint  attack  by  land  and  sea  was  planned  for  the  fol¬ 
lowing  day.  On  that  morning,  however,  the  fleet  of  Lord  Howe,  who 
had  left  New  York  in  pursuit  of  the  French,  came  in  sight ;  and  D’Estaing, 
instead  of  beginning  the  bombardment  of  Newport,  sailed  out  to  give 
battle  to  Howe.  Just  as  the  two  squadrons  were  about  to  begin  an  en¬ 
gagement  a  violent  storm  arose  by  which  the  fleets  were  parted  and 
greatly  damaged.  D’Estaing  repaired  to  Boston,  and  Howe  returned  to 
New  York. 

Sullivan  laid  siege  to  Newport;  but  when  the  French  squadron 
sailed  away,  he  found  it  necessary  to  retreat.  The  British  pursued  the 
Americans,  and  overtook  them  in  the  northern  part  of  the  island ;  a  battle 
ensued,  and  Pigot  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  two  hundred  and  sixty 
men.  On  the  following  night  Sullivan  succeeded  in  reaching  the  main¬ 
land  ;  and  it  was  well  that  he  did  so ;  for  on  the  next  day  General  Clin¬ 
ton  arrived  at  Newport  with  a  division  of  four  thousand  regulars.  The 
Americans  saved  themselves  by  hastily  retiring  from  the  neighborhood. 
Clinton,  having  sent  out  a  detachment  under  Colonel  Grey  to  burn  the 
American  shipping  in  Buzzard’s  Bay,  destroy  the  stores  in  New  Bedford 
and  ravage  Martha’s  Vineyard,  returned  to  New  York. 

The  command  of  the  British  naval  forces  in  America  was  now 
transferred  from  Lord  Howe  to  Admiral  Byron.  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
unable  to  accomplish  anything  in  honorable  warfare,  descended  to  maraud¬ 
ing  and  robbery.  Early  in  October  a  band  of  incendiaries,  led  by  Fer¬ 
guson,  burned  the  American  ships  at  Little  Egg  Harbor.  For  several 
miles  inland  the  country  was  devastated,  houses  pillaged,  barns  burned, 
patriots  murdered.  To  the  preceding  July  belongs  the  sad  story  of  the 
Wyoming  massacre.  Major  John  Butler,  a  tory  of  Niagara,  raised  a 
company  of  sixteen  hundred  loyalists,  Canadians  and  Indians,  and  marched 
into  the  valley  of  Wyoming,  county  of  Luzerne,  Pennsylvania.  The 
settlement  was  defenceless.  The  fathers  and  brothers  were  away  in  the 
patriot  army.  There  were  some  feeble  forts  on  the  Susquehanna  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Wilkesbarre,  but  they  were  useless  without  defenders. 
On  the  approach  of  the  tories  and  savages  the  few  militia  remaining  in 
the  valley,  together  with  the  old  men  and  boys,  rallied  for  the  defence  of 
their  homes.  A  battle  was  fought,  and  the  poor  patriots  were  utterly 
routed.  The  fugitives  fled  to  the  principal  fort,  which  was  crowded 
with  women  and  children.  On  came  the  murderous  horde,  and  demanded 
a  surrender.  Honorable  terms  were  promised  by  Butler,  and  the  garrison 
capitulated.  On  the  5th  of  July  the  gates  were  opened,  and  the  bar¬ 
barians  entered.  Immediately  they  began  to  plunder,  then  to  burn,  and 
then  to  use  the  hatchet  and  the  scalping-knife.  There  is  no  authentic 


FRANCE  TO  THE  RESCUE. 


333 


record  of  the  horrible  atrocities  that  followed.  The  savages  divided 
into  parties,  scattered  through  the  valley,  plundered,  robbed,  burned,  and 
drove  almost'  every  surviving  family  into  the  swamps  or  mountains.  In 
this  way  George  III.  would  subdue  the  American  colonies. 

November  witnessed  a  similar  massacre  at  the  village  of  Cherry 
Valley,  Otsego  county,  New  York.  This  time  the  invaders  were  led  by 
Joseph  Brant,  the  Mohawk  sachem,  and  Walter  Butler,  a  son  of  Major 
John  Butler.  The  people  of  Cherry  Valley  were  driven  from  their 
homes ;  every  house  in  the  village  was  burned ;  women  and  children  were 
tomahawked  and  scalped ;  and  forty  miserable  sufferers  dragged  into  cap¬ 
tivity.  To  avenge  these  outrages  an  expedition  was  sent  against  the 
savages  on  the  Upper  Susquehanna ;  and  they  in  turn  were  made  to  feel 
the  terrors  of  war.  In  the  preceding  December  the  famous  Major  Clarke 
had  received  from  Patrick  Henry,  then  governor  of  Virginia,  a  commis¬ 
sion  to  proceed  against  the  Indians  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  The  expe¬ 
dition  left  Pittsburg  in  the  spring  of  1778  ;  descended  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio;  and  on  the  4th  of  the  following  July  captured  Kaskaskia.  Other  . 
important  posts  were  taken ;  and  in  August  Vincennes  was  forced  to 
capitulate. 

On  the  3d  of  November  Count  d’Estaing's  fleet  sailed  from  Boston 
for  the  West  Indies.  In  December  Admiral  Byron,  in  command  of  the 
British  squadron,  left  New  York  to  try  the  fortunes  of  war  on  the  ocean. 
A  few  days  previously,  Colonel  Campbell,  with  a  force  of  two  thousand 
men,  was  sent  by  General  Clinton  for  the  conquest  of  Georgia.  On  the 
29th  of  December  the  expedition  reached  Savannah.  The  place  was  de¬ 
fended  by  General  Robert  Howe  with  a  regiment  of  five  hundred  and 
fifty  regulars,  and  three  hundred  militia.  Notwithstanding  the  superior 
numbers  of  the  British,  Howe  determined  to  risk  a  battle ;  but  the  result 
was  disastrous.  The  Americans  were  routed  and  driven  out  of  the  city. 
Escaping  up  the  river,  the  defeated  patriots  crossed  into  South  Carolina 
and  found  refuge  at  Charleston.  Such  was  the  only  real  conquest  made 
by  the  British  during  the  year  1778.  It  was  now  nearly  four  years  since 
the  battle  of  Concord,  and  Great  Britain  had  lost  vastly  more  than  she 
had  gained  in  her  struggle  with  the  colonies.  The  city  of  New  York  was 
held  by  Clinton  ;  Newport  was  garrisoned  by  a  division  under  Pigot;  the 
feeble  capital  of  Georgia  was  conquered;  all  the  rest  remained  to  the 
patriots. 


334 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  X  L 1 1 . 

MOVEMENTS  OF  ’79. 

THE  winter  of  1778-79  was  passed  by  the  American  army  at  Middle- 
brook,  New  Jersey.  With  the  opening  of  spring  there  was  much 
discouragement  among  the  soldiers ;  for  they  were  neither  paid  nor  fed. 
Only  the  personal  influence  of  Washington  and  the  patriotism  of  the 
camp  prevented  a  mutiny.  Clinton  opened  the  campaign  with  a  number 
of  predatory  incursions  into  the  surrounding  country.  In  February, 
Tryon,  the  old  tory  governor  of  New  York,  a  man  so  savage  in  his  nature 
that  the  Indians  called  him  the  Big  Wolf,  marched  from  Kingsbridge 
with  a  body  of  fifteen  hundred  regulars  and  tories  to  destroy  the  salt- 
.  works  at  Horse  Neck,  Connecticut.  General  Putnam,  who  chanced  to 
be  in  that  neighborhood,  rallied  the  militia  and  made  a  brave  defence. 
The  Americans  planted  some  cannon  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  and  fought 
with  much  spirit  until  they  were  outflanked  by  the  British  and  obliged  to 
fly.  It  was  here  that  General  Putnam,  pursued  and  about  to  be  over¬ 
taken  by  a  party  of  dragoons,  turned  out  of  the  road,  spurred  his  horse 
down  a  precipice  and  escaped.*  Tryon  destroyed  the  salt-works,  plun¬ 
dered  and  burned  the  village  of  West  Greenwich  and  returned  to  Kings¬ 
bridge. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May  Clinton  himself  sailed  with  an  armament 
up  the  Hudson  to  Stony  Point.  This  strong  position,  commanding  the 
river,  had  been  chosen  by  Washington  as  the  site  of  a  fort ;  the  Amer¬ 
icans  were  engaged  upon  the  unfinished  works  when  Clinton’s  squadron 
came  in  sight.  The  feeble  garrison,  unable  to  resist  the  overwhelming 
numbers  of  the  enemy,  escaped  from  the  fortifications.  On  the  1st  of 
June  the  British  entered,  mounted  cannon  and  began  to  bombard  Ver- 
planck’s  Point,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Here  the  patriots  made  a 
brave  resistance ;  but  the  British  landed  a  strong  force,  surrounded  the 
fort  and  compelled  a  surrender.  Both  Verplanck’s  and  Stony  Point  were 
strongly  fortified  and  garrisoned  by  the  enemy.  About  the  same  time 
Virginia  suffered  from  an  incursion  of  the  tories.  A  vast  amount  of 
public  and  private  property  was  destroyed  ;  and  several  towns,  including 
Norfolk  and  Portsmouth,  were  laid  in  ashes. 

*  After  all,  Putnam’s  exploit  was  not  so  marvelous.  In  1825  some  of  General  La 
Fayette’s  dragoons  rode  down  the  same  hill  for  sport. 


MOVEMENTS  OF  79. 


335 


In  July  the  ferocious  Tryon  again  distinguished  himself.  With  a 
force  of  twenty-six  hundred  Hessians  and  tories  he  sailed  to  New  Haven, 
captured  the  city  and  would  have  burned  it  but  for  fear  of  the  gathering 
militia.  Having  set  East  Haven  on  fire,  the  destroyers  sailed  down  the 
Sound  to  the  beautiful  town  of  Fairfield,  which  was  given  to  the  flames. 
At  Norwalk,  while  the  village  was  burning  and  the  terrified  people  flying 
from  their  homes,  Tryon,  on  a  neighboring  hill,  sat  in  a  rocking-chaii 
and  laughed  heartily  at  the  scene.  It  was  not  long  until  these  dastardly 
outrages  were  made  to  appear  more  dastardly  by  contrast  with  a  heroic 
exploit  of  the  patriots. 

Early  in  July  General  Wayne  received  orders  to  attempt  the  recap¬ 
ture  of  Stony  Point.  On  the  15th  of  the  month  he  mustered  a  force  of 
light  infantry  at  a  convenient  point  on  the  Hudson  and  marched  against 
the  seemingly  impregnable  fortress.  The  movement  was  not  discovered 
by  the  enemy.  At  eight  o’clock  in  the  evening  Wayne  halted  a  mile 
from  the  fort  and  gave  orders  for  the  assault.  A  negro  who  had  learned 
.  the  countersign  went  with  the  advance ;  the  British  pickets  were  deceived, 
caught  and  gagged.  The  Americans  advanced  in  two  columns,  the  first 
led  by  Wayne,  and  the  second  by  the  gallant  Frenchman,  Colonel  He 
Fleury.  Everything  was  done  in  silence.  Muskets  were  unloaded  and 
bayonets  fixed ;  not  a  gun  was  to  be  fired.  The  two  divisions,  attacking 
from  opposite  sides,  were  to  meet  in  the  middle  of  the  fort.  The  assault 
was  made  a  little  after  midnight.  Within  pistol-shot  of  the  sentinels  on 
the  height,  the  Americans  wTere  discovered.  There  was  the  cry,  To  arms! 
the  rattle  of  drums,  and  then  the  roar  of  musketry  and  cannon.  The 
patriots  never  wavered.  The  ramparts  were  scaled ;  and  the  British,  find¬ 
ing  themselves  between  two  closing  lines  of  bayonets,  cried  out  for  quar¬ 
ter.  Sixty-three  of  the  enemy  fell  in  the  struggle ;  the  remaining  five 
hundred  and  forty-three  were  made  prisoners.  Of  the  Americans  only 
fifteen  were  killed  and  eighty-three  wounded.  In  the  days  that  followed 
the  assault  Wayne  secured  the  ordnance  and  stores,  valued  at  more  than 
a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  then  destroyed  the  fort  and  marched 
away.  On  the  20th  a  division  of  the  British  army,  arriving  at  Stony 
Point,  found  nothing  but  a  desolated  hill.  In  honor  of  his  brave  deed 
Genera]  Wayne  received  a  gold  medal  from  Congress. 

Three  days  after  the  taking  of  Stony  Point,  Major  Lee  with  a  com¬ 
pany  of  militia  attacked  the  British  garrison  at  Jersey  City.  Again  the 
assault  was  successful,  the  enemy  losing  nearly  two  hundred  men.  On 
the  25th  of  the  same  month  a  fleet  of  thirty-seven  vessels,  which  had 
been  equipped  by  Massachusetts,  was  sent  against  a  British  post  recently 
established  at  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot.  The  enterprise,  however, *was 


336 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


managed  with  little  skill  and  less  success.  On  the  13th  of  August,  while 
the  American  ships  were  still  besieging  the  post,  they  were  suddenly 
attacked  and  destroyed  by  a  British  fleet.  In  the  summer  of  this  year 
an  army  of  four  thousand  six  hundred  men,  commanded  by  Generals  Sul¬ 
livan  and  James  Clinton,  was  sent  against  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Sus¬ 
quehanna.  The  atrocities  of  Wyoming  were  now  fully  avenged,  and  the 
savages  driven  to  destruction.  At  Elmira,  on  the  Tioga  River,  the  In¬ 
dians  and  tories  had  fortified  themselves ;  but  on  the  29th  of  August  they 
were  forced  from  their  stronghold  and  utterly  routed.  The  whole  coun¬ 
try  between  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Genesee  was  wasted  by  the  patriots, 
who,  in  the  course  of  the  campaign,  destroyed  forty  Indian  villages.  In 
the  latter  part  of  October  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  alarmed  by  the  rumored 
approach  of  the  French  fleet,  withdrew  the  British  forces  from  Rhode 
Island.  The  retirement  from  Newport  was  made  with  so  much  haste  that 
the  heavy  guns  and  large  quantities  of  stores  were  left  behind.  Such 
were  the  leading  military  movements  in  the  North. 

Meanwhile,  the  war  had  continued  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina*, 
and  the  patriots  had  met  with  many  reverses.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
year  Fort  Sunbury,  on  St.  Catherine’s  Sound,  was  the  only  post  held  by 
the  Americans  south  of  the  Savannah.  On  the  9th  of  January  this  fort 
was  captured  by  a  body  of  British  troops  from  Florida,  led  by  General 
Prevost.  This  officer  then  joined  his  forces  with  those  of  Colonel  Camp¬ 
bell,  who  had  just  effected  the  conquest  of  Savannah,  and  assumed  com¬ 
mand  of  the  British  army  in  the  South.  A  force  of  two  thousand  reg¬ 
ulars  and  loyalists,  commanded  by  Campbell,  was  at  once  despatched 
against  Augusta ;  for  there  the  republican  legislature  had  assembled  after 
the  fall  of  Savannah.  On  the  29th  of  January  the  British  reached  their 
destination,  and  Augusta  fell  a  prey  to  the  invaders.  For  a  while  the 
whole  of  Georgia  was  prostrated  before  the  king’s  soldiery. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  tories  of  Western  Carolina  had  risen  in  arms 
and  were  advancing  to  join  the  forces  of  Campbell  at  Augusta.  While 
marching  thither  they  were  attacked  and  defeated  in  a  canebrake  by 
the  patriots  under  Captain  Anderson.  On  the  14th  of  February  the  tories 
were  again  overtaken  in  the  country  west  of  Broad  River.  Colonel 
Pickens,  at  the  head  of  the  Carolina  militia,  fell  upon  them  with  such 
fury  that  the  whole  force  was  annihilated.  Colonel  Boyd,  the  tory  leader, 
and  seventy  of  his  men  were  killed.  Seventy-five  others  were  captured, 
tried  for  treason  and  condemned  to  death  ;*but  only  five  of  the  ringleaders 
were  hanged.  On  receiving  intelligence  of  what  had  happened,  Campbell 
hastily  evacuated  Augusta  and  retreated  toward  Savannah.  The  western 
half  of  Georgia  was  recovered  more  quickly  than  it  had  been  lost. 


MOVEMENTS  OF  79. 


837 


While  the  British  were  retreating  down  the  river,  General  Lincoln, 
who  now  commanded  the  American  forces  in  the  South,  sent  General 
Ashe  with  a  division  of  two  thousand  men  to  intercept  the  enemy.  On 
the  25th  of  February  the  Americans  crossed  the  Savannah  and  pursued 
Campbell  as  far  as  Brier  Creek,  forty-five  miles  below  Augusta.  The 
bridge  over  this  stream  had  been  destroyed  by  the  retreating  British,  and 
the  patriots  came  to  a  halt.  While  they  were  delayed  General  Prevost 
marched  with  a  strong  force  from  Savannah,  crossed  Brier  Creek  above 
the  American  position,  and  completely  surrounded  General  Ashe’s  com¬ 
mand.  A  battle  was  fought  on  the  3d  of  March ;  the  Americans,  after 
losing  more  than  three  hundred  men  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners, 
were  totally  routed  and  driven  into  the  swamps  and  river.  The  rem¬ 
nants  of  Ashe’s  army  rejoined  General  Lincoln  at  Perrysburg.  The  shock 
of  this  defeat  again  prostrated  Georgia,  and  a  royal  government  was 
established  over  the  State. 

But  the  Carolinians  rallied  with  great  vigor.  Within  a  month  Gen¬ 
eral  Lincoln  was  again  in  the  field  with  a  force  of  more  than  five  thou¬ 
sand  men.  Still  hoping  to  reconquer  Georgia,  he  advanced  up  the  left 
bank  of  the  river  in  the  direction  of  Augusta;  but  at  the  same  time  Gen¬ 
eral  Prevost  crossed  the  Savannah  and  marched  against  Charleston.  On 
the  12th  of  May  he  summoned  the  city  to  surrender,  but  General  Moultrie, 
who  commanded  the  patriots,  was  in  no  humor  to  do  it,  Prevost  made 
preparations  for  a  siege ;  but  learning  that  General  Lincoln  had  turned 
back  to  attack  him,  he  made  a  hasty  retreat.  The  Americans  pursued, 
overtook  the  enemy  at  Stono  Feny,  ten  miles  west  of  Charleston,  made 
an  imprudent  attack  and  were  repulsed  with  considerable  loss.  Before 
retiring  from  the  State,  Prevost  succeeded  in  establishing  a  post  at  Beau¬ 
fort,  and  then  fell  back  to  Savannah.  From  June  until  September 
military  operations  were  almost  wholly  suspended. 

And  now  came  Count  d’Estaing  with  his  fleet  from  the  West  Indies 
to  Carolina  to  co-operate  with  General  Lincoln  in  the  reduction  of 
Savannah.  Prevost  was  alarmed,  and  concentrated  his  forces  for  the 
defence  of  the  city.  The  storm-winds  of  the  equinox  were  approaching, 
and  D’Estaing  stipulated  with  the  Americans  that  his  fleet  should  not  be 
long  detained  on  that  coast  devoid  of  harbors.  On  the  12th  of  September 
the  French,  numbering  six  thousand,  effected  a  landing,  and  advanced  to 
the  siege.  Eleven  days  elapsed  before  the  slow-moving  General  Lincoln 
arrived  with  his  forces.  Meanwhile,  on  the  16th  of  the  month,  D’Estaing 
had  demanded  a  surrender ;  but  Prevost,  who  asked  a  day  for  consulta¬ 
tion  and  used  it  in  strengthening  his  works  and  in  receiving  reinforce¬ 
ments  from  Beaufort,  answered  with  a  message  of  defiance.  After  Lin- 
24 


338 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


coin’s  arrival  the  siege  was  prosecuted  with  great  vigor.  The  city  was 
bombarded  wellnigh  to  destruction;  the  people  were  driven  into  the 
cellars,  and  dared  not  venture  forth  on  peril  of  their  lives.  But  the 
British  defences  remained  unshaken.  At  last  the  impatient  D’Estaing 
notified  Lincoln  that  the  city  must  be  stormed  or  the  siege  abandoned. 
The  former  course  was  preferred.  On  the  8th  of  October  a  conference 
was  held,  and  it  was  determined  to  make  the  assault  at  daylight  on  the 
following  morning. 

Accordingly,  an  hour  before  sunrise  the  allies  advanced  against  the 
redoubts  of  the  British.  The  attack  was  made  irregularly,  but  with  great 
vehemence;  the  defence,  with  desperate  determination.  The  struggle 
around  the  ramparts  was  brief  but  furious.  At  one  time  it  seemed  that 
the  works  would  be  carried.  The  French  and  the  patriots  mounted  the 
parapet  and  planted  the  flags  of  Carolina  and  France.  But  the  emblems 
of  victory,  with  those  who  bore  them,  were  hurled  into  the  dust.  Here 
the  brave  Sergeant  Jasper,  the  hero  of  Fort  Moultrie,  fell  to  rise  no  more. 
After  an  hour  of  the  most  gallant  fighting,  the  allied  columns  were  shat¬ 
tered  and  driven  back  with  fearful  losses.  D’Estaing  was  twice  wounded. 
The  noble  Pulaski  was  struck  with  a  grape-shot  and  borne  dying  from  the 
field.  The  repulse  was  complete,  humiliating,  disastrous.  D’Estaing  re¬ 
tired  with  his  men  on  board  the  fleet  and  sailed  for  France.  Lincoln 
with  the  remnants  of  his  army  retreated  to  Charleston. 

While  the  siege  of  Savannah  was  progressing,  the  American  arms 
were  made  famous  on  the  ocean.  On  the  23d  of  September  Paul  Jones, 
cruising  off  the  coast  of  Scotland  with  a  flotilla  of  French  and  American 
vessels,  fell  in  with  a  fleet  of  British  merchantmen,  convoyed  by  two 
men-of-war.  The  battle  that  ensued  was  bloody  beyond  precedent  in 
naval  warfare.  For  an  hour  and  a  half  the  Serapis,  a  British  frigate  of 
forty-four  guns,  engaged  the  Poor  Richard*  within  musket-shot.  Then 
the  vessels,  both  in  a  sinking  condition,  were  run  alongside  and  lashed 
together.  The  marines  fought  with  the  fury  of  madmen  until  the  Serapis 
struck  her  colors.  Jones  hastily  transferred  his  men  to  the  conquered 
ship,  and  the  Poor  Richard  went  down.  The  remaining  British  vessel 
was  also  attacked  and  captured.  So  desperate  was  the  engagement  that  of 
the  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  men  on  board  the  fleet  of  Jones  three 
hundred  were  either  killed  or  wounded. 

So  closed  the  year  1779.  The  colonies  were  not  yet  free.  The 
French  alliance,  which  had  promised  so  much,  had  brought  but  little 
benefit.  The  credit  of  Congress  had  sunk  almost  to  nothing ;  the  national 
treasury  was  bankrupt.  The  patriots  of  the  army  were  poorly  fed,  and 

*  So  named  in  honor  of  Dr.  Franklin’s  almanac. 


REVERSES  AND  TREASON. 


339 


paid  only  with  unkept  promises.  The  disposition  of  Great  Britain  was 
best  illustrated  in  the  measures  adopted  by  Parliament  for  the  campaigns 
of  the  ensuing  year.  The  levies  made  by  the  House  of  Commons  were 
eighty-five  thousand  marines  and  thirty-five  thousand  additional  troops  ; 
while  the  extraordinary  expenses  of  the  War  Department  were  set  at 
twenty  million  pounds  sterling. 


CHAPTER  X  LI  II. 

REVERSES  AND  TREASON. 

DURING  the  year  1780  military  operations  at  the  North  were,  for  the 
most  part,  suspended.  Twice  did  the  British  under  Knyphausen 
advance  from  New  York  into  New  Jersey ;  and  twice  they  were  driven 
back.  Early  in  July  Admiral  De  Ternay  arrived  at  Newport  with  a 
French  squadron  and  six  thousand  land-troops  under  Count  Rocham- 
beau.  The  Americans  were  greatly  elated  at  the  coming  of  their  allies ; 
but  Washington’s  army  was  in  so  destitute  a  condition  that  active  co¬ 
operation  was  impracticable.  In  September  the  commander-in-chief  held 
a  conference  with  Rochambeau,  and  the  plans  of  future  campaigns  were  in 
part  determined. 

In  the  South  there  was  much  activity,  and  the  patriots  suffered  many 
reverses.  South  Carolina  was  completely  overrun  with  the  invading 
armies.  On  the  11th  of  February  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  in  command  of  a 
British  squadron,  anchored  before  Charleston.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  a 
division  of  five  thousand  men  from  the  army  in  New  York  were  on  board 
the  fleet.  The  plan  of  the  campaign  was  to  subjugate  the  whole  South, 
beginning  with  Charleston.  The  city  was  defended  by  fourteen  hundred 
men,  under  General  Lincoln,  who  began  his  preparations  by  fortifying 
the  neck  of  the  peninsula.  The  British  effected  a  landing  a  few  miles 
below  the  harbor,  advanced  up  the  right  bank  of  Ashley  River,  and 
crossed  to  the  north  of  the  city.  A  month  was  spent  by  Clinton  in  mak¬ 
ing  cautious  approaches  toward  the  American  entrenchments.  On  the 
7th  of  April  General  Lincoln  was  reinforced  by  seven  hundred  veterans 
from  Virginia.  Two  days  afterward  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  favored  by  the 
wind  and  tide,  succeeded  in  passing  Fort  Moultrie  with  his  fleet,  and 
anchored  within  cannon-shot  of  the  city.  A  summons  to  surrender  was 


340 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


answered  by  Lincoln  with  the  assurance  that  Charleston  would  be 
defended  to  the  last  extremity. 

A  siege  was  at  once  begun,  and  prosecuted  with  great  vigor.  Desir¬ 
ing  to  keep  a  way  open  for  retreat,  Lincoln  sent  a  body  of  three  hundred 

men  under  General  Huger  to  scour  the  country 
north  of  Cooper  River  and  rally  the  militia. 
Apprised  of  this  movement,  Tarleton  with  a 
legion  of  British  cavalry  stole  upon  Huger’s 
forces  at  Monk’s  Corner,  thirty  miles  north  of 
Charleston,,  routed  and  dispersed  the  whole  com¬ 
pany.  The  city  was  now  fairly  hemmed  in,  and 
the  thunder  of  two  hundred  cannon  shook  the 
beleaguered  ramparts.  From  the  beginning  the 
defence  had  been  hopeless,  and  every  day  the 
condition  of  the  town  became  more  desperate. 
Finally  the  fortifications  were  beaten  down,  and  Clinton  made  ready  to 
storm  the  American  works ;  not  till  then  did  Lincoln  and  the  civil 
authorities,  dreading  the  havoc  of  an  assault,  agree  to  capitulate.  On  the 
12th  of  May  the  principal  city  of  the  South  wras  given  up  to  the  British 
and  the  men  who  had  so  bravely  defended  it  became  prisoners  of  war. 

A  few  days  before  the  surrender  Tarleton,  who  was  ranging  the 
country  to  the  north  and  west,  surprised  and  dispersed  a  body  of  militia 
who  had  gathered  on  the  Santee.  After  the  capture  of  the  city,  three 
expeditions  were  directed  into  different  sections  of  the  State.  The  Amer¬ 
ican  post  at  Ninety-Six,  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  north-west  of  the  cap¬ 
ital,  was  seized.  A  second  detachment  of  the  British  invaded  the  country 
bordering  on  the  Savannah.  Cornwallis  with  the  principal  division 
marched  to  the  north-east,  crossed  the  Santee  and  captured  Georgetown, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Pedee.  Here  he  learned  that  Colonel  Buford, 
with  a  body  of  five  hundred  patriots,  who  had  left  North  Carolina  for 
the  relief  of  Charleston,  was  now  retreating  through  the  district  north  of 
Camden.  Tarleton  with  seven  hundred  cavalry  pressed  rapidly  across 
the  country,  overtook  the  Americans  on  the  Waxhaw,  a  tributary  of  the 
Catawba,  surprised  them,  and,  while  negotiations  for  a  surrender  were 
pending,  charged  upon  and  massacred  nearly  the  whole  company.  For 
this  atrocious  deed  Cornwallis  commended  Tarleton  to  the  special  favor 
of  the  British  Parliament. 

By  such  means  the  authority  of  Great  Britain  was  re-established 
over  South  Carolina.  As  soon  as  the  work  was  done,  Clinton  and 
Arbuthnot,  with  about  half  of  the  British  army,  sailed  for  New  York. 
Cornwallis  was  left  with  the  remainder  to  hold  the  conquered  territory ; 


REVERSES  AND  TREASON. 


341 


for  it  was  the  territory ,  and  not  the  people,  who  were  conquered.  In  this 
condition  of  a  hairs,  two  daring  patriot  leaders  arose  to  rescue  the  repub¬ 
lican  cause.  These  men,  ever  afterward  famous,  were  Thomas  Sumter 
and  Francis  Marion.  Under  their  leadership  the  militia  in  the  central 
and  western  portions  of  the  State,  especially  on  the  upper  tributaries  of 
Broad  River,  were  rallied,  armed  and  mounted.  An  audacious  partisan 
warfare  was  begun,  and  exposed  detachments  of  the  British  army  were 
swept  off  as  though  an  enemy  had  fallen  on  them  from  the  skies.  At 
Rocky  Mount,  on  the  Wateree,  Colonel  Sumter  burst  upon  a  party  of 
dragoons,  who  barely  saved  themselves.  On  the  6th  of  August  he  attacked 
a  large  detachment  of  regulars  and  tories  at  Hanging  Rock,  in  Lancaster 
county,  defeated  them  and  retreated.  It  was  in  this  battle  that  young 
Andrew  Jackson  began  his  career  as  a  soldier. 

The  exploits  of  Sumter  were  even  surpassed  by  those  of  Marion. 
His  .company  consisted  at  first  of  twenty  men  and  boys,  white  and  black, 
half  clad  and  poorly  armed.  But  the  number  constantly  increased,  and 
the  “  Ragged  Regiment”  soon  became  a  terror  to  the  enemy.  Every 
British  outpost  was  in  peril.  There  was  no  telling  when  or  where  the 
sword  of  the  fearless  leader  would  fall.  From  the  swamps  at  midnight  he 
and  his  men  would  suddenly  dart  upon  the  encampments  of  the  enemy, 
sweeping  everything  before  them.  When  the  British  expected  Marion 
in  front,  he  would  assail  the  rearguard  with  the  utmost  fury,  and  then  dis¬ 
appear  ;  when  they  thought  him  hovering  on  their  flank,  he  was  a  hun¬ 
dred  miles  away.  During  the  whole  summer  and  autumn  of  1780  he 
swept  around  Cornwallis’s  positions,  cutting  his  lines  of  communication 
and  making  incessant  onsets  with  an  audacity  as  destructive  as  it  was  pro¬ 
voking.  In  the  midst  of  this  wild  and  lawless  warfare,  Marion  preserved 
an  unblemished  reputation.  Fifteen  years  afterward,  when  he  lay  on  his 
deathbed,  he  declared  that  he  had  never  intentionally  wronged  any  man  ; 
and  it  was  truthfully  written  on  his  monument  that  he  lived  without  fear 
and  died  without  reproach. 

After  the  fall  of  Charleston,  General  Gates  was  appointed  to  com¬ 
mand  in  the  South.  With  a  strong  force  of  regulars  and  such  militia  as 
would  join  his  standard,  he  advanced  across  North  Carolina,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  August  reached  the  southern  boundary  of  the  State.  Lord 
Rawdon,  who  commanded  the  British  posts  in  the  northern  parts  of  South 
Carolina,  called  in  his  detachments  and  concentrated  his  forces  at  Camden. 
Hither  came  also  Cornwallis  with  reinforcements  from  Charleston  and 
Georgetown.  The  Americans  moved  forward  and  took  post  at  Clermont, 
thirteen  miles  north-west  from  Camden.  Bv  a  singular  coincidence  Corn¬ 
wallis  and  Gates  each  formed  the  design  of  surprising  his  antagonist  in 


342 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


* 


the  night.  Accordingly,  on  the  evening  of  the  15th  of  August,  Gates  set 
out  for  Camden,  and  at  the  same  time  Cornwallis  moved  toward  Cler¬ 
mont.  About  daydawn  the  two  armies  met  midway  on  Sander's  Creek. 

Both  generals  were  surprised, 
but  both  made  immediate 
preparations  for  battle.  As 
soon  as  it  was  light  the  con- 
flict  began.  Steadiness  and 
courage  in  all  parts  of  the 
field  would  have  given  the 
victory  to  the  Americans,  but 
at  the  first  onset  the  Virginia 
and  Carolina  militia  broke 
line,  threw  their  arms  away 
and  fled.  For  a  while  the 
Continentals  of  Marvland 

J 

and  Delaware  sustained  the 
battle  with  great  bravery,  but 
at  length  they  were  outflank¬ 
ed  by  Webster’s  cavalry  and 
driven  back.  The  American 
officers  made  heroic  efforts  to 
save  the  day,  but  all  in  vain  ;  the  retreat  became  a  rout.  Baron  de  Kalb, 
the  friend  of  La  Fayette  and  fellow-sufferer  with  Washington  at  Valley 
Forge,  remained  on  the  field  trying  to  rally  his  men  until  he  was  wounded 
eleven  times  and  fell  in  the  agony  of  death.  More  than  a  thousand  of  the 
Americans  were  killed,  wounded  or  captured.  The  shattered  remnants 
continued  the  retreat  to  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  eighty  miles  distant. 
The  military  reputation  of  Gates,  which  never  had  any  solid  foundation, 
was  blown  away  like  chaff,  and  he  was  superseded  by  General  Greene, 
who,  after  Washington,  was  the  best  officer  of  the  Revolution. 

Cormvallis  was  again  master  of  South  Carolina.  A  few  days  after 
the  battle  of  Sander’s  Creek,  Sumter’s  corps  was  overtaken  by  Tarleton 
at  Fishing  Creek,  thirty  miles  north-west  from  Camden,  and  completely 
routed.  Only  Marion  and  his  troopers  remained  to  harass  the  victorious 
enemy.  The  triumph  of  the  British  was  marked  by  cruelty  and  oppres¬ 
sion.  Cornwallis  visited  the  patriots  with  merciless  severity,  and  the 
ruined  State  crouched  at  the  feet  of  the  conqueror.  On  the  8th  of  Sep¬ 
tember  the  British  advanced  from  Camden  into  North  Carolina,  and  on 
the  25th  reached  Charlotte,  the  Americans  having  retreated  to  Salisbury. 
While  this  movement  was  in  progress,  Colonel  Ferguson,  with  a  force  of 


SCENE  OP  OPERATIONS  IN  THE  SOUTH,  1780,  81. 


REVERSES  AND  TREASON 


343 


eleven  hundred  regulars  and  tories,  was  sent  into  the  country  west  of  the 
Catawba  to  overawe  the  patriots  and  encourage  the  loyalists  to  take  up 
arms.  On  the  7th  of  October,  while  Ferguson  and  his  men  were  en¬ 
camped  on  the  top  of  King’s  Mountain,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by 
a  thousand  riflemen  led  by  Colonel  Campbell.  The  camp  was  surrounded; 
a  desperate  battle  of  an  hour  and  a  half  ensued;  Ferguson  was  slain,  and 
three  hundred  of  his  men  were  killed  or  wrounded ;  the  remaining  eight 
hundred  threw  down  their  arms  and  begged  for  quarter.  On  the  morn¬ 
ing  after  the  battle  ten  of  the  leading  tory  prisoners  were  condemned  by  a 
court-martial  and  hanged.  During  the  remaining  two  months  of  the  year 
there  were  no  military  movements  of  importance.  Georgia  and  South 
Carolina  were  in  the  power  of  the  British,  and  North  Carolina  was  invaded. 

Meanwhile,  the  financial  credit  of  the  nation  was  sinking  to  the 
lowest  ebb.  Congress,  having  no  silver  and  gold  with  which  to  meet  the 
accumulating  expenses  of  the  war,  had  resorted  to  paper  money.  At  first 
the  expedient  was  successful,  and  the  continental  bills  were  received  at 
par ;  but  as  one  issue  followed  another,  the  value  of  the  notes  rapidly 
diminished,  until,  by  the  middle  of  1780,  they  were  not  worth  two  cents 
to  the  dollar.  To  aggravate  the  evil,  the  emissaries  of  Great  Britain 
executed  counterfeits  of  the  congressional  money  and  sowed  the  spurious 
bills  broadcast  over  the  land.  Business  was  paralyzed  for  the  want  of  a 
currency,  and  the  distress  became  extreme ;  but  Robert  Morris  and  a  few 
other  wealthy  patriots  came  forward  with  their  private  fortunes  and  saved 
the  suffering  colonies  from  ruin.  The  mothers  of  America  also  lent  a 
helping  hand ;  and  the  patriot  camp  was  gladdened  with  many  a  contribu¬ 
tion  of  food  and  clothing  which  woman’s  sacrificing  care  had  provided. 

In  the  midst  of  the  general  gloom  the  country  was  shocked  by  the 
rumor  that  Benedict  Arnold  had  turned  traitor.  And  the  news,  though 
hardly  credible,  was  true.  The  jrave,  rash  man,  who,  on  behalf  of  the 
patriot  cause,  had  suffered  untold  hardships  and  shed  his  blood  on  more 
fields  than  one,  had  blotted  the  record  of  his  heroism  with  a  deed  of 
treason.  After  the  battle  of  Bemis’s  Height,  in  the  fall  of  1777,  Arnold 
was  promoted  by  Congress  to  the  rank  of  major-general.  Being  disabled 
by  nis  wound,  he  was  made  commandant  of  Philadelphia  after  the  evac¬ 
uation  of  the  city  by  the  British.  Here  he  married  the  daughter  of  a 
loyalist,  and  living  in  the  old  mansion  of  William  Penn  entered  upon  a 
career  of  luxury  and  extravagance  which  soon  overwhelmed  him  with 
debt  and  bankruptcy.  In  order  to  keep  up  his  magnificence,  he  began  a 
system  of  frauds  on  the  commissary  department  of  the  army.  His  bear¬ 
ing  toward  the  citizens  was  that  of  a  military  despot ;  the  people  groaned 
under  his  tyranny,  and  charges  were  preferred  against  him  by  Congress. 


344 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  cause  was  finally  heard  by  a  court-martial  in  December  of  1779. 
Arnold  was  convicted  on  two  of  the  charges,  and,  by  the  order  of  the 
court,  was  mildly  reprimanded  by  Washington. 

Professing  unbounded  patriotism,  and  seeming  to  forget  the  dis¬ 
grace  which  his  misconduct  had  brought  upon  him,  Arnold  applied  for 
and  obtained  command  of  the  important  fortress  of  West  Point  on  the 
Hudson.  On  the  last  day  of  July,  1780,  he  reached  the  camp  and 
assumed  control  of  the  most  valuable  arsenal  and  depot  of  stores  in  Amer¬ 
ica.  He  had  already  formed  the  treasonable  design  of  surrendering  the 
fort  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  For  months  he  had  kept  up  a  secret 
correspondence  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  now  the  scheme  ripened,  on 
Arnold’s  part,  into  an  open  proposition  to  betray  his  country  for  gold. 
It  was  agreed  that  on  a  certain  day  the  British  fleet  should  ascend  the 
Hudson,  that  the  garrison  should  be  divided  and  scattered,  and  the  fort¬ 
ress  given  up  without  a  struggle. 

On  the  21st  of  September  Sir  Henry  Clinton  sent  Major  John 
Andre  up  the  river  to  hold  a  personal  conference  with  Arnold  and  make 

the  final  arrangements  for  the  surrender. 
Andre,  through  whom  the  correspondence 
between  Arnold  and  Clinton  had  been  car¬ 
ried  on,  was  a  former  acquaintance  of  Ar¬ 
nold’s  wife,  and  now  held  the  post  of  adju* 
tant-general  in  the  British  army.  He  went 
to  the  conference,  not  as  a  spy,  but  wearing 
full  uniform;  and  it  was  agreed  that  the 
meeting  should  be  held  outside  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  lines.  About  midnight  of  the  21st  he 
went  ashore  from  the  Vulture,  a  sloop  of 
war,  and  met  Arnold  in  a  thicket  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river,  two  miles  below 
Haverstraw.  Daydawn  approached,  and 
the  conspirators  were  obliged  to  hide 
themselves.  In  doing  so  they  entered  the 
American  lines ;  Arnold  gave  the  password,  and  Andre,  disguising  him¬ 
self,  assumed  the  character  of  a  spy. 

During  the  next  day  the  traitor  and  his  victim  remained  concealed 
at  the  house  of  a  tory  named  Smith.  Here  the  awful  business  was  com¬ 
pleted.  Arnold  was  to  surrender  West  Point,  its  garrisons  and  stores, 
and  to  receive  for  his  treachery  ten  thousand  pounds  and  a  commission  as 
brigadier  in  the  British  army.  All  preliminaries  being  settled,  papers, 
containing  a  full  description  of  West  Point,  its  defences  and  the  best 


THE  END. 


345 


method  of  attack  were  made  out  and  given  to  Andre,  who  secreted  the 
dangerous  documents  in  his  stockings.  During  that  day  an  American 
battery  drove  the  Vulture  from  its  moorings  in  the  river ;  and  at  night¬ 
fall  Andrb  was  obliged  to  cross  to  the  other  side  and  proceed  by  land 
toward  New  York.  He  passed  the  American  outposts  in  safety ;  but  at 
Tarrytown,  twenty-five  miles  from  the  city,  he  was  suddenly  confronted 
by  three  militiamen  *  who  stripped  him,  found  his  papers,  and  delivered 
him  to  Colonel  Jameson  at  North  Castle.  Through  that  officer’s  amazing 
stupidity  Arnold  was  at  once  notified  that  John  Anderson — that  being 
the  assumed  name  of  Andre — had  been  taken  with  his  passport  and  some 
papers  “of  a  very  dangerous  tendency.”  Arnold,  on  hearing  the  news, 
fled  to  the  river  and  escaped  on  board  the  Vulture.  Andre  was  tried  by 
a  court-martial  at  Tappan,  and  condemned  to  death.  On  the  2d  of  Oc¬ 
tober  he  was  led  to  the  gallows,  and,  unuer  the  stern  code  of  war,  was 
hanged.  Though  dying  the  death  of  a  felon,  he  met  his  doom  like  a 
brave  man,  and  after  times  have  commiserated  his  sad  fate.  Arnold 
received  his  pay. 

In  the  dark  days  of  December  there  came  a  ray  of  light  from 
Europe.  For  several  years  Holland  had  secretly  favored  the  Americans ; 
now  she  began  negotiations  for  a  commercial  treaty  similar  to  that  already 
existing  between  France  and  the  United  States.  Great  Britain  discovered 
the  purposes  of  the  Dutch  government ;  there  were  angry  remonstrances, 
and  then,  on  the  20th  of  December,  an  open  declaration  of  war.  Thus 
the  Netherlands  were  added  to  the  enemies  of  England ;  it  seemed  that 
George  III.  and  his  ministers  would  have  enough  to  do  without  farther 
efforts  to  enforce  a  stamp-act  or  levy  a  tax  on  tea. 


CHAPTER  XLIV 
THE  END. 

"Cl OR  the  Americans  the  year  1781  opened  gloomily.  The  condition 
T  of  the  army  was  desperate — no  food,  no  pay,  no  clothing.  Even  the 
influence  of  Washington  was  not  sufficient  to  quiet  the  growing  discontent 
of  the  soldiery.  On  the  first  day  of  January  the  whole  Pennsylvania 
line,  numbering  nearly  two  thousand,  mutinied,  left  their  camp  at  Morris- 

*  John  Paulding,  David  Williams  and  Isaac  van  Wart.  Congress  afterward  rewarded 
them  with  silver  medals  and  pensions  for  life. 


346 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


town  and  marched  toward  Philadelphia.  General  Wayne,  after  trying  hi 
vain  to  prevent  the  insurrection,  went  with  his  men,  still  hoping  to  con¬ 
trol  them.  At  Princeton  they  were  met  by  two  emissaries  from  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  and  were  tempted  with  offers  of  money,  clothing  and  release  from 
military  service  if  they  would  desert  the  American  standard.  The  mu¬ 
tinous  patriots  made  answer  by  seizing  the  British  agents  and  delivering 
them  to  General  Wayne  to  be  hanged  as  spies.  For  this  deed  the  com¬ 
missioners  of  Congress,  who  now  arrived,  offered  the  insurgents  a  large 
reward,  but  the  reward  was  indignantly  refused.  Washington,  knowing 
how  shamefully  the  army  had  been  neglected  by  Congress,  was  not  un¬ 
willing  that  the  mutiny  should  take  its  own  course.  The  congressional 
agents  were  therefore  left  to  adjust  the  difficulty  with  the  rebellious 
troops.  But  the  breach  was  easily  healed ;  a  few  liberal  concessions  on 
the  part  of  the  government  sufficed  to  quiet  the  mutiny. 

About  the  middle  of  the  same  month  the  New  Jersey  brigade,  sta¬ 
tioned  at  Pompton,  revolted.  This  movement  Washington  quelled  by 
force.  General  Robert  Howe  marched  to  the  camp  with  five  hundred 
regulars  and  compelled  twelve  of  the  principal  mutineers  to  execute  the 
two  leaders  of  the  revolt.  From  that  day  order  was  completely  restored. 
These  insurrections  had  a  good  rather  than  a  bad  effect ;  Congress  was 
thoroughly  alarmed,  and  immediate  provisions  were  made  for  the  bettei 
support  of  the  army.  An  agent  was  sent  to  France  to  obtain  a  furthei 
loan  of  money.  Robert  Morris  was  appointed  secretary  of  finance ;  the 
Bank  of  North  America  was  organized;  and  although  the  outstanding 
debts  of  the  United  States  could  not  be  paid,  yet  all  future  obligations  were 
promptly  met,  for  Morris  and  his  friends  pledged  their  private  fortunes 
to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  government. 

In  the  North  military  movements  were  begun  by  Arnold.  On 
arriving  at  New  York  the  traitor  had  received  the  promised  commission, 
and  was  now  a  brigadier-general  in  the  British  army.  In  the  preceding 
November,  Washington  and  Major  Henry  Lee  formed  a  plan  to  capture 
him.  Sergeant  John  Champe  undertook  the  daring  enterprise,  deserted 
to  the  enemy,  entered  New  York,  joined  Arnold’s  company,  and  with  two 
assistants  concerted  measures  to  abducr  him  from  the  city  and  convey  him 
to  the  American  camp.  But  Arn  Id  suddenly  moved  his  quarters,  and 
the  plan  was  defeated.  A  month  afterward  he  was  given  command  of  a 
fleet  and  a  land-force  of  sixteen  hundred  men,  and  on  the  16th  of  Decem¬ 
ber  left  New  York  to  make  a  descent  on  the  coasts  of  Virginia. 

Early  in  January  the  traitor  entered  James  River  and  began  war  on 
his  countrymen.  His  proceedings  were  marked  with  much  ferocity,  but 
not  with  the  daring  which  characterized  his  former  exploits.  In  the 


THE  END. 


O  I  -► 

o4< 

vicinity  of  Richmond  a  vast  quantity  of  public  and  private  property  was 
destroyed.  The  country  along  the  river  was  devastated ;  and  when  there 
was  nothing  left  to  excite  his  cupidity  or  gratify  his  revenge,  Arnold  took 
up  his  headquarters  in  Portsmouth,  a  few  miles  south  of  Hampton  Roads. 
Again  Washington  planned  his  capture.  The  French  fleet,  anchored  at 
Newport,  was  ordered  to  sail  for  Virginia  to  co-operate  with  La  Fayette, 

who  was  sent  in  the  direction  of  Portsmouth  with  a  detachment  of  twelve 

♦ 

hundred  men.  But  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  being  apprised  of  the  movement, 

» 

sailed  from  New  York  and  drove  the  French  squadron  back  to  Rhode 
Island.  La  Fayette,  deprived  of  the  expected  aid,  was  forced  to  abandon 
the  undertaking,  and  Arnold  again  escaped. 

About  the  middle  of  April  General  Phillips  arrived  at  Portsmouth 
with  a  force  of  two  thousand  British  regulars.  Joining  his  troops  with 
those  of  Arnold,  he  assumed  command  of  the  whole,  and  again  the  fertile 
districts  of  Lower  Virginia  were  ravaged  with  fire  and  sword.  Early  in 
May,  Phillips  died,  and  for  seven  days  Arnold  held  the  supreme  com¬ 
mand  of  the  British  forces  in  Virginia.  That  was  the  height  of  his  trea¬ 
sonable  glory.  On  the  20th  of  the  month  Lord  Cornwallis  arrived  at 
Petersburg  and  ordered  him  to  begone.  Returning  to  New  York,  he 
received  from  Clinton  a  second  detachment,  entered  the  Sound,  landed  at 
New  London,  in  his  native  State,  and  captured  the  town.  Fort  Griswold, 
which  was  defended  by  Colonel  Ledyard  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  militia¬ 
men,  was  carried  by  storm.  When  Ledyard  surrendered,  the  British 
officer  who  received  his  sword  stabbed  him  to  death ;  it  was  the  signal 
for  a  massacre  of  the  garrison,  seventy -three  of  whom  were  murdered  in 
cold  blood ;  of  the  remainder,  thirty  were  wounded  and  the  rest  made 
prisoners.  With  this  bloody  and  ignominious  deed  the  name  of  Arnold 
disappears  from  American  history. 

Meanwhile,  some  of  the  most  stirring  events  of  the  war  had  occurred 
at  the  South.  At  the  close  of  the  preceding  year  General  Greene  had 
taken  command  of  the  American  army — which  was  only  the  shadow  of 
an  army — at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  Cornwallis  had  fallen  back  in 
the  direction  of  Camden.  Greene  with  great  energy  reorganized  his 
forces  and  divided  them  into  an  eastern  and  a  western  division ;  the  com¬ 
mand  of  the  latter  was  given  to  General  Morgan.  In  the  first  days  of 
January  this  gallant  officer  was  sent  into  the  Spartanburg  district  of  South 
Carolina  to  repress  the  tories  and  encourage  the  patriot  militia.  His  suc¬ 
cess  was  such  as  to  exasperate  Cornwallis,  who  immediately  despatched 
Colonel  Tarleton  with  his  famous  cavalry  legion  to  destroy  Morgan’s 
forces  or  drive  them  out  of  the  State.  The  Americans,  apprised  of  Tarle- 
ton’s  approach,  took  a  favorable  position  at  the  Cowpens,  where,  on  the 


348 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


17th  of  January,  they  were  attacked  by  the  British,  eleven  hundred  strong. 
Tarleton,  confident  of  success,  made  the  onset  with  impetuosity ;  but  Mor¬ 
gan’s  men  sustained  the  shock  with  firmness,  and,  when  the  enemy’s  re¬ 
serves  were  called  into  action,  either  held  their  ground  or  retired  in  good 
order.  At  the  crisis  of  the  battle  the  American  cavalry,  commanded  by 
Colonel  William  Washington,  made  a  furious  charge  and  scattered  tlie 
British  dragoons  like  chaff  before  them.  The  rout  was  complete — the  vic¬ 
tory  decisive.  Washington  and  Tarleton  had  a  personal  encounter  on  the 
field,  and  the  latter  fled  with  a  sword-gash  in  his  hand.  His  corps  was 
annihilated ;  ten  British  officers  and  ninety  privates  were  killed,  and  five 
hundred  and  twenty-three  were  captured.  Two  pieces  of  artillery,  eight 
hundred  muskets  and  two  flags  were  among  the  trophies  of  the  battle. 

When  Cornwallis,  who  was  encamped  with  his  army  thirty  miles 
down  the  Catawba,  heard  of  the  disaster  to  his  arms,  he  made  a  rapid 
march  up  the  river  to  reach  the  fords  in  Morgan’s  rear.  But  Greene, 
who  had  also  heard  the  news,  hastened  to  the  camp  of  Morgan,  took  com¬ 
mand  in  person  and  began  a  hasty  retreat.  At  the  same  time  he  sent 
word  to  General  Huger,  who  commanded  the  eastern  division,  to  fall 
back  toward  Charlotte,  where  it  was  proposed  to  form  a  junction  of  the 
two  wings  of  the  army.  Un  the  28th  of  January  Morgan’s  division 
reached  the  Catawba  and  crossed  to  the  northern  bank,  with  prisoners, 
spoils  and  baggage.  Within  two  hours  the  British  van  arrived  at  the 
ford ;  but  it  was  already  sunset,  and  Cornwallis  concluded  to  wait  for  the 
morning;  then  he  would  cross  and  win  an  easy  victory.  During  the 
night  the  clouds  opened  and  poured  down  torrents ;  in  the  morning  the 
river  was  swollen  to  a  flood.  It  was  many  days  before  the  British  forced 
their  way  across,  dispersing  the  militia  on  the  opposite  bank.  And  now 
began  a  second  race,  this  time  for  the  fords  of  the  Yadkin. 

The  distance  was  sixty  miles  and  the  roads  wretched.  In  two  days 
the  Americans  reached  the  river.  The  crossing  was  nearly  effected,  when 
the  British  appeared  in  sight,  attacked  the  rearguard  and  captured  a  few 
wagons;  nothing  else  was  injured.  That  night  the  Yadkin  was  made 
impassable  by  rains  in  the  mountains,  and  Cornwallis  was  again  delayed ; 
Greene  pressed  forward  to  Guilford  Court-House,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
7th  of  February.  The  British  marched  up  the  Yadkin  to  the  shallow 
ford  at  Huntsville,  where,  on  the  9th  of  the  month,  they  succeeded  in 
crossing.  The  lines  of  retreat  and  pursuit  were  now  parallel,  and  the  two 
armies  were  less  than  twenty-five  miles  apart.  A  third  time  the  race 
began,  and  again  the  Americans  won  it.  On  the  13th,  Greene,  with  the 
main  division,  crossed  the  Dan  into  Virginia,  and  on  the  following  day 
the  American  rearguard  entered  the  boats  and  was  safe.  The  British  van 


THE  END. 


849 


was  already  in  sight  and  the  whole  army  but  a  few  miles  distant.  Nevei 
was  a  retreat  more  skillfully  conducted.  Cornwallis,  mortified  at  his 
repeated  failures,  abandoned  the  pursuit  and  retired  with  his  army  to 
Hillsborough. 

Once  in  Virginia,  Greene  was  rapidly  reinforced.  After  a  few  day? 
of  recruiting  and  rest  he  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  begin  offensive 
movements.  On  the  22d  of  February  he  recrossed  the  Dan  into  North 
Carolina.  Meanwhile,  Cornwallis  had  despatched  Tarleton  with  a  body 
of  cavalry  into  the  region  between  the  Haw  and  Deep  Divers  to  encourage 
the  tories.  Being  informed  of  this  movement,  Greene  sent  Colonel  Lee 
iu to  the  same  district.  Three  hundred  loyalists,  already  under  arms, 
were  marching  to  join  Tarleton.  On  the  route  they  were  intercepted  by 
the  American  cavalry,  whom,  supposing  them  to  be  British,  they  saluted 
with  a  shout  of  “  Long  live  the  king !”  Colonel  Lee  and  his  men  quietly 
surrounded  the  unsuspecting  tories,  fell  upon  them  as  a  band  of  traitors, 
and  killed  or  captured  the  entire  company. 

By  the  addition  of  the  Virginia  militia  Greene’s  army  now  num¬ 
bered  four  thousand  four  hundred  men.  Determining  to  avoid  battle  no 
longer,  he  marched  to  Guilford  Court-House,  took  a  strong  position  and 
awaited  his  antagonist.  Cornwallis,  accepting  the  challenge,  at  once 
moved  forward  to  the  attack.  On  the  15th  of  March  the  two  armies  met 
on  Greene’s  chosen  ground,  and  a  severe  but  indecisive  battle  was  fought. 
The  forces  of  Greene  were  superior  in  numbers,  and  those  of  Cornwallis  in 
discipline.  If  the  American  militia  had  stood  firm,  the  result  would  not 
have  been  doubtful ;  but  the  raw  recruits  behaved  badly,  broke  line  and 
fled.  Confusion  ensued ;  the  Americans  fought  hard,  but  were  eventually 
driven  from  the  field  and  forced  to  retreat  for  several  miles.  In  killed 
and  wounded  the  British  loss  was  greatest ;  but  large  bodies  of  the  militia 
returned  to  their  homes,  reducing  Greene’s  army  to  less  than  three  thou¬ 
sand.  Nevertheless,  to  the  British  the  result  was  equivalent  to  a  defeat. 

Cornwallis  now  boasted,  made  big  proclamations,  and  then  re¬ 
treated.  On  the  7th  of  April  he  reached  the  sea-coast  at  Wilmington 
and  immediately  thereafter  proceeded  to  Virginia.  How  he  arrived  at 
Petersburg,  superseded  Arnold  and  sent  him  out  of  the  State  has  already 
been  narrated.  The  British  forces  in  the  Carolinas  remained  under  com¬ 
mand  of  Lord  Rawdon,  who  was  posted  with  a  strong  division  at  Cam¬ 
den.  With  him  General  Greene,  after  the  departure  of  Cornwallis,  was 
left  to  contend.  The  American  army  was  accordingly  advanced  into 
South  Carolina.  A  detachment  was  sent  against  Fort  Watson,  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Santee,  and  the  place  was  obliged  to  surrender.  Greene 
marched  with  the  main  body  to  Hobkirk’s  Hill,  a  short  distance  north  of 


350 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Camden,  posted  his  men  in  a  strong  position  and  awaited  the  movements 
of  Rawdon.  What  that  officer  would  do  was  not  long  a  question  of  doubt. 
On  the  25th  of  April  he  moved  from  Camden  with  his  entire  force  and 
attacked  the  American  camp.  For  once  General  Greene  came  near  being 
surprised ;  but  his  men  were  swiftly  formed  for  battle ;  Rawdon’s  column 
was  badly  arranged ;  and  for  a  while  it  seemed  that  the  entire  British 
force  would  be  slain  or  captured.  Just  at  the  critical  moment,  however, 
some  valuable  American  officers  who  commanded  in  the  centre  were 
killed ;  their  regiments,  becoming  confused,  fell  back ;  Rawdon  saw  his 
advantage,  pressed  forward,  broke  the  centre,  captured  the  hill,  and  won 
the  day.  The  Americans  retired  from  the  field,  but  saved  their  artillery 
and  bore  away  the  wounded.  Again  the  genius  of  Greene  made  defeat 
seem  little  less  than  victory. 

On  the  10th  of  May  Lord  Rawdon  evacuated  Camden  and  retired 
to  Eutaw  Springs,  sixty-five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Santee.  The 
British  posts  at  Granby,  Orangeburg,  Fort  Mott  and  Augusta  *?11  suc¬ 
cessively  into  the  hands  of  the  patriots.  By  the  5th  of  June  only  Eutaw 
Springs,  Charleston  and  Ninety-Six  remained  in  possession  of  the  enemy. 
The  latter  place  wa's  already  besieged  by  General  Greene,  who,  after  the 
battle  of  Hobkirk’s  Hill,  advanced  to  Fort  Granby,  and  thence  to  Ninety- 
Six.  For  twenty-seven  days  the  siege  was  pressed  with  vigor.  The 
supply  of  water  was  cut  off  from  the  fort,  and  the  garrison  could  not 
have  held  out  more  than  two  days  longer;  but  Lord  Rawdon  was 
rapidly  approaching  with  a  force  of  two  thousand  men ;  and  the  Ameri¬ 
cans,  after  an  unsuccessful  assault,  were  obliged,  on  the  18th  of  June,  to 
raise  the  siege  and  retreat.  Rawdon  pursued,  but  Greene  escaped,  as 
usual,  and  the  British,  abandoning  Ninety-Six,  fell  back  to  Orangeburg. 
Greene,  with  ceaseless  activity,  followed  the  retreating  enemy,  and  would, 
but  for  their  strength,  have  assaulted  Rawdon’s  works.  Deeming  the 
position  impregnable,  the  American  general  recrossed  the  Santee  and  took 
his  station  on  the  highlands  in  Sumter  district.  Here,  in  the  healthful 
air  of  the  hill-country,  he  passed  the  sickly  months  of  summer. 

Sumter,  Lee  and  Marion  were  constantly  abroad,  traversing  the 
country  in  all  directions,  cutting  off  supplies  from  the  enemy,  breaking 
his  lines  of  communication  and  smiting  the  tories  right  and  left.  Lord 
Rawdon  now  resigned  the  command  of  the  British  forces  to  Colonel  Stuart 
and  went  to  Charleston.  While  there  he  became  a  principal  actor  in  one 
of  the  most  shameful  scenes  of  the  Revolution.  Colonel  Isaac  Hayne,  an 
eminent  patriot  who  had  formerly  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king, 
was  caught  in  command  of  a  troop  of  American  cavalry.  He  was  at  once 
taken  to  Charleston,  arraigned  before  Colonel  Balfour,  the  commandant. 


THE  END. 


351 


hurried  through  the  mockery  of  a  trial  and  condemned  to  death.  Raw- 
don  gave  his  sanction,  and  on  the  31st  of  July  Colonel  Hayne  was  hanged. 
Just  men  in  Europe  joined  with  the  patriots  of  America  in  denouncing  the 
act  as  worthy  of  barbarism. 

On  the  22d  of  August  General  Greene  left  the  heights  of  the  Santee 
and  marched  toward  Orangeburg.  The  British  decamped  at  his  approach 
and  took  post  at  Eutaw  Springs,  forty  miles  below.  The  Americans 
pressed  after  them  and  overtook  them  on  the  8th  of  September.  One 
if  the  fiercest  battles 
if  the  war  ensued ;  and 
General  Greene  was 
denied  a  decisive  vic¬ 
tory  only  by  the  bad 
conduct  of  some  of  his 
men,  who,  before  the 
field  was  fairly  won, 
abandoned  themselves 
to  eating  and  drink¬ 
ing  in  the  enemy’s 
camp.  Stuart  rallied 
his  troops,  returned  to 
the  charge  and  regain- 
ed  his  position. 

Greene,  after  losing 
five  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  men,  gave  over 
the  struggle.  The 
British  lost  in  killed 
and  wounded  nearly 
seven  hundred,  and 
more  than  five  hun- 


SENERAL  GREENE. 


Ired  prisoners.  On 

■  he  day  after  the  battle  Stuart  hastily  retreated  to  Monk’s  Corner ;  Greene 
followed  with  his  army,  and  after  two  months  of  manoeuvring  and  de¬ 
sultory  warfare  the  British  were  driven  into  Charleston.  In  the  mean 
time,  General  St.  Clair  had  cleared  North  Carolina  by  forcing  the  enemy 
to  evacuate  Wilmington.  In  the  whole  country  south  of  Virginia  only 
Charleston  and  Savannah  remained  under  dominion  of  the  king’s  army ; 


the  latter  city  was  evacuated  by  the  British  on  the  11th  of  July,  and  the 
former  on  the  14th  of  December,  1782.  Such  was  the  close  of  the  Revo¬ 
lution  in  the  Cared  mas  and  Georgia. 


852 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


But  the  final  scene  was  to  be  enacted  in  Virginia.  There,  in  the 
last  days  of  April,  1781,  Cornwallis  took  command  of  the  British  army 
and  began  to  ravage  the  country  on  both  banks  of  the  James.  In  the 
course  of  the  following  two  months  property,  public  and  private,  was 
destroyed  to  the  value  of  fifteen  million  dollars.  La  Fayette,  to  whom 
the  defence  of  the  State  had  been  entrusted,  was  unable  to  meet  Corn 
•.vallis  in  the  field,  but  watched  his  movements  with  sleepless  vigilance 
While  the  British  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond  a  detachment  under 
Tarleton  proceeded  as  far  west  as  Charlottesville,  where  the  Virginia 
legislature  was  in  session.  The  town  was  taken,  the  country  devastated, 
and  seven  members  of  the  assembly  made  prisoners.  Governor  Jefferson 
escaped  only  by  riding  into  the  mountains. 

When  there  was  little  left  to  destroy,  Cornwallis  marched  down 
the  north  bank  of  the  James  to  Green  Springs,  eight  miles  above  the  site 
of  Jamestown.  He  had  received  orders  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  de¬ 
scend  the  river  and  take  such  a  position  on  the  coast  as  would  keep  the 
army  within  supporting  distance  of  New  York ;  for  Clinton  was  very 
apprehensive  that  Washington  and  the  French  would  attack  him.  La 
Fayette  hovered  upon  the  rear  of  Cornwallis;  and  on  the  6th  of  July, 
when  it  was  supposed  that  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  had  crossed  the 
James,  General  Wayne,  who  led  the  American  advance,  suddenly  attacked 
the  whole  British  army.  Cornwallis  was  so  surprised  by  the  audacious 
onset  that  when  Wayne,  seeing  his  mistake,  made  a  hasty  retreat,  no  pur¬ 
suit  was  attempted.  The  loss  of  the  two  armies  was  equal,  being  a  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty  on  each  side.  After  the  passage  of  James  River,  the 
British  marched  to  Portsmouth,  where  Arnold  had  had  his  headquarters 
in  the  previous  spring  There  Cornwallis  would  have  fortified  himself ; 
but  the  orders  of  Clinton  were  otherwise ;  and  in  the  first  days  of  August 
the  army  was  again  embarked  and  conveyed  to  Yorktown,  on  the  southern 
bank  of  York  River,  a  few  miles  above  the  mouth. 

La  Fayette  quickly  advanced  into  the  peninsula  and  took  post  but 
eight  miles  distant  from  the  British.  From  this  position  he  sent  urgent 
despatches  to  Washington,  beseeching  him  to  come  to  Virginia  and  aid  in 
striking  the  enemy  a  fatal  blow.  A  powerful  French  armament,  com¬ 
manded  by  Count  de  Grasse,  was  hourly  expected  in  the  Chesapeake, 
and  La  Fayette  saw  at  a  glance  that  if  a  fleet  could  be  anchored  in  the 
mouth  of  York  River,  cutting  off  retreat,  the  doom  of  Cornwallis  would 
be  sealed.  During  the  months  of  July  and  August,  Washington,  from 
his  camp  on  the  Hudson,  looked  wistfully  to  the  South.  But  all  the  while 
Clinton  was  kept  in  feverish  alarm  by  false  despatches,  written  for  the 
purpose  of  falling  into  his  hands.  These  intercepted  messages  indicated 


THE  END. 


353 


that  the  Americans  and  French  would  immediately  begin  the  siege  of 
New  York;  and  for  that  Clinton  made  ready.  When,  in  the  last  days 
of  August,  he  was  informed  that  Washington  had  broken  up  his  camp 
and  was  already  marching  with  his  whole  army  toward  Virginia,  the 
British  general  would  not  believe  it,  but  went  on  preparing  for  a  siege. 
Washington  pressed  rapidly  forward,  paused  two  days  at  Mount  Vernon, 
where  he  had  not  been  for  six  years,  and  met  La  Fayette  at  Williams¬ 
burg.  Meanwhile,  on  the  30th  of  August,  the  French  fleet,  numbering 
twenty-eight  ships  of  the  line,  with  nearly  four  thousand  troops  on  board, 
had  reached  the  Chesapeake  and  safely  anchored  in  the  mouth  of  York 
River.  Cornwallis,  with  the  British  army,  was  blockaded  both  by  sea 
and  land. 

To  add  still  further  to  the  strength  of  the  allies,  Count  de  Barras, 
who  commanded  the  French  flotilla  at  Newport,  sailed  into  the  Chesa¬ 
peake  with  eight  ships  of  the 
line  and  ten  transports,  bear¬ 
ing  cannon  for  the  siege.  On 
the  5th  of  September  the 
English  admiral  Graves  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  bay,  and  a  naval 
battle ‘ensued,  in  which  the 
British  ships  were  so  roughly 
handled  that  they  returned 
to  New  York.  On  the  28th 
of  September  the  allied 
armies,  superior  in  numbers 
and  confident  of  success,  en¬ 
camped  around  York  town. 

The  story  of  the  siege  is  brief. 

Tarleton,  who  occupied  Glou¬ 
cester  Point,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  made  one  spirited  sally,  but  was  driven  back  with  severe 
loss.  On  the  night  of  the  6th  of  October  the  trenches  were  opened  at  the 
distance  of  six  hundred  yards  from  the  British  works.  The  cannonade 
was  constant  and  effective.  On  the  11th  of  the  month  the  allies  drew 
their  second  parallel  within  three  hundred  yards  of  Cornwallis’s  redoubts. 
On  the  night  of  the  14th  the  enemy’s  outer  works  were  carried  by  storm. 
At  daydawn  of  the  16th  the  British  made  a  sortie,  only  to  be  hurled  back 
into  their  entrenchments.  On  the  next  day  Cornwallis  proposed  a  sur¬ 
render;  on  the  18th  terms  of  capitulation  were  drawn  up  and  signed ; 
and  at  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  19th  Major-General  O’Hara— 


SIEGE  OF  YORKTOWN,  OCTOBER,  1781. 


354 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITE!)  STATES. 


for  Cornwallis,  feigning  sickness,  remained  in  his  tent — led  the  whole 
British  army  from  the  trenches  into  an  open  field,  where,  in  the  presence 
cf  the  allied  ranks  of  France  and  America,  seven  thousand  two  hundred 
and  forty-seven  English  and  Hessian  soldiers  laid  down  their  arms,  de¬ 
livered  their  standards,  and  became  prisoners  of  war.  Eight  hundred 
and  forty  sailors  were  also  surrendered.  Seventy-five  brass  and  thirty- 
one  iron  guns  were  taken,  together  with  all  the  accoutrements  of  the 
army. 

By  a  swift  courier  the  news  was  borne  to  Congress.  On  the  even¬ 
ing  of  the  23d  the  messenger  rode  into  Philadelphia.  When  the  sentinels 
of  the  city  called  the  hour  of  ten  that  night,  they  added,  “  and  Cornwallis 
is  take7i.”  On  the  morrow  Congress  assembled,  and  before  that  august 
body  the  despatch  of  Washington  was  read.  The  members,  exulting  and 
weeping  for  gladness,  went  in  concourse  with  the  citizens  to  the  Dutch 
Lutheran  church  and  turned  the  afternoon  into  a  thanksgiving.  The  note 
of  rejoicing  sounded  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land ;  for  it 
was  seen  that  the  dominion  of  the  Briton  in  America  was  for  ever  broken. 

After  the  surrender  the  conquered  army  was  marched  under  guard 
to  the  barracks  of  Lancaster.  Washington,  with  the  victorious  Americans 
and  French,  returned  to  the  camps  of  New  Jersey  and  the  Hudson.  On 
the  Continent  of  Europe  the  news  was  received  with  every  demonstration 
of  gladness.  In  England  the  king  and  his  ministers  heard  the  tidings 
with  mortification  and  rage ;  but  the  English  people  were  either  secretly 
pleased  or  openly  rejoiced.  During  the  fall  and  winter  the  ministerial 
majority  in  Parliament  fell  off  rapidly;  and  on  the  20th  of  March,  1782, 
Lord  North  and  his  friends,  unable  longer  to  conduct  the  government, 
resigned  their  offices.  A  new  ministry  was  immediately  formed,  favor¬ 
able  to  America,  favorable  to  freedom,  favorable  to  peace.  In  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  May  the  command  of  the  British  forces  in  the  United  States  was 
transferred  from  Clinton  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  a  man  friendly  to  American 
interests.  The  hostile  demonstrations  of  the  enemy,  now  confined  to  New 
York  and  Charleston,  ceased ;  and  Washington  made  no  efforts  to  dis¬ 
lodge  the  foe,  for  the  war  had  really  ended. 

In  the  summer  of  1782  Richard  Oswald  was  sent  by  Parliament 
to  Paris.  The  object  of  his  mission  was  to  confer  with  Franklin  and 
Jay,  the  ambassadors  of  the  United  States,  in  regard  to  the  terms  of 
peace.  Before  the  discussions  were  ended,  John  Adams,  arriving  from 
Amsterdam,  and  Henry  Laurens  from  London,  entered  into  the  negotia¬ 
tions.  On  the  30th  of  November  preliminary  articles  of  peace  were 
agreed  to  and  signed  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  by  Oswald,  and  on  be¬ 
half  of  the  United  States  by  Franklin,  Adams,  Jay  and  Laurens.  In 


THE  END. 


355 


the  following  April  the  terms  were  ratified  by  Congress;  but  it  was 
not  until  the  3d  of  September,  1783,  that  a  final  treaty  was  effected  be¬ 
tween  all  the  nations  that  had  been  at  war.  On  that  day  the  ambassadors 
of  Holland,  Spain,  England,  France  and  the  United  States,  in  a  solemn 
conference  at  Paris,  agreed  to  and  signed  the  articles  of  a  permanent 
peace. 

The  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  1783  were  briefly  these:  A  full 
and  complete  recognition  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States;  the 
recession  by  Great  Britain  of  Florida  to  Spain ;  the  surrender  of  all  the 
remaining  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  south  of  the  great  lakes  to 
the  United  States ;  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  lakes 
by  American  vessels;  the  concession  of  mutual  rights  in  the  Newfound¬ 
land  fisheries ;  and  the  retention  by  Great  Britain  of  Canada  and  Nova 
Scotia,  with  the  exclusive  control  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Early  in  August  Sir  Guy  Carleton  received  instructions  to  evacuate 
New  York  city.  Three  months  were  spent  in  making  arrangements  for 
this  important  event.  Finally,  on  the  25th  of  November,  everything 
was  in  readiness ;  the  British  army  was  embarked  on  board  the  fleet ;  the 
sails  were  spread ;  the  ships  stood  out  to  sea ;  dwindled  to  white  specks 
on  the  horizon ;  disappeared.  The  Briton  was  gone.  After  the  struggles 
and  sacrifices  of  an  eight  years’  war  the  patriots  had  achieved  the  inde¬ 
pendence  of  their  country.  The  United  States  of  America  took  an  equal 
station  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Nine  days  after  Carleton’s  departure  there  was  a  most  affecting 
scene  in  the  city.  Washington  assembled  his  officers  and  bade  them  a 
final  adieu.  When  they  were  met,  the  chieftain  spoke  a  few  affectionate 
words  to  his  comrades,  who  came  forward  in  turn  and  with  tears  and 
sobs  which  the  veterans  no  longer  cared  to  conceal  bade  him  farewell. 
Washington  then  walked  to  Whitehall,  followed  by  a  vast  concourse  of 
citizens  and  soldiers,  and  thence  departed  to  Annapolis,  where  Congress 
was  in  session.  On  his  way  he  paused  at  Philadelphia  and  made  to  the 
proper  officers  a  report  of  his  expenses  during  the  war.  The  account  was 
in  his  own  handwriting,  and  covered  a  total  expenditure  of  seventy-four 
thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-five  dollars — all  correct  to  a  cent. 
The  route  of  the  chief  from  Paulus’s  Hook  to  Annapolis  was  a  continuous 
triumph.  The  people  by  hundreds  and  thousands  flocked  to  the  villages 
and  roadsides  to  see  him  pass ;  gray-headed  statesmen  to  speak  words  of 
praise ;  young  men  to  shout  with  enthusiasm ;  maidens  to  strew  his  way 
with  flowers. 

On  the  23d  of  December  Washington  was  introduced  to  Congress. 
To  that  body  of  patriotic  sages  he  delivered  an  address  full  of  feeling, 


356 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


wisdom  and  modesty.  Then  with  that  dignity  which  always  marked  his 
conduct  he  surrendered  his  commission  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
American  army.  General  Mifflin,  the  president  of  Congress,  responded 
in  an  eloquent  manner,  and  then  the  hero  retired  to  his  home  at  Mount 
Vernon.  The  man  whom,  the  year  before,  some  disaffected  soldiers  were 
going  to  make  king  of  America,  now,  by  his  own  act,  became  a  citizen 
yf  the  Republic. 


CHAPTER  XLV- 
CONFEDERATION  AND  UNION. 

PVURING  the  progress  of  the  Revolution  the  civil  government  of  the 
J-A  United  States  was  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Nothing  but  the  im¬ 
minent  peril  of  the  country  had,  in  the  first  place,  led  to  the  calling  of  a 
Continental  Congress.  And  when  that  body  assembled,  it  had  no  method 
of  proceeding,  no  constitution,  no  power  of  efficient  action.  The  two 
great  wants  of  the  country  were  money  to  carry  on  the  Avar  and  a  central 
authority  to  direct  the  war:  the  former  of  these  was  never  met;  and 
Washington  was  made  to  supply  the  latter.  Whenever  Congress  would 
move  in  the  direction  of  a  firmer  government,  division  would  spring  up, 
and  action  would  be  checked  by  the  remonstrance  of  jealous  colonies. 
Nevertheless,  the  more  far-seeing  statesmen  of  the  times  labored  constantly 
to  create  substantial  political  institutions. 

Foremost  of  all  those  who  worked  for  better  government  was  Ben¬ 
jamin  Franklin.  As  early  as  the  times  of  the  French  and  Indian  War 
he  began  to  agitate  the  question  of  a  permanent  union  of  the  colonies. 
During  the  troubled  years  just  preceding  the  Revolution  he  brooded  over 
his  cherished  project,  and  in  1775  laid  before  Congress  the  plan  of  a  per¬ 
petual  confederation  of  the  States.  But  the  attention  of  that  body  was 
wholly  occupied  with  the  stirring  events  of  the  day,  and  Franklin’s 
measure  received  but  little  notice.  Congress,  without  any  real  authority, 
began  to  conduct  the  government,  and  its  legislation  was  generally  ac¬ 
cepted  by  the  States.  Still,  the  central  authority  was  only  an  authority 
by  sufferance,  and  was  liable  at  any  time  to  be  annulled  by  the  caprice 
of  State  legislatures. 

Under  such  a  system  thinking  men  grew  restless.  On  the  11th  of 
June,  1776,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  Congress  to  prepare  a  plan 


CONFEDERATION  AND  UNION 


357 


of  confederation.  After  a  month  the  work  was  completed  and  laid  before 
the  house.  Another  month  was  spent  in  fruitless  debates,  and  then  the 
question  was  laid  over  till  the  following  spring.  In  April  of  1777  the 
discussion  was  resumed,  and  continued  through  the  summer.  Meanwhile, 
the  power  of  Great  Britain  being  overthrown,  the  States  had  all  adopted 
republican  governments,  and  the  sentiment  of  national  union  had  made 
considerable  headway.  Finally,  on  the  15th  of  November,  a  vote  was 
taken  in  Congress,  and  the  articles  of  confederation  reported  by  the  com¬ 
mittee  were  adopted.  The  next  step  was  to  transmit  the  articles  to  the 
several  State  legislatures  for  ratification.  The  time  thus  occupied  ex¬ 
tended  to  the  following  June,  and  then  the  new  frame  of  government  was 
returned  to  Congress  with  many  amendments.  These  having  been  con¬ 
sidered  and  the  most  serious  objections  removed,  the  articles  were  signed 
by  the  delegates  of  eight  States  on  the  9th  of  July,  1778.  Later  in  the 
same  month  the  representatives  of  Georgia  and  North  Carolina  affixed 
their  signatures.  In  November  the  delegates  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  the 
following  February  those  of  Delaware,  signed  the  compact.  Maryland 
held  aloof;  and  it  was  not  until  March  of  1781  that  the  consent  of  that 
commonwealth  could  be  obtained.  Thus  the  Revolution  was  nearly 
ended  before  the  new  system  was  finally  ratified. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  under  the  articles  of  con¬ 
federation  was  a  democratic  republic.  It  presented  itself  under  the  form 
of  a  Loose  Union  of  Independent  Commonwealths — a  con¬ 
federacy  of  sovereign  States.  The  executive  and  legislative  powers  of 
the  general  government  were  vested  in  Congress — a  body  composed  of 
not  less  than  two  nor  more  than  seven  representatives  from  each  State. 
But  Congress  could  exercise  no  other  than  delegated  powers;  the  sover¬ 
eignty  was  reserved  to  the  States.  The  most  important  of  the  exclusive 
privileges  of  Congress  were  the  right  of  making  war  and  peace,  the  regu¬ 
lation  of  foreign  intercourse,  the  power  to  receive  and  send  ambassadors, 
the  control  of  the  coinage  of  money,  the  settlement  of  disputed  boundaries 
and  the  care  of  the  public  domain.  There  was  no  chief  magistrate  of  the 
Republic;  and  no  general  judiciary  was  provided  *  for.  The  consent  of 
nine  States  was  necessary  to  complete  an  act  of  legislation.  In  voting 
each  State  cast  a  single  ballot.  The  union  of  the  States  was  declared  to 
be  perpetual. 

On  the  day  of  the  ratification  of  the  articles  by  Maryland  the  old 
Congress  adjourned,  and  on  the  following  morning  reassembled  under  the 
new  form  of  government.  From  the  very  first  the  inadequacy  of  that 
government  was  manifest.  To  begin  with,  it  contradicted  the  doctrines 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Congress  had  but  a  shadow  of 


358 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


authority,  and  that  shadow,  instead  of  proceeding  from  the  people 
emanated  from  States  which  were  declared  to  be  sovereign  and  inde¬ 
pendent.  The  first  great  duty  of  the  new  government  was  to  provide 
for  the  payment  of  the  war  debt,  which  had  now  reached  the  sum  of 
thirty-eight  million  dollars.  Congress  could  only  recommend  to  the 
several  States  the  levying  of  a  sufficient  tax  to  meet  the  indebtedness. 
Some  of  the  States  made  the  required  levy ;  others  were  dilatory ;  others 
refused.  At  the  very  outset  the  government  was  balked  and  thwarted. 
The  serious  troubles  that  attended  the  disbanding  of  the  army  were  trace¬ 
able  rather  to  the  inability  than  to  the  indisposition  of  Congress  to  pay  tilt 
soldiers.  The  princely  fortune  of  Robert  Morris  was  exhausted  and  him¬ 
self  brought  to  poverty  in  a  vain  effort  to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  For  three  years  after  the  treaty  of  peace  public  affairs  were  in  a 
condition  bordering  on  chaos.  The  imperiled  state  of  the  Republic  was 
viewed  with  alarm  by  the  sagacious  patriots  who  had  carried  the  Revolu¬ 
tion  to  a  successful  issue.  It  was  seen  that  unless  the  articles  of  confedera¬ 
tion  could  be  replaced  with  a  better  system  the  nation  would  go  to  ruin. 

The  project  of  remodeling  the  government  originated  at  Mount 
Vernon.  In  1785,  Washington,  in  conference  with  a  company  of  states¬ 
men  at  his  home,  advised  the  calling  of  a  convention  to  meet  at  Annapolis 
in  the  following  year.  The  proposition  was  received  with  favor ;  and  in 
September  of  1786  the  representatives  of  five  States  assembled.  The 
question  of  a  tariff  on  imports  was  discussed ;  and  then  the  attention  of 
the  delegates  was  turned  to  a  revision  of  the  articles  of  confederation. 
Since  only  a  minority  of  the  States  were  represented  in  the  conference,  it 
was  resolved  to  adjourn  until  May  of  the  following  year,  and  all  the 
States  were  urgently  requested  to  send  representatives  at  that  time. 
Congress  also  invited  the  several  legislatures  to  appoint  delegates  to  the 
proposed  convention.  All  of  the  States  except  Rhode  Island  responded 
to  the  call ;  and  on  the  second  Monday  in  May,  1787,  the  representatives 
assembled  at  Philadelphia.  Washington,  who  was  a  delegate  from  Vir¬ 
ginia,  was  chosen  president  of  the  convention.  A  desultory  discussion 
followed  until  the  29th  of  the  month,  when  Edmund  Randolph  intro¬ 
duced  a  resolution  to  set  aside  the  articles  of  confederation  and  adopt  a 
new  constitution.  There  was  further  debate  ;  and  then  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  revise  the  articles.  Early  in  September  the  work  was  done ; 
the  report  of  the  committee  was  adopted ;  and  that  report  was  the  Con¬ 
stitution  of  the  United  States.*  At  the  same  time  it  was  resolved 
to  send  copies  of  the  new  instrument  to  the  several  legislatures  for  ratifi¬ 
cation  or  rejection. 

*  The  Constitution  was  written  by  Gouvemeur  Morris,  of  Pennsylvania. 


CONFEDERATION  AND  UNION 


359 


While  the  constitutional  convention  was  in  session  at  Philadel¬ 
phia  the  last  colonial  Congress  was  sitting  in  New  York.  The  latter 
body  was  in  a  feeble  and  distracted  condition.  Only  eight  States 
were  represented.  It  was  evident  that  the  old  Confederation,  under 
which  the  colonies  had  won  their  freedom,  was  tottering  to  its  fall 
Nevertheless,  before  the 
adjournment  of  Con¬ 
gress,  a  measure  was  suc¬ 
cessfully  carried  through 
which  was  only  second  in 
importance  to  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  the  constitution. 

This  was  the  organiza¬ 
tion  of  the  North¬ 
western  Territory. 

As  a  preliminary  meas¬ 
ure  this  vast  domain  was 
ceded  to  the  United 
States  by  Virginia,  New 
York,  Massachusetts, 
and  Connecticut.  For 
the  government  of  the 
territory  an  ordinance, 
drawn  up  by  Mr.  Jeffer¬ 
son,  was  adopted  on  the 
13th  of  July,  1787.  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  then  president  of  Congress, 
received  the  appointment  of  military  governor,  and  in  the  summer  of 
the  following  year  began  his  duties  with  headquarters  at  Marietta. 
By  the  terms  of  the  ordinance  it  was  stipulated  that  not  less  than 
three  nor  more  than  five  States  should  be  formed  out  of  the  great 
territory  thus  brought  under  the  dominion  of  civilization;  that  the 
States  when  organized  should  be  admitted  on  terms  of  equality  with 
the  original  members  of  the  confederation,  and  that  slavery  should  be 
prohibited.  Out  of  this  noble  domain  the  five  great  States  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin  were  destined  in  after 
times  to  be  formed  and  added  to  the  Union. 

On  the  question  of  adopting  the  Constitution  the  people  were 
divided.  It  was  the  first  great  political  agitation  in  the  country. 
Those  who  favored  the  new  frame  of  government  were  called  Fed¬ 
eralists;  those  who  opposed,  Anti-Federalists  or  Republicans. 
The  leaders  of  the  former  party  were  Washington,  Jay,  Madison,  and 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 


360 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Hamilton,  the  latter  statesman  throwing  the  whole  force  of  his  genius 
and  learning  into  the  controversy.  In  those  able  papers  called  the  Fed¬ 
eralist  he  and  Madison  successfully  answered  every  objection  of  the 
anti-Federal  party.  Hamilton  was  the  first  and  perhaps  the  greatest 
expounder  of  constitutional  liberty  in  America.  To  him  the  Republic 
owes  a  debt  of  perpetual  gratitude  for  having  established  on  a  firm  and 
enduring  basis  the  true  principles  of  free  government. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  the  powers  of  gov¬ 
ernment  are  arranged  under  three  heads — Legislative,  Executive, 
and  Judicial.  The  legislative  power  is  vested  in  Congress — a  body 
composed  of  a  Senate  and  a  House  of  Representatives.  The  members 
of  the  Senate  are  chosen  by  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States,  and 
serve  for  a  period  of  six  years.  Each  State  is  represented  by  two  Sen¬ 
ators.  The  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  are  elected  by 
the  people  of  the  respective  States ;  and  each  State  is  entitled  to  a  num¬ 
ber  of  representatives  proportionate  to  the  population  of  that  State. 
The  members  of  this  branch  a*e  chosen  for  a  term  of  two  years.  Con¬ 
gress  is  the  law-making  power  of  the  nation;  and  all  legislative  ques¬ 
tions  of  a  general  character  are  the  appropriate  subjects  of  congress¬ 
ional  action. 

The  executive  power  of  the  United  States  is  vested  in  a  Pres¬ 
ident,  who  is  chosen  for  a  period  of  four  years  by  a  body  of  men 
called  the  electoral  college.  The  electors  composing  the  college  are 
chosen  by  the  people  of  the  several  States;  and  each  State  is  entitled 
to  a  number  of  electors  equal  to  the  number  of  its  representatives  and 
senators  in  Congress.  The  duty  of  the  President  is  to  enforce  the  laws 
of  Congress  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution.  He  is  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  armies  and  navies  of  the  United  States.  Over  the 
legislation  of  Congress  he  has  the  power  of  veto;  but  a  two-thirds  con¬ 
gressional  majority  may  pass  a  law  without  the  President’s  consent. 
He  has  the  right  of  appointing  cabinet  officers  and  foreign  ministers; 
but  all  of  his  appointments  must  be  approved  by  the  Senate.  The 
treaty-making  power  is  also  lodged  with  the  President;  but  here  again 
the  concurrence  of  the  Senate  is  necessary.  In  case  of  the  death,  resig¬ 
nation,  or  removal  of  the  President,  the  Vice-President  becomes  chief 
magistrate ;  otherwise  his  duties  are  limited  to  presiding  over  the  Senate. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  is  vested  in  a  supreme 
court  and  in  inferior  courts  established  by  Congress.  The  highest 
judicial  officer  is  the  chief-justice.  All  the  judges  of  the  supreme  and 
inferior  courts  hold  their  offices  during  life  or  good  behavior.  The 
jurisdiction  of  these  courts  extends  to  all  causes  arising  under  the 


CONFEDERATION  AND  UNION 


361 


Constitution,  laws,  and  treaties  of  the  United  States.  The  right  of 
trial  by  jury  is  granted  in  all  cases  except  the  impeachment  of  public 
officers.  Treason  against  the  United  States  consists  only  in  levying 
war  against  them,  or  in  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  their  enemies. 

The  Constitution  further  provides  that  full  faith  shall  be  given 
in  all  the  States  to  the  records  of  every  State ;  that  the  citizens  of  any 
State  shall  be  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  citizens  in  all  the  States ; 
that  new  territories  may  be  organized  and  new  States  admitted  into 
the  Union ;  that  to  every  State  shall  be  guaranteed  a  republican  form 
of  government ;  and  that  the  Constitution  may  be  altered  or  amended 
whenever  the  same  is  proposed  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  both  houses 
of  Congress,  and  ratified  by  three-fourths  of  the  legislatures  of  the  sev¬ 
eral  States.  In  accordance  with  this  last  provision  fifteen  amendments 
have  been  made  to  the  Constitution.  The  most  important  of  these  are 
the  articles  which  guarantee  religious  freedom;  change  the  method  of 
electing  President  and  Vice-President;  abolish  slavery;  and  forbid 
the  abridgment  of  suffrage  on  account  of  race  or  color.* 

Such  was  the  Constitution  adopted,  after  much  debate,  for  the 
government  of  the  American  people.  Would  the  people  ratify  it?  or 
had  the  work  been  done  in  vain?  The  little  State  of  Delaware  was 
first  to  answer  the  question.  In  her  convention  on  the  3d  of  Decem¬ 
ber,  1787,  the  voice  of  the  commonwealth  was  unanimously  recorded 
in  favor  of  the  new  Constitution.  Ten  days  later  Pennsylvania  gave 
her  decision  by  a  vote  of  forty-six  to  twenty-three  in  favor  of  ratifi¬ 
cation.  On  the  19th  of  December  New  Jersey  added  her  approval 
by  a  unanimous  vote;  and  on  the  2d  of  the  following  month  Georgia 
did  the  same.  On  the  9th  of  January  the  Connecticut  convention 
followed,  with  a  vote  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-eight  to  forty,  in  favor 
of  adoption.  In  Massachusetts  the  battle  was  hard  fought  and  barely 
won.  A  ballot,  taken  on  the  6th  of  February,  resulted  in  ratification 
by  the  close  vote  of  a  hundred  and  eighty-seven  to  a  hundred  and 
sixty-eight.  This  really  decided  the  contest.  On  the  28th  of  April 
Maryland  rendered  her  decision  by  the  strong  vote  of  sixty-three  to 
twelve.  Next  came  the  ratification  of  South  Carolina  by  a  vote  of  a 
hundred  and  forty-nine  to  seventy-three.  In  the  New  Hampshire 
convention  there  was  a  hard  struggle,  but  the  vote  for  adoption  finally 
stood  fifty-seven  to  forty-six,  June  21st,  1788.  This  was  the  ninth 
State,  and  the  work  was  done.  For,  by  its  own  terms,  the  new  gov¬ 
ernment  was  to  go  into  operation  when  nine  States  should  ratify.  The 
great  commonwealth  of  Virginia  still  hesitated.  Washington  and 


*  See  Appendix  F. 


362 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Madison  were  for  the  Constitution;  but  Jefferson  and  Henry  were 
opposed.  Not  until  the  25th  of  June  did  her  convention  declare  for 
adoption,  and  then  only  by  a  vote  of  eighty-nine  to  seventy-nine. 
It  was  now  clear  that  the  new  government  would  be  organized, 
and  this  fact  was  brought  to  bear  as  a  powerful  argument  in  favor  of 
adoption  by  the  convention  at  Poughkeepsie.  The  hope  that  New 
York  city  would  be  the  seat  of  the  Federal  government  also  acted  as 
a  motive,  and  a  motion  to  ratify  was  finally  carried,  July  27th,  1788. 
Only  Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina  persisted  in  their  refusal.  But 
in  the  latter  State  a  new  convention  was  called,  and  on  the  13th  of 
November,  1789,  the  Constitution  was  formally  adopted.  As  to  Rhode 
Island,  her  pertinacity  was  in  inverse  ratio  to  her  importance.  At 
length  Providence  and  Newport  seceded  from  the  commonwealth;  the 
question  of  dividing  the  teritory  between  Massachusetts  and  Connecti¬ 
cut  was  raised,  and  the  refractory  member  at  last  yielded  by  adopting 
the  Constitution,  May  29th,  1790.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  the  Eng¬ 
lish-speaking  race  in  the  New  World  was  united  under  a  common  gov¬ 
ernment — strong  enough  for  safety,  liberal  enough  for  freedom. 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  and  a  reso¬ 
lution  of  Congress,  the  first  Wednesday  of  January,  1789,  was  named 
as  the  time  for  the  election  of  a  chief  magistrate.  The  people  had  but 
one  voice  as  to  the  man  who  should  be  honored  with  that  trust.  Early 
in  April  the  ballots  of  the  electors  were  counted  in  the  presence  of 
Congress,  and  George  Washington  was  unanimously  chosen  President 
and  John  Adams  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  On  the  14th 
of  the  month  Washington  received  notification  of  his  election,  and 
departed  for  New  York.  His  route  thither  was  a  constant  triumph. 
Maryland  welcomed  him  at  Georgetown.  Philadelphia  by  her  execu¬ 
tive  council,  the  trustees  of  her  university,  and  the  officers  of  the  Cin¬ 
cinnati,  did  him  honor.  How  did  the  people  of  Trenton  exult  in  the 
presence  of  the  hero  who  twelve  years  before  had  fought  their  battle ! 
There  over  the  bridge  of  the  Assanpink  they  built  a  triumphal  arch, 
and  girls  in  white  ran  before,  singing  and  strewing  the  way  with  flow¬ 
ers.  At  Elizabethtown  he  was  met  by  the  principal  officers  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  and  welcomed  to  the  capital  where  he  was  to  become  the  first 
chief  magistrate  of  a  free  and  grateful  people.  With  this  auspicious 
event  the  period  of  revolution  and  confederation  ends,  and  the  era  of 
nationality  in  the  New  Republic  is  ushered  in.  Long  and  glorious  be 
the  history  of  that  Republic,  bought  with  the  blood  of  patriots,  and 
consecrated  in  the  sorrows  of  our  fathers ! 


PART  V. 

NATIONAL  PERIOD. 

A.  D.  1789—1882. 


CHAPTER  XLYI. 


WASHING  TON’S  ADMINISTRATION,  1789-1797. 


ON  the  30th  of  April,  1789,  Washington  was  dulv  inaugurated  first 
President  of  the  United  States.  The  new  government  was  to  have 
gone  into  operation  on 
the  4th  of  March,  but 
the  event  was  con¬ 
siderably  delayed. 

The  inaugural  cere- 
'  mony  was  performed 
on  the  balcony  of  the 
old  City  Hall,  on  the 
present  site  of  the 
Custom-House,  in 
Wall  street.  Chancel¬ 
lor  Livingston  of  New 
York  administered  the 
oath  of  office.  The 
streets  and  house-tops 
were  thronged  with 
people ;  flags  flutter¬ 
ed  ;  cannon  boomed 
from  the  Battery.  As 
Soon  as  the  public  cere- 
monv  was  ended, 

Washington  retired  to 
the  Senate  chamber 
and  delivered  his  in¬ 
augural  address.  The 
already  been  effected. 


organization  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress  had 


(363) 


'364 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  new  government  was  embarrassed  with  many  difficulties.  The 
opponents  of  the  Constitution  were  not  yet  silenced,  and  from  the  begin¬ 
ning  they  caviled  at  the  measures  of  the  administration.  By  the  treaty 
of  1783  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  had  been  guaranteed.  Now 
the  jealous  Spaniards  of  New  Orleans  hindered  the  passage  of  American 
ships.  The  people  of  the  West  looked  to  the  great  river  as  the  natural 
outlet  of  their  commerce;  they  must  be  protected  in  their  rights.  On 
many  parts  of  the  frontier  the  malignant  Red  men  were  still  at  war  with 
the  settlers.  As  to  financial  credit,  the  United  States  had  none.  In  the 
very  beginning  of  his  arduous  duties  Washington  was  prostrated  with 
sickness,  and  the  business  of  government  was  for  many  weeks  delayed. 

Not  until  September  •  were  the  first  important  measures  adopted. 
On  the  10th  of  that  month  an  act  was  passed  by  Congress  instituting  a 
department  of  foreign  affairs,  a  treasury  department  and  a  department  of 
war.  As  members  of  his  cabinet  Washington  nominated  Jefferson,  Knox 
and  Hamilton ;  the  first  as  secretary  of  foreign  affairs ;  the  second,  of  war ; 
and  the  third,  of  the  treasury.  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution,  a  supreme  court  was  also  organized,  John  Jay  receiving  the 
appointment  of  first  chief-justice.  With  him  were  joined  as  associate 
justices  John  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina,  James  Wilson  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  William  Cushing  of  Massachusetts,  John  Blair  of  Virginia, 
nd  James  Iredell  of  North  Carolina.  Edmund  Randolph  was  chosen 
attorney-general.  Many  constitutional  amendments  were  now  brought 
forward,  and  ten  of  them  adopted.  By  this  action  on  the  part  of 
Congress,  the  objections  of  North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  were 
removed  and  both  States  ratified  the  Constitution,  the  former  in  No¬ 
vember  of  1789  and  the  latter  in  the  following  May. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  1789,  Congress  adjourned  until  the 
following  January,  and  Washington  availed  himself  of  the  opportu¬ 
nity  thus  offered  to  make  a  tour  of  the  Eastern  States.  Accompanied 
by  his  secretaries,  he  set  out  in  his  carriage  from  New  York  on  the 
15th  of  October,  and  nine  days  afterward  reached  Boston.  At  every 
point  on  the  route  the  affection  of  the  people,  and  especially  of  the 
Revolutionary  veterans,  burst  out  in  unbounded  enthusiasm.  On 
reaching  Boston  the  President  was  welcomed  by  Governor  John 
Hancock  and  the  selectmen  of  the  city.  No  pains  were  spared  that 
could  add  to  the  comfort  and  pleasure  of  the  new  nation’s  chief  mag¬ 
istrate.  After  remaining  a  week  among  the  scenes  associated  with 
his  first  command  of  the  American  army,  he  proceeded  to  Portsmouth 
and  thence  returned  with  improved  health  and  peace  of  mind  by  way 
©f  Hartford  to  New  York. 


/ 


WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


365 


In  the  first  months  of  his  administration  Washington  was  much 
vexed  about  questions  of  ceremony  and  etiquette.  How  should  he 
appear  in  public  ?  How  often  ?  What  kind  of  entertainment  should 
he  give?  Who  should  be  invited?  What  title  should  he  bear?  And 
in  what  manner  be  introduced?  In  these  matters  there  was  no  pre¬ 
cedent  to  guide  him;  for  who  had  ever  held  such  a  station  before? 
He  must  not,  on  the  one  hand,  demean  himself  like  a  king,  surrounded 
with  peers  and  courtiers,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  must  he  degrade  his 
high  office  by  such  blunt  democratical  ceremonies  as  would  render 
himself  ridiculous  and  the  Presidency  contemptible.  In  his  embar¬ 
rassment  Washington  sought  the  advice  of  Adams,  Jefferson,  Hamilton, 
and  others  in  regard  to  a  suitable  etiquette  and  ceremonial  for  the 
Republican  court.  Adams  in  answer  would  have  much  ceremony ; 
Jefferson,  none  at  all.  The  latter  said :  “  I  hope  that  the  terms  Excel¬ 
lency,  Honor,  Worship,  Esquire,  and  even  Mr.  shall  shortly  and 
forever  disappear  from  among  us.”  Hamilton’s  reply  favored  a  mod¬ 
erate  and  simple  formality;  and  this  view  was  adopted  by  Washington 
as  most  consistent  with  the  new  frame  of  government.  In  the  mean¬ 
time  Congress  had  declared  that  the  chief  magistrate  should  have  no 
title  other  than  that  of  his  office ;  namely,  President  of  the  United 
States.  So  with  ceremonies  few  and  simple  the  order  of  affairs  in  the 
presidential  office  was  established. 

The  national  debt,  however,  was  the  greatest  and  most  threat¬ 
ening  question ;  but  the  genius  of  Hamilton  triumphed  over  every 
difficulty.  The  indebtedness  of  the  United  States,  including  the 
revolutionary  expenses  of  the  several  States,  amounted  to  nearly 
eighty  millions  of  dollars.  Hamilton  adopted  a  broad  and  honest 
policy.  His  plan,  which  was  laid  before  Congress  at  the  beginning 
of  the  second  session,  proposed  that  the  debt  of  the  United  States 
due  to  American  citizens,  as  well  as  the  war  debt  of  the  individual 
States,  should  be  assumed  by  the  general  government,  and  that  all 
should  be  fully  paid.  By  this  measure  the  credit  of  the  country  was 
vastly  improved,  even  before  actual  payment  was  begun.  As  a 
means  of  augmenting  the  revenues  of  the  government  a  duty  was 
laid  on  the  tonnage  of  merchant-ships,  with  a  discrimination  in  favor 
of  American  vessels ;  and  customs  were  levied  on  all  imported  arti¬ 
cles.  Hamilton’s  financial  schemes  were  violently  opposed ;  but  his 
policy  prevailed,  and  the  credit  of  the  government  was  soon  firmly 
established. 

The  proposition  to  assume  the  debts  of  the  States  had  been  coupled 
with  another  to  fix  the  seat  of  government.  After  much  discussion  it  was 


366 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


agreed  to  establish  the  capital  for  ten  years  at  Philadelphia,  and  afterward 
at  some  suitable  locality  on  the  Potomac.  The  next  important  measure 
was  the  organization  of  the  territory  south-west  of  the  Ohio.  In  the 
autumn  of  1790  a- war  broke  out  with  the  Miami  Indians.  Port  Wash¬ 
ington,  on  the  present  site  of  Cincinnati,  had  been  established  as  the 
capital  of  the  North-western  Territory ;  and  General  St.  Clair  had  re¬ 
ceived  the  appointment  as  governor.  The  Indians  had  fairly  relinquished 
their  rights  to  the  surrounding  country;  but  other  tribes  came  forward  with 
pretended  claims,  and  went  to  war  to  recover  their  lost  possessions.  At 
the  close  of  September,  General  Harmar,  with  fourteen  hundred  troops, 
set  out  from  Fort  Washington  to  chastise  the  hostile  Miamis.  After  de¬ 
stroying  several  villages  and  wasting  the  country  as  far  as  the  Maumee, 
he  divided  his  army  into  detachments.  Colonel  Hardin,  who  commanded 
the  Kentucky  volunteers,  was  ambuscaded  and  his  forces  routed  at  a  vil¬ 
lage  eleven  miles  from  Fort  Wayne;  and  on  the  21st  of  October  the 
main  division  was  defeated  with  great  loss  at  the  Maumee  Ford.  Gen¬ 
eral  Harmar  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  Indian  country  and  retreat  to 
Fort  Washington. 

In  the  beginning  of  1791  an  act  was  passed  by  Congress  establish¬ 
ing  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  The  measure  originated  with 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  was  violently  opposed  by  Jefferson  and 
the  anti-federal  party.  About  the  same  time  Vermont,  which  had  been 
an  independent  territory  since  1777,  adopted  the  Constitution,  and  on  the 
18th  of  February  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  the  fourteenth  State. 
The  claim  of  New  York  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  province  had  been  pur¬ 
chased,  two  years  previously,  for  thirty  thousand  dollars.  The  first  census 
of  the  United  States,  completed  for  the  year  1790,  showed  that  the  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  country  had  increased  to  three  million  nine  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  thousand  souls. 

After  the  defeat  of  Harmar  the  government  adopted  more  vigorous 
measures  for  the  repression  of  Indian  hostilities.  On  the  6th  of  Septem¬ 
ber,  1791,  General  St.  Clair,  with  an  army  of  two  thousand  men,  set  out 
from  Fort  Washington  to  break  the  power  of  the  Miami  confederacy. 
On  the  night  of  November  3d  he  reached  a  point  nearly  ahundred  miles 
north  of  Fort  Washington,  and  encamped  on  one  of  the  upper  tribu¬ 
taries  of  the  Wabash,  in  what  is  now  the  south-west  angle  of  Mercer 
county,  Ohio.  On  the  following  morning  at  sunrise  his  camp  was  sud¬ 
denly  assailed  by  more  than  two  thousand  warriors,  led  by  Little  Turtle 
and  several  American  renegades  who  had  joined  the  Indians.  After  a 
terrible  battle  of  three  hours’  duration,  St.  Clair  was  completely  defeated 
with  a  loss  of  fully  half  his  men.  The  fugitive  militia  retreated  pre- 


WASHINGTON'S  A D MINIS TRA  TION. 


367 


cipitately  to  Fort  Washington,  where  they  arrived  four  days  after  the 
battle.  The  news  of  the  disaster  spread  gloom  and  sorrow  throughout 
the  land.  When  the  tidings  reached  Philadelphia  the  government 
was  for  a  while  in  consternation.  For  once  the  benignant  spirit  of 
Washington  gave  way  to  wrath.  “Here”  said  he  in  a  tempest  of 
indignation, — “  here,  in  this  very  room,  I  took  leave  of  General  St. 
Clair.  I  wished  him  success  and  honor.  I  said  to  him,  ‘You  have 
careful  instructions  from  the  secretary  of  war,  and  I  myself  will  add 
one  word — beware  of  a  surprise.  You  know  how  the  Indians  fight  us. 
Beware  of  a  surprise!’  He  went  off  with  that,  my  last  warning, 
ringing  in  his  ears.  And  yet  he  has  suffered  that  army  to  be  cut  to 
pieces,  hacked,  butchered,  tomahawked  by  a  surprise, — the  very  thing 
I  guarded  him  against !  How  can  he  answer  to  his  country  ?  The 
blood  of  the  slain  is  upon  him, — the  curse  of  widows  and  orphans !  ” 
Mr.  Lear,  the  secretary,  in  whose  presence  this  storm  of  wrath  burst 
forth,  sat  speechless.  Presently  Washington  grew  silent.  “What  I 
have  uttered  must  not  go  beyond  this  room,”  said  he  in  a  manner  of 
great  seriousness.  Another  pause  of  several  minutes  ensued,  and  then 
he  continued  in  a  low  and  solemn  tone :  “  I  looked  at  the  despatches 
hastily  and  did  not  note  all  the  particulars.  General  St.  Clair  shall 
have  justice.  I  will  receive  him  without  displeasure, — lie  shall  have 
full  justice.”  Notwithstanding  his  exculpation  by  a  committee  of  Con¬ 
gress,  poor  St.  Clair,  overwhelmed  with  censures  and  reproaches, 
resigned  his  command  and  was  superseded  by  General  Wayne,  whom 
the  people  had  named  Mad  Anthony. 

The  population  of  the  Territory  of  Kentucky  had  now  reached 
seventy-three  thousand.  Only  seventeen  years  before,  Daniel  Boone, 
the  hardy  hunter  of  North  Carolina,  had  settled  with  his  companions 
at  Boonesborough.  Harrodsburg  and  Lexington  were  founded  about 
the  same  time.  During  the  Devolution  the  pioneers  were  constantly 
beset  by  the  savages.  After  the  expedition  of  General  Clarke,  in 
1779,  the  frontier  was  more  secure;  and  in  the  years  following  the 
treaty  thousands  of  immigrants  came  annually.  In  the  mean  time, 
Virginia  had  relinquished  her  claim  to  the  territory ;  and  on  the  1st 
of  June,  1792,  Kentucky  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  At  the  presi¬ 
dential  election,  held  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  Washington  wras 
again  unanimously  chosen;  as  Vice-President,  John  Adams  was  also 
re-elected. 

During  Washington’s  second  administration  the  country  was 
greatly  troubled  in  its  relations  with  foreign  governments.  Europe 
was  in  an  uproar.  The  French  Revolution  of  1789  was  still  running 


368 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


its  dreadful  course.  After  three  years  of  unparalleled  excesses,  the  Ja¬ 
cobins  of  France  had  beheaded  the  king  and  abolished  the  monarchy. 
Citizen  Genet  was  sent  by  the  new  French  republic  as  minister  to  the 
United  States.  On  his  arrival  at  Charleston,  and  on  his  way  to  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  he  was  greeted  with  unbounded  enthusiasm.  Taking  advan¬ 
tage  of  his  popularity,  the  ambassador  began  to  abuse  his  authority, 
fitted  out  privateers  to  prey  on  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain,  planned 
expeditions  against  Louisiana,  and,  although  the  President  had  already 
issued  a  proclamation  of  neutrality,  demanded  an  alliance  with  the 
government.  Washington  and  the  cabinet  firmly  refused;  and  the  au¬ 
dacious  minister  threatened  to  appeal  to  the  people.  In  this  outrageous 
conduct  he  was  sustained  and  encouraged  by  the  anti-Federal  party, 
and  for  a  while  the  government  was  endangered.  But  Washington 
stood  unmoved,  declared  the  course  of  the  French  minister  an  insult 
to  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States,  and  demanded  his  recall.  The 
republican  authorities  of  France  heeded  the  demand,  and  Genet  was 
superseded  by  M.  Fouchet. 

The  President  was  also  much  embarrassed  by  dissensions  in  his  cab¬ 
inet.  From  the  beginning  of  his  first  official  term  the  secretaries  of 
state  and  the  treasury  had  maintained  towards  each  other  an  attitude 
of  constant  hostility.  They  had  gradually  become  the  heads  of  rival 
parties  in  the  government.  Hamilton’s  financial  .measures  were  at¬ 
tacked  with  vehement  animosity  by  Jefferson ;  and  the  policy  of  the 
latter  in  his  relations  and  duties  as  secretary  of  foreign  affairs  was  the 
subject  of  much  bitter  criticism  from  the  former’s  scathing  pen.  The 
breach  between  the  rivals  grew  wider  and  wider.  Washington’s  influ¬ 
ence  was  barely  sufficient  to  prevent  the  breaking  up  of  his  cabinet. 
So  great  were  the  abilities  and  so  valuable  the  experience  of  the  two 
secretaries  that  the  services  of  neither  could  be  spared  without  serious 
detriment  to  the  government.  Both  officers  were  patriots,  and  both 
had  insisted  on  Washington’s  reelection  to  the  Presidency.  After  that 
event,  however,  Jefferson,  in  January  of  1794,  resigned  his  office  and 
retired  to  private  life  at  Monticello.  A  year  later  Hamilton  also  re¬ 
tired  from  the  cabinet  and  was  succeeded  by  Oliver  Wolcott  of  Con¬ 
necticut. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1794  the  country  was  much 
disturbed  by  a  difficulty  in  Western  Pennsylvania  known  as  the  whisky 
insurrection.  Hoping  to  improve  the  revenues  of  the  government,  Con¬ 
gress  had,  three  years  previously,  imposed  a  tax  on  all  ardent  spirits  dis¬ 
tilled  in  the  United  States.  While  Genet  was  at  Philadelphia,  he  and 
his  partisans  incited  the  people  of  the  distilling  regions  to  resist  the  tax- 


WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


369 


collectors.  The  disaffected  rose  in  arms.  Washington  issued  two  proc¬ 
lamations,  warning  the  insurgents  to  disperse;  but  instead  of  obeying, 
they  fired  upon  and  captured  the  officers  of  the  government.  The  Presi¬ 
dent  then  ordered  General  Henry  Lee  to  enter  the  rebellious  district  with 
a  sufficient  force  to  restore  order  and  enforce  the  law.  When  the  troops 
reached  the  scene  of  the  disturbance,  the  rioters  had  already  scattered. 
The  insurrection  was  a  political  rather  than  a  social  outbreak  :  the  anti- 
Federalists  were  in  a  majority  in  the  distilling  region,  and  the  whisky-tax 
was  a  measure  of  the  Federal  party. 

Meanwhile,  General  Wayne  had  broken  the  Miami  confederacy. 
In  the  fall  of  1793  he  entered  the  Indian  country  with  a  force  of  three 
thousand  men.  Reaching  the  scene  of  St.  Clair’s  defeat,  he  built  a 
stockade  named  Fort  Recovery,  and  then  pressed  on  to  the  junction  of 
the  Au  Glaize  and  the  Maumee,  in  Williams  county,  Ohio.  Here  he 
built  and  garrisoned  Fort  Defiance  Descending  the  Maumee  to  the 
rapids,  he  sent  proposals  of  peace  to  the  Indians,  who  were  in  council  but 
a  few  miles  distant.  Little  Turtle,  more  wise  than  the  other  chiefs, 
would  have  made  a  treaty ;  but  the  majority  were  for  battle.  On  the 
20th  of  August  Wayne  marched  against  the  savages,  overtook  them 
where  the  present  town  of  Waynesfield  stands,  and  routed  them  with  ter¬ 
rible  losses.  The  relentless  general  then  compelled  the  humbled  chief¬ 
tains  to  purchase  peace  by  ceding  to  the  United  States  all  the  territory 
east  of  a  line  drawn  from  Fort  Recovery  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Miami  River.  This  was  the  last  service  of  General  Wayne.  Re¬ 
maining  for  a  while  in  the  Indian  country,  he  embarked  on  Lake 
Erie  to  return  to  Philadelphia.  In  December  of  1796  he  died  on 
board  the  vessel,  and  was  buried  at  Presque  Isle. 

The  conduct  of  Great  Britain  toward  the  United  States  became  as 
arrogant  as  that  of  France  was  impudent.  In  November  of  1793  George 
III.  issued  secret  instructions  to  British  privateers  to  seize  all  neutral 
vessels  that  might  be  found  trading  in  the  French  West  Indies.  The 
United  States  had  no  notification  of  this  high-handed  measure;  and 
American  commerce  to  the  value  of  many  millions  of  dollars  was  swept 
from  the  sea  by  a  process  differing  in  nothing  from  highway  robbery. 
But  for  the  temperate  spirit  of  the  government  the  country  would  have 
been  at  once  plunged  into  war.  Prudence  prevailed  over  passion ;  and 
in  May  of  1794  Chief-Justice  Jay  was  sent  as  envoy  extraordinary  to 
demand  redress  of  the  British  government.  Contrary  to  expectation, 
his  mission  was  successful ;  and  in  the  following  November  an  honor¬ 
able  treaty  was  concluded.  The  terms  of  settlement,  however,  were 
exceedingly  distasteful  to  the  partisans  of  France  in  America,  and  they 
2  ft 


370 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


determined  to  prevent  its  ratification.  Every  argument  and  motive 
which  ingenuity  or  prejudice  could  supply  was  eagerly  paraded  before 
the  people  to  excite  their  discontent.  Public  meetings  were  held  and 
excited  orators  harangued  the  multitudes.  In  New  York  a  copy  of 
the  treaty  was  burned  before  the  governor’s  mansion.  In  Philadel¬ 
phia  there  was  a  similar  proceeding ;  and  the  whole  country  was  in 
an  uproar.  Washington,  however,  believing  the  treaty  to  be  just  in 
its  main  provisions,  and  earnestly  desiring  that  war  might  be  avoided, 
favored  ratification.  The  majority  in  the  Senate  remained  unmoved, 
and  finally  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1795,  the  terms  of  settlement 
were  duly  ratified,  and  signed  by  the  President.  It  was  specified  in 
the  treaty  that  Great  Britain  should  make  ample  reparation  for  the 
injuries  done  by  her  privateers,  and  surrender  to  the  United  States 
certain  Western  posts  which  until  now  had  been  held  by  English  gar¬ 
risons.  Thus  was  the  threatened  war  averted. 

In  October  of  1795  the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and 
Louisiana  was  settled  by  a  treaty  with  Spain.  The  latter  country  at  the 
same  time  guaranteed  to  the  Americans  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi.  Less  honorable  was  the  treaty  made  with  the  kingdom  of 
Algiers.  For  a  long  time  Algerine  pirates  had  infested  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean,  preying  upon  the  commerce  of  civilized  nations;  and  those 
nations,  in  order  to  purchase  exemption  from  such  ravages,  had  adopted 
the  ruinous  policy  of  paying  the  dey  of  Algiers  an  annual  tribute.  In 
consideration  of  the  tribute  the  dey  agreed  that  his  pirate  ships  should 
confine  themselves  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  should  not  attack  the  vessels 
of  such  nations  as  made  the  payment.  Now,  however,  with  the  purpose 
of  injuring  France,  Great  Britain  winked  at  an  agreement  with  the  dey 
by  which  the  Algerine  sea-robbers  were  turned  loose  on  the  Atlantic. 
By  their  depredations  American  commerce  suffered  greatly ;  and  the 
government  of  the  United  States  was  obliged  to  purchase  safety  by 
paying  the  shameful  tribute. 

In  the  summer  of  1796,  Tennessee,  the  third  new  State,  was 
organized  and  admitted  into  the  Union.  Six  years  previously  North 
Carolina  had  surrendered  her  claims  to  the  territorv,  which  at  that  time 
contained  a  population  of  thirty-five  thousand ;  and  within  five  years  the 
number  was  more  than  doubled.  The  first  inhabitants  of  Tennessee  were 
of  that  hardy  race  of  pioneers  to  whom  the  perils  of  the  wilderness  are  as 
nothing  provided  the  wilderness  is  free.  By  the  addition  of  the  two 
States  south-west  of  the  Ohio  more  than  eighty-three  thousand  square 
miles  of  territory  were  brought  under  the  dominion  of  civilization. 

Nothing  in  history  is  more  surprising  than  the  ascendency  which 


WASHING  TON’S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


371 


Washington,  unto  the  end  of  his  official  career,  continued  to  exercise 
over  the  minds  of  his  countrymen.  In  the  House  of  Representatives, 
during  the  last  two  sessions,  there  had  been  a  clear  majority  against 
him  and  his  policy;  and  yet  the  House  continued  its  support  of  his 
measures.  Even  the  provisions  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the  hated 
treaty  with  Great  Britain  were  made  by  that  body,  though  the  vote 
was  close.  So  powerful  were  the  President’s  views  in  determining 
the  actions  of  the  people  that  Jefferson,  writing  to  Monroe  at  Paris, 
said:  “Congress  has  adjourned.  You  will  see  by  their  proceedings 
the  truth  of  what  I  always  told  you,  namely,  that  one  man  outweighs 
them  all  in  influence  over  the  people,  who  support  his  judgment  against 
their  own  and  that  of  their  representatives.  Republicanism  resigns  the 
Vessel  to  its  pilot.” 

Washington  was  solicited  to  become  a  candidate  for  a  third  elec¬ 
tion  to  the  presidency ;  but  he  would  not.  His  resolution  had  already 
been  made  to  end  his  public  career.  With  the  Father  of  his  Country 
the  evening  of  life  drew  on,  and  rest  was  necessary.  Accordingly,  in 
September  of  1796,  he  issued  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  his 
Farewell  Address  —  a  document  crowded  with  precepts  of  political 
wisdom,  prudent  counsels,  and  chastened  patriotism.*  As  soon  as  the 
President’s  determination  was  made  known  the  political  parties  mar¬ 
shaled  their  forces  and  put  forward  their  champions,  John  Adams  ap¬ 
pearing  as  the  candidate  of  the  Federal,  and  Thomas  Jefferson  of  the 
anti-Federal  party.  Antagonism  to  the  Constitution,  which  had  thus 
far  been  the  chief  question  between  the  parties,  now  gave  place  to 
another  issue  —  whether  it  was  the  true  policy  of  the  United  States  to 
enter  into  intimate  relations  with  the  republic  of  France.  The  anti- 
Federalists  said,  Yes  !  that  all  republics  have  a  common  end,  and  that 
Great  Britain  was  the  enemy  of  them  all.  The  Federalists  said,  Not 
that  the  American  republic  must  mark  out  an  independent  course 
among  the  nations,  and  avoid  all  foreign  alliances.  On  that  issue  Mr. 
Adams  was  elected,  but  Mr.  Jefferson,  having  the  next  highest  num¬ 
ber  of  votes,  became  Vice-President;  for  according  to  the  old  provis¬ 
ion  of  the  Constitution,  the  person  who  stood  second  on  the  list  was 
declared  the  second  officer  in  the  government. 

*  See  Appendix  G. 


372 


HISTORY  O'F  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

ADAMS’S  ADMINISTRATION,  1797-1801. 


JOHN  ADAMS,  second  President  of  the  United  States,  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  October  19th,  1735.  He  was  a 
great-grandson  of  that  Henry  Adams  who,  emigrating  from  Great  Brit¬ 
ain  in  1640,  founded  in  America  a  family  made  famous  by  many  illus¬ 
trious  names.  Eight 
sons  of  the  elder 
Adams  settled  around 
Massachusetts  Bay, 
the  grandfather  of  the 
President  in  that  part 
of  Braintree  after¬ 
wards  called  Quincy. 
The  father  of  John 
Adams  was  a  Puritan 
deacon,  a  selectman 
of  the  town,  a  farmer 
of  small  means,  and  a 
shoemaker.  The  son 
received  a  classical  ed¬ 
ucation,  being  gradu¬ 
ated  at  the  age  of 
twenty  from  Harvard 
College.  For  a  while 
he  taught  school,  but 
finding  that  vocation 
to  be,  as  he  expressed 
it,  a  school  of  affliction,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  law.  In 
this  profession  he  soon  became  eminent,  removed  to  Boston,  engaged 
with  great  zeal  in  the  controversy  with  the  mother  country,  and  was 
quickly  recognize^  as  an  able  leader  of  public  opinion.  From  this 
time  forth  his  services  were  in  constant  demand  both  in  his  native 
State  and  in  the  several  colonial  Congresses.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  celebrated  committee  appointed  to  draft  the  Declaration  of  Inde¬ 
pendence,  and  in  the  debates  on  that  instrument  was  its  chief  defender. 


JOHN  ADAMS. 


ADAMS'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


373 


During  the  last  years  of  the  Revolution  he  served  his  country  as 
ambassador  to  France,  Holland,  and  Great  Britain,  being  the  first 
minister  to  that  country  after  the  recognition  of  American  independ¬ 
ence.  From  this  important  station  he  returned  in  1788,  and  was  soon 
afterwards  elected  Vice-President  under  the  new  frame  of  government. 
After  serving  in  this  office  for  eight  years,  he  was  chosen  as  the  suc¬ 
cessor  of  Washington. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1797,  President  Adams  was  inaugurated. 
From  the  beginning  his  administration  was  embarrassed  by  a  power¬ 
ful  and  well-organized  opposition.  Aclet,  the  French  minister,  made 
inflammatory  appeals  to  the  people,  and  urged  the  government  to 
conclude  a  league  with  France  against  Great  Britain.  When  the 
President  and  Congress  stood  firmly  on  the  doctrine  of  neutrality, 
the  French  Directory  grew  insolent,  and  began  to  demand  an  alli¬ 
ance.  The  treaty  which  Mr.  Jay  had  concluded  with  England  was 
especially  complained  of  by  the  partisans  of  France.  On  the  10th 
of  March  the  Directory  issued  instructions  to  French  men-of-war  to 
assail  the  commerce  of  the  United  States.  Soon  afterward  Mr.  Pinck¬ 
ney,  the  American  minister,  was  ordered  to  leave  the  territory  of 
France. 

These  proceedings  were  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war.  The 
President  convened  Congress  in  extrabrdinary  session,  and  measures 
were  devised  for  repelling  the  aggressions  of  the  French.  Elbridge 
Gerry  and  John  Marshall  were  directed  to  join  Mr.  Pinckney  in  a. 
final  effort  for  a  peaceable  adjustment  of  the  difficulties.  But  the 
effort  was  fruitless.  The  Directory  of  France  refused  to  receive  the 
ambassadors  except  upon  condition  that  they  would  pledge  the  pay¬ 
ment  into  the  French  treasury  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars, 
Pinckney  answered  with  the  declaration  that  the  United  States  had 
millions  for  defence ,  but  not  a  cent  for  tribute.  The  envoys  were  then 
ordered  to  leave  the  country;  but  Gerry,  who  was  an  anti-Federalist, 
was  permitted  to  remain.  These  events  occupied  the  summer  and  fall 
of  1797. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  next  year  an  act  was  passed  by  Con¬ 
gress  completing  the  organization  of  the  army.  Washington  was  called 
from  the  retirement  of  his  old  age  and  appointed  commander-in-chief. 
Hamilton  was  chosen  first  major-general.  A  navy  of  six  frigates,  be¬ 
sides  privateers,  had  been  provided  for  at  the  session  of  the  previous 
year;  and  a  national  loan  had  been  authorized.  The  patriotism  of 
the  people  was  thoroughly  aroused ;  the  treaties  with  France  were  de¬ 
clared  void,  and  vigorous  preparations  were  made  for  the  impending 


374 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


war.  The  American  frigates  put  to  sea,  and  in  the  summer  and  fall 
of  1799  did  a'ood  service  for  the  commerce  of  the  country.  Commo- 
do  re  Truxtun,  in  the  ship  Constellation ,  won  distinguished  honors.  On 
the  9th  of' February,  while  cruising  in  the  West  Indies,  he  attacked 
the  Insurgent,  a  French  man-of-war  carrying  forty  guns  and  more  than 
four  hundred  seamen.  A  desperate  engagement  ensued;  and  Truxtun, 
though  inferior  in  cannons  and  men,  gained  a  complete  victory.  A 
year  later  he  overtook  another  frigate,  called  the  Vengeance,  and  after 
a  five  hours’  battle  in  the  night  would  have  captured  his  antagonist 
but  for  a  storm  and  the  darkness.  These  events  added  greatly  to  the 
renown  of  the  American  flag. 

The  organization  of  the  provisional  army  was  soon  completed. 
The  commander-in-chief  repaired  to  Philadelphia  and  remained  five 
weeks  with  Generals  Hamilton  and  Pinckney,  superintending  the 
work.  Such  measures  were  taken  as  were  deemed  adequate  to  the 
defence  of  the  nation,  and  then  Washington  retired  to  Mount  Ver¬ 
non,  leaving  the  greater  part  of  the  responsibility  to  be  borne  by 
Hamilton.  The  news  of  these  warlike  proceedings  was  soon  carried 
to  France,  and  the  shrewd  Talleyrand,  minister  of  foreign  affairs  for 
the  French  republic,  seeing  that  his  dismissal  of  Mr.  Monroe  and 
General  Pinckney  had  given  mortal  offence  to  the  American  people, 
managed  to  signify  to  Vans  Murray,  ambassador  of  the  United  States 
to  Holland,  that  if  President  Adams  would  send  another  minister  to 
Paris  he  would  be  cordially  received.  Murray  immediately  transmit¬ 
ted  this  hint  to  the  President,  who  caugnt  eagerly  at  this  opportunity 
to  extricate  the  country  from  apprehended  war.  On  the  18th  of  Feb¬ 
ruary  he  transmitted  a  message  to  the  Senate  nominating  Mr.  Murray 
himself  as  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  French  republic.  The  nom¬ 
ination  was  confirmed,  and  the  ambassador  was  authorized  to  proceed  at 
once  to  France.  It  was  also  agreed  by  the  Senate  that  two  other  per¬ 
sons  should  be  added  to  the  embassy;  and  Oliver  Ellsworth  and  Will¬ 
iam  R.  Davie  were  accordingly  commissioned  to  proceed  to  Amsterdam 
and  join  Murray  in  his  important  mission  to  the  French  capital. 

Meanwhile,  Napoleon  Bonaparte  had  overthrown  the  Directory  _ 
of  France  and  made  himself  first  consul  of  the  republic.  More  wise 
and  politic  than  his  associates  in  the  government,  he  immediately 
sought  peace  with  the  the  United  States.  For  he  saw  clearly  enough 
that  the  impending  war  would,  if  prosecuted,  inevitably  result  in  an 
alliance  between  America  and  England — a  thing  most  unfavorable  to 
the  interests  of  France.  He  was  also  confident  that  peaceful  overtures 
on  his  part  would  be  met  with  favor.  The  three  American  ambassa- 


ADAMS ’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


375. 


dors — Murray,  Ellsworth  and  Davie — reached  Paris,  after  many  delays, 
in  the  beginning  of  March,  1800.  Negotiations  were  at  once  opened, 
and,  in  the  following  September,  were  happily  terminated  with  a  treaty 
of  peace.  In  all  his  relations  with  the  United  States  Napoleon  acted  the 
part  of  a  consistent  and  honorable  ruler. 

Before  the  war-cloud  was  scattered  America  was  called  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  Washington.  On  the  14th  of  December,  1799,  after  an  illness 
of  only  a  day,  the  venerated  chieftain  passed  from  among  the  living.  All 
hearts  were  touched  with  sorrow.  The  people  put  on  the  garb  of  mourn¬ 
ing.  Congress  went  in  funeral  procession  to  the  German  Lutheran  church, 
where  General  Henry  Lee,  the  personal  friend  of  Washington,  delivered 
a  touching  and  eloquent  oration.  Throughout  the  civilized  world  the 
memory  of  the  great  dead  was  honored  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  To 
the  legions  of  France  the  event  was  announced  by  Bonaparte,  who  paid 
a  beautiful  tribute  to  the  virtues  of  “  the  warrior,  the  legislator  and  the 
citizen  without  reproach.”  As  the  body  of  Washington  was  laid  in  the 
sepulchre,  the  voice  of  partisan  malignity  that  had  not  hesitated  to  assail 
his  name  was  hushed  into  everlasting  silence ;  and  the  world  with  un¬ 
covered  head  agreed  with  Lord  Byron  in  declaring  the  illustrious  dead  to 
have  been  among  warriors,  statesmen  and  patriots 

“ - The  first,  the  last,  the  best, 

The  Cincinnatus  of  the  West.” 

The  administration  of  Adams  and  the  eighteenth  century  drew  to  a 
close  together.  In  spite  of  domestic  dissensions  and  foreign  alarms,  the 
new  republic  was  growing  strong  and  influential.  The  census  of  1800 
showed  that  the  population  of  the  country,  including  the  black  men,  had 
increased  to  over  five  millions.  The  seventy -five  post-offices  reported  by 
the  census  of  1790  had  been  multiplied  to  nine  hundred  and  three;  the 
exports  of  the  United  States  had  grown  from  twenty  millions  to  nearly 
seventy-one  millions  of  dollars.  The  permanency  of  the  Constitution  as 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land  was  now  cheerfully  recognized.  In  Decem¬ 
ber  of  1800  Congress  for  the  first  time  assembled  in  Washington  city,  the 
new  capital  of  the  nation.  Virginia  and  Maryland  had  ceded  to  the 
United  States  the  District  of  Columbia,  a  tract  ten  miles  square  lying  on 
both  sides  of  the  Potomac ;  but  the  part  given  by  Virginia  was  afterward 
re-ceded  to  that  State.  The  city  which  was  designed  as  the  seat  of  govern¬ 
ment  was  laid  out  in  1792;  and  in  1800  the  population  numbered  be¬ 
tween  eight  and  nine  thousand. 

With  prudent  management  and  unanimity  the  Federal  party  might 
have  retained  control  of  the  government.  But  there  were  dissensions  in 


376 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Mr.  Adams’s  cabinet.  Much  of' the  recent  legislation  of  Congress  had 
been  unwise  and  unpopular.  The  alien  law,  by  which  the  President  was 
authorized  to  send  out  of  the  country  any  foreigners  whose  presence 
should  be  considered  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  United  States,  was 
specially  odious.  The  sedition  law,  which  punished  with  fine  and  im¬ 
prisonment  the  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  when  directed  abusively 
against  the  government,  was  denounced  by  the  opposition  as  an  act  of 
tyranny.  Partisan  excitement  ran  high.  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Charles 
0.  Pinckney  were  put  forward  as  the  candidates  of  the  Federalists,  and 
Thomas  Jefferson  and  Aaron  Burr  of  the  Republicans  or  Democrats.  The 
latter  were  triumphant.  In  the  electoral  college  Jefferson  and  Burr  each 
received  seventy-three  votes ;  Adams,  sixty-five ;  and  Pinckney,  sixty-four. 
In  order  to  decide  between  the  Democratic  candidates,  the  election  was  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  After  thirty-five  ballotings,  the 
choice  fell  on  Jefferson ;  and  Burr,  who  was  now  second  on  the  list,  was 
declared  Vice-President.  After  controlling  the  government  for  twelve 
years,  the  Federal  party  passed  from  power,  never  to  be  restored. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRATION,  1S01-1809. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON  was  born  in  the  county  of  Albemarle, 
Virginia,  on  the  2d  of  April,  1743.  Of  his  ancestry,  history  has 
preserved  no  record  other  than  the  name  of  his  father,  Colonel  Peter 
Jefferson,  a  man  noted  for  native  abilities  and  force  of  character.  The 
son  found  excellent  advantages  of  early  training  in  the  private  school 
of  an  exiled  Scottish  clergyman,  and  afterwards  completed  his  educa¬ 
tion  at  William  and  Mary  College.  He  then  entered  upon  the  study 
of  law,  and  soon  rose  to  distinction.  Like  his  predecessor  in  the  pres¬ 
idential  office,  he  became  in  his  early  manhood  deeply  absorbed  in  the 
controversy  with  the  mother  country,  and  by  his  radical  views  in  the 
House  of  Burgesses  contributed  much  to  fix  forever  the  sentiments  of 
that  body  against  the  arbitrary  measures  of  the  English  ministry. 

From  the  councils  of  his  native  State  Jefferson  was  soon  called 
to  the  councils  of  the  nation.  His  coming  was  anxiously  awaited  in 
the  famous  Congress  of  1776;  for  his  fame  as  a  thinker  and  a  demo- 


JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


377 


crat  had  preceded  him.  To  his  pen  and  brain  the  almost  exclusive 
authorship  ot  the  great  Declaration  must  be  awarded.  During  the 
struggles  of  the  Revolution  he  was  among  the  most  distinguished  and 
uncompromising  of  the  patriot  leaders.  After  the  war  was  over,  he 
was  sent  abroad  with 
Adams  and  Franklin 
to  negotiate  treaties 
of  amity  and  com¬ 
merce  with  the  Eu¬ 
ropean  nations,  and 
was  then  appointed 
minister  plenipoten¬ 
tiary  of  the  new 
Republic  to  France. 

From  this  high  trust 
he  was  recalled  to 
become  secretary  of 
state  under  Wash¬ 
ington;  in  1796  was 
elected  Vice  -  Presi  - 
dent,  and  in  1800 
President  of  the 
United  States.  The 
American  decimal 
system  of  coinage, 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


the  statute  for  relig¬ 
ious  freedom,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  University  of 
Virginia,  and  the  presidency  of  the  Union  are  the  immutable  foun¬ 
dations  of  his  fame. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  administration  Mr.  Jefferson  transferred 
the  chief  offices  of  the  government  to  members  of  the  Democratic 
party.  This  policy  had  in  some  measure  been  adopted  by  his  prede¬ 
cessor;  but  the  principle  was  now  made  universal.  Such  action  was 
justified  by  the  adhe'rents  of  the  President  on  the  ground  that  the 
affairs  of  a  republic  will  be  best  administered  when  the  officers  hold 
the  same  political  sentiments.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  Congress  was 
to  abolish  the  system  of  internal  revenues.  The  unpopular  laws  against 
foreigners  and  the  freedom  of  the  press  were  also  repealed.  But  the 
territorial  legislation  of  Jefferson’s  first  term  was  most  important  of 
all. 


In  the  year  1800  a  line  was  drawn  through  the  North-west 


378 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Territory  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  River  to  Fort  Recovery, 
and  thence  to  Canada.  Two  years  afterward  the  country  east  of  this 
line  was  erected  into  the  State  of  Ohio  and  admitted  into  the  Union. 
The  portion  west  of  the  line,  embracing  the  present  States  of  Indi¬ 
ana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  a  part  of  Michigan,  was  organized  under 
the  name  of  the  Indiana  Territory.  Vincennes  was  the  capital; 
and  General  William  Henry  Harrison  received  the  appointment  of 
governor.  About  the  same  time  the  organization  of  the  Mississippi 
Territory,  extending  from  the  western  limits  of  Georgia  to  the  great 
river,  was  completed.  Thus  another  grand  and  fertile  district  of  a 
hundred  thousand  square  miles  was  reclaimed  from  barbarism. 

More  important  still  was  the  purchase  of  Louisiana.  In  1800 
Napoleon  had  compelled  Spain  to  make  a  secret  cession  of  this  vast 
territory  to  France.  The  First  Consul  then  prepared  to  send  an  army 
to  New  Orleans  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  his  authority.  But 
the  government  of  the  United  States  remonstrated  against  such  a  pro¬ 
ceeding;  France  was  threatened  with  multiplied  wars  at  home;  and 
Bonaparte,  seeing  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  a  colonial  empire  at  so 
great  a  distance,  authorized  his  minister  to  dispose  of  Louisiana  by 
sale.  The  President  appointed  Mr.  Livingston  and  James  Monroe 
to  negotiate  the  purchase.  On  the  30th  of  April,  1803,  the  terms  of 
transfer  were  agreed  on  by  the  agents  of  the  two  nations;  and  for  the 
sum  of  eleven  million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  Louisi- 
ana  was  ceded  to  the  United  States.*  In  another  convention,  which 
was  signed  on  the  same  day,  it  was  agreed  that  the  government  of 
the  United  States  should  assume  the  payment  of  certain  debts  due 
from  France  to  American  citizens;  but  the  sum  thus  assumed  should 
not,  inclusive  of  interest,  exceed  three  million  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  Thus  did  the  vast  domain  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
embracing  an  area  of  more  than  a  million  square  miles,  pass  under 
the  dominion  of  the  United  States. 

Four  nations — France,  the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  and 
Spain  —  were  concerned  in  determining  the  boundaries  of  the  ceded 
territory.  In  regard  to  the  eastern  limit,  all  were  agreed  that  it 
should  be  the  Mississippi  from  its  source  to  the  thirty-first  parallel 
of  latitude.  On  the  south-east  the  boundary  claimed  by  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain,  and  France,  was  the  thirty-first  parallel  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Appalachicola,  and  down  that  river  to  the  Gulf. 

*  Bonaparte  accepted  in  payment  six  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  United  States,  payable 
fifteen  years  after  date.  He  also  agreed  not  to  sell  the  bonds  at  such  a  price  as  would 
degrade  the  credit  of  the  American  government. 


INAUGURATION  OF  THE  TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT  AT  MARIETTA,  OHIO. 


JEFFERSON’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


379 


From  this  line,  however,  Spain  dissented,  claiming  the  Iberville  and 
Lakes  Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain  as  the  true  limit  between  Louisi¬ 
ana  and  her  possessions  in  West  Florida;  but  she  was  obliged,  after 
fruitlessly  protesting,  to  yield  to  the  decision  of  her  rivals.  On  the 
south,  by  the  consent  of  all,  the  boundary  was  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  as 
far  west  as  the  mouth  of  the  Sabine.  The  south-western  limit  was 
established  along  the  last  named  river  as  far  as  the  thirty-first  paral¬ 
lel ;  thence  due  north  to  Red  River;  up  that  stream  to  the  one-hun¬ 
dredth  meridian  from  Greenwich ;  thence  north  again  to  the  Arkan¬ 
sas  ;  thence  with  that  river  to  the  mountains ;  and  thence  north  with 
the  mountain  chain  to  the  forty-second  parallel  of  latitude.  Thus  far 
all  four  of  the  nations  were  agreed.  But  the  United  'States,  Great 
Britain,  and  France — again  coinciding — claimed  the  extension  of  the 
boundary  along  the  forty-second  parallel  to  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  and  to 
this  extension  Spain,  for  several  years,  refused  her  assent ;  but  in  the 
treaty  of  1819  her  objections  were  formally  withdrawn.  In  fixing  the 
northern  boundary  only  the  United  States  and ‘Great  Britain  were 
concerned;  and  the  forty-ninth  parallel  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods 
to  the  Pacific  was  established  as  the  international  line.* 

The  purchase  of  Louisiana  was  the  greatest  event  of  Jefferson’s 
administration.  Out  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  new  acquisition 
the  Territory  of  Orleans  was  organized,  with  the  same  limits  as 
the  present  State  of  Louisiana ;  the  rest  of  the  vast  tract  coutinued 
to  be  called  the  Territory  of  Louisiana.  The  possession  of  the 
Mississippi  was  no  longer  a  matter  of  dispute.  Very  justly  did  Mr. 
Livingston  say  to  the  French  minister  as  they  arose  from  signing  the 
treaty:  “We  have  lived  long,  but  this  is  the  noblest  work  of  our 
whole  lives.” 

Two  years  previous  to  these  events  John  Marshall  had  been 
nominated  and  confirmed  as  chief-justice  of  the  United  States.  His 
appointment  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  country.  In  the 
colonial  times  the  English  constitution  and  common  law  had  pre- 

*See  Map  VII.  The  discussion  of  the  boundaries  of  Louisiana  is  thus  fully  given 
because  of  the  many  statements,  needlessly  contradictory,  which  have  been  made  on 
the  subject.  Between  the  years  1803  and  1819  there  was  some  ground  for  controversy, 
but  since  the  latter  date  none  whatever — except  as  to  the  northern  line.  For  all  the 
facts  tending  to  elucidate  the  subject,  see  American  State  Papers ;  topics:  Treaty  of 
Paris,  1763;  Definitive  Treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  1783  ;  Text 
of  the  Louisiana  Cession,  1803;  Boundary  Conventions  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  1818  and  1846;  Treaty  of  Washington,  1819.  See  also  Walker’s  Statis¬ 
tical  Atlas  of  the  United  States ;  subject:  Areas  and  Political  Divisions,  pp.  2  and  3;  and 
the  American  Cyclopcedi d ;  article:  Louisiana. 


380 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


vailed  in  America,  and  judicial  decisions  were  based  exclusively  on 
precedents  established  in  English  courts.  When,  in  1789,  the  new 
republic  was  organized,  it  became  necessary  to  modify  to  a  certain 
extent  the  principles  of  jurisprudence  and  to  adapt  them  to  the  al¬ 
tered  theory  of  gov¬ 
ernment.  In  some 
measure  this  great 
work  was  undertak¬ 
en  by  Chief- Justice 
Jay ;  but  he  was  a 
great  statesman  ra¬ 
ther  than  a  great 
judge.  It  remained 
for  Chief- Justice 
Marshall  to  estab¬ 
lish  on  a  firm  and 
enduring  basis  the 
noble  structure  of 
American  law.  For 
thirty-five  years  he 
remained  in  his  high 
office,  bequeathing 
to  after  times  a  great 
number  of  valuable 
decisions,  in  which 
the  principles  of  the 
jurisprudence  of  the  United  States  are  set  forth  with  unvarying  clear¬ 
ness  and  invincible  logic. 

The  Mediterranean  pirates  still  annoyed  American  merchantmen. 
All  of  the  Barbary  States — as  the  Moorish  kingdoms  of  Northern  Af¬ 
rica  are  called — had  adopted  the  plan  of  extorting  annual  tributes 
from  the  European  nations.  The  emperors  of  Morocco,  Algiers  and 
Tripoli  became  especially  arrogant.  In  1803  the  government  of  the 
United  States  despatched  Commodore  Preble  to  the  Mediterranean  to 
protect  American  commerce  and  punish  the  hostile  powers.  The  ar¬ 
mament  proceeded  first  against  Morocco;  but  the  frigate  Philadelphia , 
commanded  by  Captain  Bainbridge,  was  sent  directly  to  Tripoli.  When 
nearing  his  destination,  Bainbridge  gave  chase  to  a  pirate  which  fled 
for  safety  to  the  batteries  of  the  harbor.  The  Philadelphia,  in  close 
pursuit,  ran  upon  a  reef  of  rocks  near  the  shore,  became  unmanage¬ 
able,  and  was  captured  by  the  Tripolitans.  The  crew  and  officers 


CHIEF-JUSTICE  MARSHALL. 


JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


381 


were  taken ;  the  latter  were  treated  with  some  respect,  but  the  former 
were  enslaved.  The  emperor  Yusef  and  his  barbarous  subjects  were 
greatly  elated  at  their  unexpected  success. 

In  the  following  February  Captain  Decatur  recaptured  the  Phil¬ 
adelphia  in  a  marvelous  manner.  Sailing  from  Sicily  in  a  small  ves¬ 
sel  called  the  Intrepid ,  he  came  at  nightfall  in  sight  of  the  harbor  of 
Tripoli,  where  the  Philadelphia  was  moored.  The  Intrepid,  being  a 
Moorish  ship  which  the  American  fleet  had  captured,  was  either  un¬ 
seen  or  unsuspected  by  the  Tripolitans.  As  darkness  settled  on  the 
sea,  Decatur  steered  his  course  into  the  harbor,  slipped  alongside  of 
the  Philadelphia,  lashed  the  two  ships  together,  sprang  on  deck  with 
his  daring  crew  of  only  seventy-four  men,  and  killed  or  drove  over¬ 
board  every  Moor  on  the  vessel.  In  a  moment  the  frigate  Avas  fired, 
for  it  Avas  the  purpose  to  destroy  her;  then  Decatur  and  his  men,  es¬ 
caping  from  the  flames,  returned  to  the  Intrepid  and  sailed  out  of  the 
harbor  amid  a  storm  of  balls  from  the  Tripolitan  batteries.  Not  a 
man  of  Decatur’s  gallant  band  Avas  lost,  and  only  four  Avere  Avounded. 

In  the  last  of  July,  1804,  Commodore  Preble  arrived  Avith  his 
fleet  at  Tripoli  and  began  a  blockade  and  siege  Avhich  lasted  till  the 
following  spring.  The  toAvn  Avas  frequently  bombarded,  and  several 
Moorish  vessels  Avere  destroyed ;  but  not  even  the  pounding  of  Amer¬ 
ican  cannon-balls  Avas  sufficient  to  bring  Yusef  to  terms.  In  the  mean¬ 
time,  hoAvever,  it  Avas  ascertained  that  the  services  of  Hamet,  Yusef ’s 
elder  brother,  the  deposed  sovereign  of  Tripoli,  might  be  secured  to 
aid  in  reducing  the  barbarians  to  submission.  Hamet  was  at  this  time 
in  Upper  Egypt,  commanding  an  army  of  Mamelukes  in  a  Avar  against 
the  Turks.  To  him  General  William  Eaton,  the  American  consul  at 
Tunis,  Avas  despatched  Avith  proposals  of  an  alliance  against  the  usurp¬ 
ing  Yusef.  Hamet  eagerly  accepted  the  overture,  and  furnished  Gen¬ 
eral  Eaton  Avith  a  fine  body  of  Arab  cavalry  and  seventy  Greek  soldiers. 
With  this  force  the  American  commander  set  out  from  Alexandria  on 
the  5th  of  March,  1805.  He  traversed  the  Desert  of  Barca  for  a  thou¬ 
sand  miles,  and  on  the  25th  of  April  reached  Derne,  one  of  Yusef’s 
eastern  sea-ports.  Yusef  himself  Avas  already  approaching  Avith  an 
army;  and  General  Eaton  found  it  necessary  to  storm  the  town.  A 
division  of  the  American  fleet  arrived  in  the  harbor  at  the  fortunate 
moment  and  aided  in  the  Avork.  The  place  Avas  gallantly  carried. 
The  assaulting  column  Avas  made  up  of  Arab  cavalry,  Greek  infantry, 
Tripolitan  rebels,  and  American  sailors  serving  on  land!  The  Stars 
and  Stripes  ne\7er  before  or  since  Avaved  over  so  motley  an  assem¬ 
blage!  Yusef,  alarmed  at  the  dangers  which  menaced  him  by  sea 


382 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  land,  made  hasty  overtures  for  peace.  His  offers  were  accepted  by  Mr. 
Lear,  the  American  consul-general  for  the  Barbary  States ;  and  a  treaty 
was  concluded  on  the  4th  of  June,  1805.*  For  several  years  thereafter 
the  flag  of  the  United  States  was  respected  in  the  Mediterranean. 

In  the  summer  of  1804  the  country  was  shocked  by  the  intelligence 
that  Vice-President  Burr  had  killed  Alexander  Hamilton  in  a  duel.  As 
the  first  term  of  Mr.  Jefferson  drew  to  a  close,  Burr  foresaw  that  the 
President  would  be  renominated,  and  that  he  himself  would  not  be  re¬ 
nominated.  Still,  he  had  his  eye  on  the  presidency,  and  was  determined 
not  to  be  baffled.  He  therefore,  while  holding  the  office  of  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent,  became  a  candidate  for  governor  of  New  York.  From  that  posi¬ 
tion  he  would  pass  to  the  presidency  at  the  close  of  Jefferson’s  second 
term.  But  Hamilton’s  powerful  influence  in  New  York  prevented  Burr’s 
election;  and  his  presidential  ambition  received  a  stunning  blow.  From 
that  day  he  determined  to  kill  the  man  whom  he  pretended  to  regard  as 
the  destroyer  of  his  hopes.  He  accordingly  sought  a  quarrel  with  Hamil¬ 
ton;  challenged  him;  met  him  at  Weehawken,  opposite  New  York,  on 
the  morning  of  the  11th  of  July,  and  deliberately  murdered  him;  for 
Hamilton  had  tried  to  avoid  the  challenge,  and  when  face  to  face  with 
his  antagonist  refused  to  fire.  Thus  under  the  savage  and  abominable 
custom  of  dueling  the  brightest  intellect  in  America  was  put  out  in 
darkness.  ' 

In  the  autumn  of  1804  Jefferson  was  re-elected  President.  For 
Vice-President  George  Clinton  of  New  York  was  chosen  in  place  of 
Burr.  In  the  following  year  that  part  of  the  North-western  Territory 
called  Wayne  county  was  organized  under  a  separate  territorial  govern¬ 
ment  with  the  name  of  Michigan.  In  the  same  spring,  Captains  Lewis 
and  Clarke,  acting  under  orders  of  the  President,  set  out  from  the  falls 
of  the  Missouri  River  with  a  party  of  thirty-five  soldiers  and  hunters  to 
cross  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  explore  Oregon.  Not  until  November 
did  they  reach  their  destination.  For  two  years,  through  forests  of  gigantic 
pines,  along  the  banks  of  unknown  rivers  and  down  to  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific,  did  they  continue  their  explorations.  After  wandering  among 
unheard-of  tribes  of  barbarians,  encountering  grizzly  bears  more  ferocious 
than  Bengal  tigers,  escaping  perils  by  forest  and  flood,  and  traversing  a 
route  of  six  thousand  miles,  the  hardy  adventurers,  with  the  loss  of  but 
one  man,  returned  to  civilization,  bringing  new  ideas  of  the  vast  domains 
of  the  West. 

*  It  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  that  Lear  agreed  to  pay  Yusef  sixty  thousand  dollars 
for  the  liberation  of  American  slaves :  their  liberation  ought  to  have  been  cffnpeBed — 
and  might  have  been  if  Lear  had  said  so. 


JEFFERSON’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


383 


After  the  death  of  Hamilton,  Burr  fled  from  popular  indignation 
and  sought  refuge  in  the  South.  At  the  opening  of  the  next  session  of 
Congress  he  returned  to  the  capital,  and  presided  over  the  Senate  until 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office.  Then  he  delivered  his  valedictory, 
went  to  the  West,  and,  after  traveling  through  several  States,  took  up  his 
residence  with  an  Irish  exile  named  Harman  Blannerhassett,  who  had 
laid  out  an  estate  and  built  a  splendid  mansion  on  an  island  in  the  Ohio, 
just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum.  Here  Burr  made  a  wicked 
and  treasonable  scheme  against  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  country. 
His  plan  was  to  raise  a  sufficient  military  force,  invade  Mexico,  wrest  that 
country  from  the  Spaniards,  detach  the  Western  and  Southern  States  from 
the  Union,  make  himself  dictator  of  a  South-western  empire,  and  perhaps 
subvert  the  government  of  the  United  States.  For  two  years  he  labored 
to  perfect  his  plans.  But  his  purposes  were  suspected.  In  accordance 
with  a  proclamation  of  the  President,  the  military  preparations  at  Blan- 
nerhassett’s  Island  were  broken  up;  and  in  February  of  1807  Burr  him¬ 
self  was  arrested  in  Alabama  and  taken  to  Richmond  to  be  tried  on  a 
charge  of  treason.  Chief-Justice  Marshall  presided  at  the  trial,  and  Burr 
conducted  his  own  defence.  The  verdict  was,  “  Not  guilty,  for  want  of 
sufficient  proof.”  But  his  escape  was  so  narrow  that  under  an  assumed 
name  he  fled  from  the  country.  Returning  a  few  years  afterward,  he  re¬ 
sumed  the  practice  of  law  in  New  York,  lived  to  extreme  old  age,  and 
died  alone  in  abject  poverty. 

During  Jefferson’s  second  administration  the  country  was  con¬ 
stantly  agitated  by  the  aggressions  of  the  British  navy  on  American  com¬ 
merce.  England  and  France  were  engaged  in  deadly  and  continuous  war. 
In  order  to  cripple  the  resources  of  their  enemy,  the  British  authorities 
struck  blow  after  blow  against  the  trade  between  France  and  foreign 
nations ;  and  Napoleon  retaliated  with  equal  energy  and  vindictiveness 
against  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain.  The  measures  adopted  by  the 
two  powers  took  the  form  of  blockade — that  is,  the  surrounding  of  each 
other’s  ports  with  men-of-war  to  prevent  the  ingress  and  egress  of  neutral 
ships.  By  such  means  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  which  had 
grown  vast  and  valuable  while  the  European  nations  were  fighting,  was 
greatly  injured  and  distressed. 

In  May  of  1806  England  declared  the  whole  coast  of  France  from 
Brest  to  the  Elbe  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade.  Neutral  nations  had  no 
warning.  Many  American  vessels,  approaching  the  French  ports,  were 
seized  and  condemned  as  prizes ;  all  this,  too,  while  the  harbors  of  France 
were  not  actually,  but  only  declared  to  be,  blockaded.  In  the  following 
November  Bonaparte  issued  a  decree  blockading  the  British  isles.  Again 
27 


384 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  unsuspecting  merchantmen  of  the  United  States  were  subjected  to 
seizure,  this  time  by  the  cruisers  of  France.  In  January  of  the  next 
year  the  government  of  Great  Britain  retaliated  by  an  act  prohibiting 
the  French  coasting-trade.  Every  one  of  these  measures  was  in  fla¬ 
grant  violations  of  the  laws  of  nations.  The  belligerent  powers  had 
no  right  to  take  such  steps  toward  each  other;  as  to  neutral  States, 
their  rights  were  utterly  disregarded;  and  the  nation  that  suffered 
most  was  the  United  States. 

In  addition  to  these  causes  of  complaint  an  old  crime  against 
international  law  had,  in  the  mean  time,  been  revived  by  the  Eng¬ 
lish  government,  to  the  great  distress  of  American  commerce.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  George  II.  had  issued  an  edict 
forbidding  the  vessels  of  neutral  nations  to  trade  with  the  colonies  of 
France  or  the  provinces  of  any  other  country  with  which  Great  Brit¬ 
ain  might  be  at  war.  The  offences  committed  under  the  authority  of 
this  arbitrary  decree,  which  was  known  as  the  Rule  of  1756,  had 
been  greatly  injurious  to  the  commerce  of  the  colonies,  and  during 
Washington’s  administration  had  occasioned  many  complaints  and  re¬ 
monstrances.  But  in  June  of  1801,  in  a  treaty  between  Great  Britain 
and  Russia,  the  former  government  assented  to  such  a  modification  of 
the  Rule  as  rendered  it  comparatively  harmless.  The  effect  of  this 
modification  was  exceedingly  beneficial  to  neutral  nations,  especially 
to  America.  Between  the  years  1803  and  1806  the  foreign  carrying- 
trade  of  the  United  States  was  increased  nearly  fivefold,  while  that  of 
England  fell  off*  in  a  nearly  corresponding  ratio.  Vexed  and  morti¬ 
fied  at  this  result,  and  caring  little  for  justice  if  the  supremacy  of  the 
British  merchant-marine  could  be  maintained,  the  ministry,  in  the 
summer  of  1805,  revived  the  old  edict  in  full  force,  and  impudently 
asserted  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  laic  of  nations  !  The  result,  as  had 
been  clearly  foreseen  by  the  English  lords  of  trade  who  contrived  the 
measure,  was  that  American  merchantmen  trading  largely  with  the 
dependencies  of  France  and  Spain,  were  driven  from  the  ocean,  and 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States  shrank  suddenly  into  insignifi¬ 
cance. 

Finally  Great  Britain  aggravated  her  injustice  by  a  still  more 
arrogant  and  unwarrantable  procedure.  The  English  theory  of  citi¬ 
zenship  is,  that  whoever  is  born  in  England  remains  through  life  a 
subject  of  the  British  Empire.  The  privilege  of  an  Englishman  to 
expatriate  himself — that  is,  the  right  to  go  abroad,  to  throw  off*  his 
allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  to  assume  the  obligations  of  citi¬ 
zenship  in  another  nation — is  absolutely  denied.  Under  this  iron  rule 
of  “  once  an  Englishman,  always  an  Englishman,”  the  British  cruisers 


JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


385 


were  from  time  to  time  authorized  to  search  American  vessels  and  to 
take  therefrom  all  persons  suspected  of  being  subjects  of  Great  Brit¬ 
ain.  One  of  the  chief  objects  had  in  view  in  this  iniquitous  business, 
was  to  prevent  the  Emigration  of  the  Irish  to  the  United  States.  The 
impulsive  sons  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  hearing  of  the  free  institutions  and 
boundless  prospects  of  America,  were  flocking  hither  in  great  num¬ 
bers,  and  something  must  be  done  to  stop  the  movement.  George  III. 
and  his  advisers  therefore  marshaled  forth  their  despotic  theory  of  cit¬ 
izenship  and  set  it  up  like  a  death’s-head  at  every  port  of  the  British 
Isl  es.  Inasmuch  as  every  Irishman  or  Scotchman  who  ventured  on 
board  an  American  vessel  would  expose  himself  to  the  peril  of  seizure 
and  impressment,  it  was,  with  good  reason,  believed  that  not  many 
would  take  the  fearful  risk.  And  the  apprehensions  of  the  emigrants 
were  well  founded;  for  all  those  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  over¬ 
taken  at  sea  were,  without  inquiry,  impressed  as  marines  in  the  Eng¬ 
lish  navy.  To  crowd  the  decks  of  their  men-of-war  with  unwilling 
recruits,  torn  from  home  and  friends,  was  the  end  which  the  British 
king  and  ministry  were  willing  to  reach  at  whatever  sacrifice  of  na¬ 
tional  honor.  Finally  to  these  general  wrongs  was  added  a  special  act 
of  violence  which  kindled  the  indignation  of  the  Americans  to  the 
highest  pitch. 

On  the  2 2d  of  June,  1807,  a  frigate,  named  the  Chesapeake  which 
had  just  sailed  out  of  the  bay  of  the  same  name,  was  approached  by  a 
British  man-of-war,  called  the  Leopard.  The  frigate  was  hailed ;  Brit¬ 
ish  officers  came  on  board  as  friends,  and  then,  to  the  astonishment  of 
Commodore  Barron,  who  .commanded  the  Chesapeake ,  made  a  demand, 
to  search  the  vessel  for  deserters.  The  demand  was  indignantly  re¬ 
fused  and  the  ship  cleared  for  action.  But  before  the  guns  could  be 
gotten  in  readiness,  the  Leopard  poured  in  several  destructive  broad¬ 
sides  and  compelled  a  surrender.  Four  men  were  taken  from  the- 
captured  ship,  three  of  whom  proved  to  be  American  citizens ;  the 
fourth,  who  was  an  actual  deserter,  was  tried  by  the  British  naval 
officers  and  hanged.  The  government  of  Great  Britain  disavowed 
the  outrage  of  the  Leopard ,  and  promised  reparation ;  but  the  prom¬ 
ise  was  never  fulfilled. 

The  President  at  once  issued  a  proclamation  forbidding  British 
ships  of  war  to  enter  the  harbors  of  the  United  States.  Still,  there 
was  no  reparation ;  and  on  the  21st  of  December  Congress  passed  the 
celebrated  Embargo  Act.  By  its  provisions  all  American  vessels 
were  detained  in  the  ports  of  the  United  States.  The  object  was,  by 
cutting  off  commercial  intercourse  with  France  and  Great  Britain,  to 
compel  them  to  recognize  the  rights  of  American  neutrality.  But  the- 


386 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


measure  was  of  little  avail ;  and  after  fourteen  months  the  embargo 
act  was  repealed.*  Meanwhile,  in  November  of  1808,  the  British 
government  outdid  all  previous  proceedings  by  issuing  an  “  order  in 
council,”  prohibiting  all  trade  with  France  and  her  allies.  And  Napo¬ 
leon,  not  to  be  outdone,  issued  his  famous  “Milan  decree,”  forbidding 
all  commerce  with  England  and  her  colonies.  Between  these  outra¬ 
geous  acts  of  foreign  nations  and  the  American  embargo,  the  com¬ 
merce  of  the  United  States  was  well-nigh  crushed  out  of  existence. 


While  the  country  was  distracted  with  these  troubles  Robert  Ful¬ 
ton  was  building  the  first  steamboat.  This  event  exercised  a  vast 

influence  on  the  fu¬ 
ture  development  of 
the  nation.  It  was 
of  the  first  impor¬ 
tance  to  the  people 
of  the  inland  States 
that  their  great  riv¬ 
ers  should  be  enliv¬ 
ened  with  rapid  and 
regular  navigation. 
This,  without  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  steam, 
was  impossible;  and 
this  Fulton  success¬ 
fully  accomplished. 
Indeed,  the  steam¬ 
boat  was  the  harbin¬ 
ger  of  a  new  era  in 
civilization.  Fulton 
robekt  fulton.  was  an  Irishman  by 

descent  and  a  Penn¬ 
sylvanian  by  birth.  His  education  was  meagre  and  imperfect.  In 
his  boyhood  he  became  a  painter  of  miniatures  at  Philadelphia.  His 
friends  sent  him  to  London  to  receive  instruction  from  Benjamin 
West;  but  Ids  tastes  led  him  to  the  useful  rather  than  to  the  fine 
arts.  From  London  he  went  to  Paris,  where  he  became  acquainted 
with  Chancellor  Livingston;  and  there  he  conceived  the  project  of 
applying  steam  to  the  purposes  of  navigation.  Returning  to  New 
T  ork,  lie  began  the  construction  of  a  steamboat  in  East  River.  When 

The  embargo  act  was  the  subject  of  much  ridicule.  The  opponents  of  the  measure 
spelling  the  word  backward,  called  it  the  0  Grab  me  act. 


JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


387 


the  ungainly  craft  was  completed  and  brought  around  to  the  Jersey 
side  of  the  city,  Fulton  invited  his  friends  to  go  on  board  and  enjoy 
a  trip  to  Albany.  It  was  the  2d  of  September,  1807.  The  incredu¬ 
lous  crowds  stood  staring  on  the  shore.  The  word  was  given,  and  the 
boat  did  not  move.  Fulton  went  below.  Again  the  word  was  given, 
and  this  time  the  boat  moved.  On  the  next  day  the  happy  company 
reached  Albany.  For  many  years  this  first  rude  steamer,  called  the 
Clermont ,  plied  the  Hudson.  The  old  methods  of  river  navigation 
were  revolutionized. 

But  the  inventive  genius  of  Fulton  was  by  no  means  satisfied 
with  the  great  achievement.  For  years  his  thoughts  had  been  busy 
with  another  project  which  was  considered  by  himself  of  greater  value 
and  importance  to  the  future  interests  of  mankind  than  the  steamboat. 
His  object  was  to  produce  some  kind  of  an  engine,  so  destructive  to 
ships  as  to  banish  naval  warfare  by  making  it  possible  for  any  one  to 
destroy  the  most  formidable  vessels  which  could  be  constructed.  Finally 
his  plans  were  matured,  and  the  result  was  the  invention  of  that  sub¬ 
marine  bomb,  called  the  Torpedo,  which  has  played  so  important  a 
part  in  the  bay  and  river  battles  of  modern  times.  This  terrible  ma¬ 
chine  is  as  distinctly  and  certainly  the  fruit  of  Fulton’s  brain  as  is 
steam  navigation  itself;  but  the  result  has  hardly  met  the  expectations 
of  the  inventor.  As  early  as  1804,  having  completed  the  invention  at 
Paris,  he  offered  it  successively  to  the  governments  of  France,  Hol¬ 
land,  and  Great  Britain ;  but  neither  nation  would  accept  the  patron¬ 
age  of  so  dangerous  an  engine.  In  England  a  public  demonstration 
of  its  destructive  effects  was  given  in  the  presence  of  British  states¬ 
men  and  men  of  science.*  On  the  15th  of  October,  in  Walmer  Roads, 
within  sight  of  the  residence  of  William  Pitt,  the  Danish  brig  Doro¬ 
thea,  which  had  been  given  by  the  government  for  that  purpose,  was 
blown  to  atoms  on  the  first  trial.  But,  although  the  success  of  the 
torpedo  was  manifest,  the  English  ministry  refused  to  accept  the  in¬ 
vention  on  the  ground  that  Great  Britain,  already  mistress  of  the  seas, 
did  not  need  torpedoes,  and  that  their  use  by  other  nations  would  de¬ 
stroy  her  supremacy.  Logic  of  habitual  selfishness !  In  1807,  and 
again  in  1810,  Fulton  offered  his  invention  to  the  United  States,  and 
in  the  latter  year  received  an  appropriation  of  five  thousand  dollars 
for  further  experiments.  Such  was  the  terror  inspired  by  the  torpedo 
that,  although  it  was  not  very  successfully  used  in  the  Avar  that  ensued, 
the  British  cruisers  Avere  notably  shy  of  the  American  coast,  and  many 
a  sea-port  town  Avas  saATed  from  destruction. 

*  Colonel  Congreve,  inventor  of  the  “  Congreve  Rocket,”  was  present  on  the  occasion. 


388 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Jefferson’s  administration  drew  to  a  close.  The  territorial  area 
of  the  United  States  had  been  vastly  extended.  Burr’s  wicked  and 
dangerous  conspiracy  had  come  to  naught.  Pioneers  were  pouring 
into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Explorers  had  crossed  the  mount¬ 
ains  of  the  great  West.  The  woods  by  the  river-shores  resounded 
with  the  cry  of  steam.  But  the  foreign  relations  of  the  United  States 
were  troubled  and  gloomy.  There  were  forebodings  of  war.  The 
President,  following  the  example  of  Washington,  declined  a  third 
election,  and  was  succeeded  in  his  high  office  by  James  Madison  of 
Virginia.  For  Vice-President  George  Clinton  was  re-elected. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

MADISONS  ADMINISTRATION,  AND  WAR  OF  1812 \ 

JAMES  MADISON,  fourth  President  of  the  United  States,  was  born 
at  King  George,  Virginia,  on  the  16th  of  March,  1751.  He  was 
educated  first  in  a  private  school  and  afterwards  at  Princeton  College, 
where  he  was  graduated  at  the  age  of  twenty.  Devoting  himself  to 
the  profession  of  the  law,  he  found  time  for  extensive  reading  and  a 
profound  study  of  morals,  metaphysics,  and  polite  literature.  From 
these  pursuits^  so  congenial  to  his  disposition,  his  sterling  patriotism 
called  him  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  struggles  of  the  Revolution. 
In  the  councils  of  his  own  State  and  afterwards  in  the  Continental 
Congress  his  influence  was  marked  and  powerful.  But  of  all  the  pa¬ 
triot  leaders  Madison  had  the  calmest  and  least  aggressive  spirit.  Not 
by  oratory  and  vehemence  of  passion,  but  by  philosophy  and  cogent 
argument,  did  he  mould  the  opinions  of  his  fellow-men.  It  was  he 
who,  in  1786,  secured  the  passage  by  the  legislature  of  Virginia  of 
the  resolution,  suggested  by  Washington,  calling  for  a  convention  of 
the  States  at  Annapolis — a  work  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of 
the  Federal  Constitution.  Afterwards,  with  Hamilton  and  Jay,  he 
defended  that  great  instrument  in  the  Federalist ;  but  with  the  new 
division  of  parties,  his  views  underwent  a  change  and  he  joined  him¬ 
self  with  the  Jeffersonian  school  of  statesmen.  For  eight  years  he 
held  the  office  of  secretary  of  state;  and  on  the  4th  of  March,  1809, 
was  inaugurated  as  Jefferson’s  successor  in  the  presidency.  He  owed 
his  election  to  the  Democratic  party,  whose  sympathy  with  France 
and  hostility  to  the  policy  of  Great  Britain  were  well  known.  Three 


31  A I)  ISO  N’  S  AD  MIN  1ST R  A  TION. 


389 


days  before  the  new  administration  came  into  power,  the  embargo  act 
was  repealed  by  Congress ;  but  another  measure  was  adopted  instead, 
called  the  non-intercourse  act.  By  its  terms  American  merchantmen 
were  allowed  to  go  abroad,  but  were  forbidden  to  trade  with  Great  Brit¬ 
ain.  Mr.  Erskine,  the 
British  minister,  now 
gave  notice  that  by 
the  10th  of  June  the 
“  orders  in  council,” 
so  far  as  they  affect¬ 
ed  the  United  States, 
should  be  repealed. 

But  the  British  gov¬ 
ernment  disavowed 
the  act  of  its  agent; 
and  the  orders  stood 
as  before. 

In  the  following 
spring  the  emperor 
of  the  French  issued 
a  decree  authoriz¬ 
ing  the  seizure  of  all 
American  vessels 
that  might  approach 
the  ports  of  France 
or  other  harbors  held  by  his  troops.  But  in  November  of  the  same 
year  the  hostile  decree  was  reversed,  and  all  restrictions  on  the  com-, 
merce  of  the  United  States  were  removed.  If  Great  Britain  had  acted 
with  equal  liberality  and  justfce,  there  would  have  been  no  further 
complaint.  But  that  government,  with  peculiar  obstinacy,  adhered  to 
its  former  measures,  and  sent  ships  of  war  to  hover  around  the  Amer¬ 
ican  ports  and  enforce  the  odious  orders  issued  in  the  previous  years. 

*  It  was  only  a  question  of  time  when  such  insolence  would  lead  to  re¬ 
taliation  and  war. 

The  affairs  of  the  two  nations  were  fast  approaching  a  crisis.  It 
became  more  and  more  apparent  that  the  wrongs  perpetrated  by  Great 
Britain  against  the  United  States  would  have  to  be  corrected  by  force 
of  arms.  That  England,  after  such  a  career  of  arrogance,  would  now 
make  reparation  for  the  outrages  committed  by  her  navy  was  no  longer 
to  be  hoped  for.  The  ministry  of  that  same  George  III.  with  whom 
the  colonies  had  struggled  in  the  Revolution  still  directed  the  affaire 


JAMES  MADISON. 


390 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  the  kingdom;  from  him,  now  grown  old  and  insane,  nothing  was 
to  be  expected.  The  government  of  the  United  States  had  fallen 
completely  under  control  of  the  party  which  sympathized  with  France, 
while  the  Federal  party,  from  its  leaning  toward  British  interests  and 
institutions,  grew  weaker  year  by  year.  The  American  people,  smart¬ 
ing  under  the  insults  of  Great  Britain,  had  adopted  the  motto  of  Free 
Trade  and  Sailors’  Bights,  and  for  that  motto  they  had  made  up 
their  minds  to  fight.  The  elections,  held  between  1808  and  1811, 
showed  conclusively  the  drift  of  public  opinion;  the  sentiment  of  the 
country  was  that  war  was  preferable  to  further  humiliation  and  dis¬ 
grace. 

In  the  spring  of  1810  the  third  census  of  the  United  States  was 
completed.  The  population  had  increased  to  seven  million  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  forty  thousand  souls.  The  States  now  numbered  seventeen, 
and  several  new  Territories  were  preparing  for  admission  into  the 
Union.  The  resources  of  the  nation  were  abundant;  its  institutions 
deeply  rooted  and  flourishing.  But  with  the  rapid  march  of  civilization 
westward  the  jealousy  of  the  Red  man  was  aroused,  and  Indiana  Ter¬ 
ritory  was  afflicted  with  an  Indian  war. 

The  Shawnees  were  the  leading  tribe  in  the  country  between  the 
Ohio  and  the  Wabash.  Their  chief  was  the  famous  Tecumtha,  a  brave 
and  sagacious  warrior;  and  with  him  was  joined  his  brother  Elkswa- 
tawa,  called  the  Prophet.  The  former  was  a  man  of  real  genius;  the 
latter,  a  vile  impostor  who  pretended  to  have  revelations  from  the 
spirit- world.  But  they  both  worked  together  in  a  common  cause;  and 
their  plan  was  to  unite  all  the  nations  of  the  North-west  Territory  in 
,a  final  effort  to  beat  back  the  whites.  When,  therefore,  in  September 
of  1809,  Governor  Harrison  met  the  chiefs  of  several  tribes  at  Fort 
Wayne,  and  honorably  purchased  the*  Indian  titles  to  three  million 
acres  of  land,  Tecumtha  refused  to  sign  the  treaty,  and  threatened 
death  to  those  who  did.  In  the  year  that  followed  he  visited  the 
nations  as  far  south  as  Tennessee  and  exhorted  them  to  lay  aside  their 
sectional  jealousies,  in  the  hope  of  saving  their  hunting-grounds. 

Governor  Harrison  from  Vincennes,  the  capital  of  the  Territory, 
remonstrated  with  Tecumtha  and  the  Prophet,  held  several  conferences 
with  them,  and  warned  them  of  what  would  follow  from  their  proceed¬ 
ings.  Still,  the  leaders  insisted  that  they  would  have  back  the  lands 
which  had  been  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne.  The  governor 
stood  firm,  sent  for  a  few  companies  of  soldiers  and  mustered  the  mi¬ 
litia  of  the  Territory.  The  Indians  began  to  prowl  through  the  Wa¬ 
bash  Valley,  murdering  and  stealing.  In  order  to  secure  the  country 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


391 


and  enforce  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  Harrison  advanced  up  the  river 
to  Terra  Haute,  built  a  fort  which  received  his  own  name,  passed  on 
to  Montezuma,  where  another  block-house  was  built,  and  then  hastened 
toward  the  town  of  the  Prophet,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe. 
When  within  a  few  miles  of  his  destination,  Harrison  was  met  by  In¬ 
dian  ambassadors,  who  asked  for  the  appointment  of  a  conference  on 
the  following  day.  Their  request  was  granted ;  and  the  American 
army  encamped  for  the  night.  The  place  selected  was  a  piece  of  high 
ground  covered  with  oaks.  Burnet  Creek  skirted  the  encampment  on 
the  west.  Beyond  that,  as  well  as  to  the  east  of  the  oak  grove,  were 
prairie  marsh-lands  covered  with  tall  grass.  Before  daybreak  on  the 
following  morning,  7th  of  November,  1811,  the  treacherous  savages, 
numbering  seven  hundred,  crept  through  the  marshes,  surrounded 
Harrison’s  position  and  burst  upon  the  camp  like  demons.  But  the 
American  militia  were  under  arms  in  a  moment,  and  fighting  in  the 
darkness,  held  the  Indians  in  check  until  daylight,  and  then  routed 
them  in  several  vigorous  charges.  On  the  next  day  the  Americans 
burned  the  Prophet’s  town  and  soon  afterward  returned  victorious  to 
Vincennes.  Tecumtha  was  in  the  South  at  the  time  of  the  battle ; 
when  he  returned  and  found  his  people  scattered  and  subdued,  he  re¬ 
paired  to  Canada  and  joined  the  standard  of  the  British. 

Meanwhile,  the  powers  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
Aad  come  into  conflict  on  the  ocean.  On  the  16th  of  May  Commo¬ 
dore  Rodgers,  cruising  in  the  American  frigate  President ,  hailed  a 
vessel  off  the  coast  of  Virginia.  Instead  of  a  polite  answer,  to  his 
salutation,  he  received  a  cannon-ball  in  the  mainmast.  Other  shots  fol¬ 
lowed,  and  Rodgers  responded  with  a  broadside,  silencing  the  enemy’s 
guns.  In  the  morning  —  for  it  was  already  dark  —  the  hostile  ship 
was  found  to  be  the  British  sloop-of-war  Little  Belt.  The  vessel  had 
been  severely  though  justly  punished  by  the  President,  having  eleven 
men  killed  and  twenty-one  wounded.  The  event  produced  great  ex¬ 
citement  throughout  the  country. 

On  the  4th  of  November,  1811,  the  twelfth  Congress  of  the 
United  States  assembled.  In  the  body  were  many  men  of  marked 
ability  and  patriotism.  John  C.  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina  now  took 
his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Henry  Clay, 
already  distinguished  as  a  statesman,  was  chosen  speaker.  From  the 
first  it  was  seen  that  war  was  inevitable.  It  was  impossible  for  the 
United  States,  knowing  that  more  than  six  thousand  American  citi¬ 
zens  had  been  impressed  into  the  British  navy,  to  endure,  without  dis¬ 
honor,  further  injury  and  insolence.  Still,  many  hoped  for  peace;  and 


392 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES . 


the  winter  passed  without  decisive  measures.  The  President  himself 
had  no  disposition  and  little  capacity  for  war;  and  his  various  mes¬ 
sages  to  Congress  were  marked  as  the  productions  of  a  ruler  over-cau¬ 
tious  and  timid.  But  not  so  with  the  fiery  leaders  of  the  Democracy 
who  supported  the  President’s  administration ;  and  notwithstanding 
the  opposition  of  the  Federalists,  the  war-spirit  fired  the  popular  heart. 

In  the  mean  time  a  transaction  was  brought  to  light  which  cre¬ 
ated  intense  excitement  and  roused  the  indignation  of  the  whole 
country.  On  the  night  of  the  2d  of  February,  1812,  an  Irishman, 
named  John  Henry,  now  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
called  at  the  President’s  mansion  and  revealed  to  him  the  astounding- 
fact  that  the  ministry  of  Great  Britain,  cooperating  with  Sir  James 
Craig,  governor  of  Canada,  had  been  engaged  for  some  years  in  a  trea¬ 
sonable  scheme  to  destroy  the  American  Union!  Henry  bore  a  letter 
from  Governor  Gerry  of  Massachusetts,  and  all  the  documents  neces¬ 
sary  to  prove  the  truth  of  his  statements.  As  early  as  1808  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  Canadian  governor  had  been  called  to  certain  published 
articles  written  by  Henry  against  republican  governments;  and  the 
latter  was  summoned  to  Montreal.  From  him  Cram  learned  of  the 

o 

intense  hostility  of  the  Federal  party  to  the  administration  and  of  the 
great  distress  of  New  England  on  account  of  the  Embargo  and  other 
restrictions  on  commerce.  These  facts  were  communicated  to  the 
British  ministry,  and  Sir  James  promised  Henry  an  annual  salary  of 
five  thousand  dollars  to  return  to  Boston  and  become  the  secret  agent 
of  England  and  Canada. 

The  purpose  of  the  conspirators  was  to  aggravate  the  popular  dis¬ 
content  of  New  England  until  the  Eastern  States  should  be  induced 
to  secede  from  the  Union  and  join  themselves  with  Canada.  But 
with  the  repeal  of  the  Embargo  and  the  subsidence  of  political  excite¬ 
ment,  Henry  found  the  depravity  of  his  business  only  equaled  by  its 
unprofitableness.  The  people  of  Massachusetts  were  in  no  humor  to 
be  led  into  a  rebellion.  Sir  James  Craig  died,  and  Henry,  unsuc¬ 
cessful  and  unpaid,  went,  in  1811,  to  London  and  presented  his  claim 
for  thirty  thousand  pounds  to  the  English  ministers.  By  them  he  was 
well  received ;  but  the  payment  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  for  services 
which  had  resulted  in  nothing  was  reckoned  a  serious  matter;  and 
Henry  was  sent  back  to  get  whatever  remuneration  he  could  from  Sir 
George  Prevost,  the  successor  of  Craig  in  the  governorship  of  Canada. 
Enraged  at  his  treatment,  the  spy,  instead  of  returning  to  Montreal, 
sailed  to  Boston,  and  going  thence  to  Washington  divulged  the  whole 
conspiracy  to  the  President,  surrendered  his  correspondence  with 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


393 


Craig,  and  received  therefor  fifty  thousand  dollars  out  of  the  secret 
service  fund  of  the  United  States.  The  disclosure  of  this  perfidious 
business  contributed  greatly  to  consolidate  public  sentiment  against 
Great  Britain  and  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  war  party  in  ■  the 
government. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1812,  an  act  was  passed  by  Congress  laying 
an  embargo  for  ninety  days  on  all  British  vessels  within  the  jurisdic¬ 
tion  of  the  United  States.  But  Great  Britain  would  not  recede  from 
her  hostile  attitude.  One  of  the  ministers  declared  that  it  was  “  an 
ancient  and  well-established  right”  of  His  Majesty’s  government  to 
impress  British  seamen  on  board  of  neutral  vessels.  Before  the  final 
decision  of  England  was  known,  Louisiana,  the  eighteenth  State,  was, 
on  the  8th  of  April,  admitted  into  the  Union.  The  area  of  the  new 
commonwealth  was  more  than  forty-one  thousand  square  miles;  and 
her  population,  according  to  the  census  of  1810,  had  reached  seventy- 
seven  thousand. 

On  the  4th  of  June  a  resolution  declaring  war  against  Great 
Britain  was  passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives.  On  the  17th  of 
the  same  month  the  bill  received  the  sanction  of  the  Senate ;  and  two 
days  afterward  the  President  issued  his  proclamation  of  war.  Vigor¬ 
ous  preparations  for  the  impending  conflict  were  made  by  Congress. 
It  was  ordered  to  raise  twenty-five  thousand  regular  troops  and  fifty 
thousand  volunteers.  At  the  same  time  the  several  States  were  re¬ 
quested  to  call  out  a  hundred  thousand  militia  for  the  defence  of  the 
coasts  and  harbors.  A  national  loan  of  eleven  million  dollars  was  au¬ 
thorized.  Henry  Dearborn  of  Massachusetts  was  chosen  first  major- 
general  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  army. 

Great  Britain  was  already  prepared  for  the  conflict.  Her  armies 
in  Europe  were  immense  and  thoroughly  equipped.  Napoleon  just  at 
this  time  began  his  famous  invasion  of  Russia,  and  the  allied  nations 
of  Western  Europe  were  for  a  while  relieved  of  their  apprehensions. 
The  British  navy  amounted  to  no  less  than  a  thousand  and  thirty-six 
vessels.  Of  these  there  were  two  hundred  and  fifty-four  ships-of-tlie- 
line,  not  one  of  which  carried  less  than  seventy-four  guns  of  large 
caliber.  At  various  stations  on  the  American  coast  there  were  eighty- 
five  war-vessels  bearing  the  English  flag,  and  ready  for  immediate  ac¬ 
tion.  Lake  Ontario  was  commanded  by  four  British  brigs  carrying  an 
aggregate  of  sixty  guns.  The  Canadian  armies  of  England  amounted 
to  seven  thousand  five  hundred  regulars  and  forty  thousand  militia. 
Back  of  all  these  forces  and  armaments  stood  the  seemingly  inexhaust¬ 
ible  British  treasury,  with  the  ambitious  young  Lord  Castlereagh  and 


394 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


his  associate  ministers  to  disburse  it.  As  to  George  III.,  old  age  and 
incurable  insanity  had  at  last  prevailed  to  displace  him  from  the  throne 
and  to  make  the  Prince  Regent,  George  IV.,  the  actual  sovereign.  In 
all  that  appertained  to  preparation  and  readiness  for  the  conflict  the 

United  States  bore  no  comparison  to  the  pow¬ 
erful  foe. 

The  first  movement  of  the  war  was  made 
by  General  William  Hull,  governor  of  Michi¬ 
gan  Territory.  A  force  of  twelve  hundred  Ohio 
volunteers,  together  with  three  hundred  regu¬ 
lars,  was  organized  at  Dayton  for  the  purpose 
of  overawing  the  Indians  on  the  north-western 
frontier.  Hull  was  also  authorized,  should  cir¬ 
cumstances  warrant  such  a  course,  to  invade  and 
conquer  Canada.  The  march  began  on  the  1st 
of  June;  and  it  was  a  full  month  before  the 
6cene  of  hull’s  campaign,  army,  toiling  through  more  than  two  hundred 

miles  of  forests,  reached  the  western  extremity 
of  Lake  Erie.  Arriving  at  the  Maumee,  Hull  despatched  his  baggage, 
stores  and  official  papers  in  a  boat  to  Detroit.  But  the  British  forces 
posted  at  Malden  had  already  been  informed  of  the  declaration  of 
hostilities;  and  Hull’s  boat  with  every  thing  on  board  was  captured. 
Nevertheless,  the  American  army  pressed  on  to  Detroit,  where  early 
in  July  the  general  received  despatches  informing  him  of  the  dec¬ 
laration  of  Avar,  and  directing  him  to  proceed  with  the  invasion  of 
Canada.  On  the  12th  of  the  month  he  crossed  the  Detroit  River  to 
SandAvich  Avith  the  avowed  purpose  of  capturing  Malden.  And  this 
might  easily  have  been  accomplished  had  not  the  inefficiency  of  the 
general  checked  the  enthusiasm  of  the  army. 

Meanwhile,  the  neAvs  came  that  the  American  post  at  Mackinaw 
had  been  surprised  and  captured  by  the  British.  This  intelligence  fur¬ 
nished  Hull  a  good  excuse  for  recrossing  the  river  to  Detroit.  Here 
he  received  intelligence  that  Major  Brush,  sent  fonvard  by  Governor 
Meigs  of  Ohio,  Avas  approaching  Avith  reinforcements  and  supplies. 
Major  Van  Horne  Avas  accordingly  despatched  Avith  a  body  of  troops 
to  meet  Brush  at  the  River  Raisin  and  conduct  him  safely  to  Detroit. 
But  Tecumtha,  assisted  by  some  British  troops,  had  cut  the  lines  of 
communication  and  laid  an  ambush  for  Van  Horne’s  forces  in  the 
neigborhood  of  BroAvnstoAvn.  The  scheme  Avas  successful;  Van  Horne 
ran  into  the  trap  and  Avas  severely  defeated.  Any  kind  of  energetic 
movement  on  Hull’s  part  Avould  have  retrieved  the  disaster;  but  en- 


MADISON'S  AI) MIN  1ST R  A  T10N. 


395 


ergy  was  altogether  wanting ;  and  when,  three  days  later,  Colonel  Mil¬ 
ler  with  another  detachment  attacked  and  routed  the  savages  with  great 
loss,  he  was  hastily  recalled  to  Detroit.  The  officers  and  men  lost  all 
faith  in  the  commander,  and  there  were  symptoms  of  a  mutiny. 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Brock,  the  governor  of  Upper  Can¬ 
ada,  arrived  at  Malden  and  took  command  of  the  British  forces.  Act¬ 
ing  in  conjunction  with  Tecumtha,  he  crossed  the  river,  and  on  the 
16th  of  August  advanced  to  the  siege  of  Detroit.  The  Americans  in 
their  trenches  outside  of  the  fort  were  eager  for  battle,  and  stood  with 
lighted  matches  awaiting  the  order  to  fire.  When  the  British  were 
within  five  hundred  yards,  to  the  amazement  of  both  armies  Hull 
hoisted  a  white  flag  over  the  fort.  There  was  a  brief  parley  and  then 
a  surrender,  perhaps  the  most  shameful  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States.  Not  only  the  army  in  Detroit,  but  all  the  forces  under  Hull’s 
command,  became  prisoners  of  war.  The  whole  of  Michigan  Territory 
was  surrendered  to  the  British.  At  the  capitulation  the  American  offi¬ 
cers  in  rage  and  despair  stamped  the  ground,  broke  their  swords  and 
tore  off  their  epaulets.  The  whole  country  was  humiliated  at  the  dis¬ 
graceful  business.  The  government  gave  thirty  British  prisoners  in 
exchange  for  Hull,  and  he  was  brought  before  a  court-martial  charged 
with  treason,  cowardice  and  conduct  unbecoming  an  officer.  He  was 
convicted  on  the  last  two  charges,  and  sentenced  to  be  shot;  but  the 
President,  having  compassion  on  one  who  had  served  the  country  in 
the  Revolution,  pardoned  him.  After  all  the  discussions  that  have 
been  had  on  Hull  and  his  campaign,  the  best  that  can  be  said  pf  him 
is  that  he  was  a  patriot  and  a  coward. 

About  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Detroit,  Fort  Dearborn,  on  the 
present  site  of  Chicago,  was  invested  by  an  army  of  Indians.  The 
garrison  was  feeble,  and  the  commandant  proposed  a  surrender  on 
condition  that  his  men  should  retire  without  molestation.  This  was 
agreed  to ;  but  the  savages,  finding  that  the  garrison  had  destroyed 
the  whisky  that  was  in  the  fort,  fell  upon  the  retreating  soldiers,  killed 
some  of  them,  and  distributed  the  rest  as  captives.  On  the  day  after 
the  capitnlation  Fort  Dearborn  was  burned  to  the  ground. 

These  losses,  however,  were  more  than  compensated  by  the  brill¬ 
iant  achievements  of  the  young  American  navy.  From  the  first  it 
became  apparent  that  the  war  was  destined  to  be  a  conflict  on  the  sea- 
coast  and  the  ocean.  The  United  States  would  act  for  the  most  part 
on  the  defensive,  and  Great  Britain  would  rely  chiefly  upon  her  navy. 
The  condition  of  both  nations  was  such  as  to  provoke  this  sort  of  war¬ 
fare.  On  the  one  side  was  the  British  armament  superior  to  any  other 


396 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  '  « 


iu  the  world,  and  on  the  other  an  exposed  sea-coast,  a  few  fortresses, 
and  a  navy  of  almost  insignificant  proportions.  From  the  beginning, 
the  policy  of  the  American  government  had  been  distinctly  declared 
against  a  standing  army  and  a  regular  fleet.  It  was  held  that  a  citizen 
soldiery  and  an  extemporized  flotilla  would  be  sufficient  for  every 
emergency.  A  large  military  establishment,  said  the  defenders  of  the 
American  system,  is  enormously  expensive  and  a  constant  menace  to 
civil  liberty.  After  the  Revolution,  especially  during  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  Jefferson,  the  military  spirit  was  discouraged  and  the  defenses 
of  the  country  fell  into  decay.  In  1808  the  whole  coast  of  Maine 
was  defended  only  by  Fort  Sumner,  at  Portland.  New  Hampshire  had 
but  one  fortress,  a  half  ruined  block-house  at  Portsmouth.  On  the 
coast  of  Massachusetts  four  fortifications  —  one  at  Cape  Ann,  one  at 
Salem,  one  at  Marblehead,  and  Fort  Independence  in  Boston  Harbor 
furnished  the  only  security  against  attack.  In  the  neighborhood  of 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  there  were  six  works,  some  of  importance, 
others  insignificant.  New  London,  Connecticut,  was  defended  by  Fort 
Trumbull,  a  block-house  of  considerable  strength  but  in  bad  repair. 
On  Governor’s  Island,  in  New  York  Harbor,  stood  Fort  Jay,  which, 
together  with  the  Battery  at  the  south  end  of  Manhattan  and  some 
slight  fortifications  on  Ellis’s  and  Bedloe’s  Islands,  furnished  a  toler¬ 
able  protection.  The  whole  coast  of  New  Jersey  lay  open  to  invasion. 
On  Mud  Island  in  the  Delaware,  a  short  distance  below  Philadelphia, 
stood  the  formidable  Fort  Mifflin,  an  old  British  fort  of  the  Revolu¬ 
tion.  Not  less  in  strength  and  importance  was  Fort  McHenry  on  the 
Patapsco,  commanding  the  approach  to  Baltimore.  Annapolis  was 
defended  by  Fort  Severn,  then  only  a  group  of  breast- works.  Nor¬ 
folk,  Virginia,  relied  for  protection  on  a  fort  of  the  same  name  and 
another  work,  called  Fort  Nelson,  on  the  opposite  side  of  Elizabeth 
River.  In  Charleston  Harbor  stood  Fort  Johnson  on  James’s  Island, 
Fort  Pinckney  in  front  of  the  city,  and  Fort  Moultrie  of  Revolutionary 
fame.  Upon  these  scattered  fortifications  and  the  terror  inspired  by 
Fulton’s  torpedoes  the  Americans  must  depend  for  the  defense  of  a 
coast-line  reaching  from  Passamaquoddy  to  the  St.  Mary’s. 

Such  was  the  attitude  and  relative  strength  of  the  two  nations. 
Great,  therefore,  was  the  astonishment  of  the  world  when  the  American 
sailors,  not  waiting  to  be  attacked,  went  forth  without  a  tremor  to 
smite  the  mistress  of  the  seas.  And  greater  the  admiration  when  a 
series  of  brilliant  victories  declared  for  the  flag  of  the  Republic. 
During  the  summer  of  1812  the  navy  of  the  United  States  won  a  just 
and  lasting  renown.  On  the  19th  of  August  the  frigate  Constitution , 


MADISON’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


397 


commanded  by  Captain  Isaac  Hull,  overtook  the  British  ship-of-war 
Guerriere ,  off  the  coast  of  Massachusetts.  Captain  Dacres,  who  com¬ 
manded  the  British  vessel,  had  been  boasting  of  his  prowess  and  send¬ 
ing  challenges  to  American  vessels  to  come  out  and  fight;  now  there 
was  an  opportunity  to  exhibit  his  valor.  The  vessels  manoeuvred  for 
a  while,  the  Constitution  closing  with  her  antagonist,  until  at  half-pistol 
shot  she  poured  in  a  terrible  broadside,  sweeping  the  decks  of  the 
Guerriere  and  deciding  the  contest.  Dacres,  after  losing  fifteen  men 
killed  and  sixty-three  wounded,  struck  his  colors  and  surrendered  bis 
shattered  vessel  as  a  prize.  The  American  loss  was  seven  killed  and 
an  equal  number  wounded.  On  the  following  morning  the  Guerriere, 
being  unmanageable,  was  blown  up ;  and  Hull  returned  to  port  with 
his  prisoners  and  spoils. 

On  the  18th  of  October  the  American  sloop-of-war  Wasp,  of 
eighteen  guns,  under  command  of  Captain  Jones,  fell  in  with  a  fleet 
of  British  merchantmen  off  the  coast  of  Virginia.  The  squadron  was 
under  convoy  of  the  brig  Frolic,  of  twenty-two  guns,  commanded  by 
Captain  Whinyates,  who  put  his  vessel  between  the  merchantmen  and 
the  Wasp,  and  prepared  for  battle.  A  terrible  engagement  ensued, 
lasting  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  Both  ships  became  nearly  help¬ 
less;  but  the  Wasp  closed  with  her  foe  and  delivered  a  final  broadside 
which  completely  cleared  the  deck.  The  American  crew  then  boarded 
Hie  Frolic  and  struck  the  British  flag;  for  not  a  seaman  was  left  above 
deck  to  perform  that  service.  Scarcely  had  the  smoke  of  the  conflict 
cleared  away  when  the  Poictiers,  a  British  seventy-four  gun  ship,  bore 
down  upon  the  scene,  captured  the  Wasp  and  retook  the  wreck  of  the 
Frolic.  But  the  fame  of  Captain  Jones’s  victory  was  not  dimmed  by 
the  catastrophe. 

Seven  days  afterward,  Commodore  Decatur,  commanding  the 
frigate  United  States,  of  forty-four  guns,  attacked  the  British  frigate 
Macedonia,  of  forty-nine  guns.  The  battle  was  fought  a  short  distance 
west  of  the  Canary  Islands.  After  a  two  hours’  engagement,  in  which 
the  United  States  was  but  little  injured,  the  Macedonia  surrendered, 
with  a  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  of  more  than  a  hundred  men.  On 
the  12th  of  December  the  ship  Essex,  commanded  by  Captain  Porter, 
captured  the  Nocton,  a  British  packet,  having  on  board  fifty-five  thou¬ 
sand  dollars  in  specie.  More  important  still  was  the  capture  of  the 
frigate  Java  by  the  Constitution,  now  under  command  of  Commodore 
Bainbridge.  On  the  29th  of  December  the  two  vessels  met  off  San 
Salvador,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil.  A  furious  battle  ensued,  continuing 
for  two  hours.  Every  mast  was  torn  from  the  British  ship,  and  her 


398 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


hull  was  burst  with  round  shot.  The  deck  was  made  slippery  with  the 
blood  of  more  than  two  hundred  killed  and  wounded  seamen.  The 
vessel  was  reduced  to  a  wreck  before  her  flag  was  struck;  then  the 
crew  and  passengers,  numbering  upward  of  four  hundred,  were  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Constitution,  and  the  hull  of  the  Java  was  burned  at  sea. 
The  news  of  these  successive  victories  roused  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
people  to  the  highest  pitch.  In  the  course  of  the  year  two  hundred 
and  fifty  British  ships,  carrying  three  thousand  sailors,  and  cargoes  of 
immense  value,  were  captured  by  the  American  cruisers.  Filled  with 
exultation,  the  people  of  the  United  States  saw  in  these  naval  tri¬ 
umphs  the  omens  of  complete  overthrow  to  the  arrogant  dominion  of 
Britain  on  $he  seas.  The  nations  of  Europe  heard  in  astonishment. 
France  was  well  pleased;  for  in  these  humiliations  of  her  great  enemy 
she  witnessed  the  fulfillment  of  Napoleon’s  prophecy  when,  at  the 
cession  of  Louisiana,  he  exclaimed  with  delight :  “  There !  I  have  this 
day  given  to  England  a  maritime  rival  that  will  sooner  or  later  hum¬ 
ble  her  pride!”  For  a  while  the  English  themselves  were  well-nigh 
paralyzed.  The  British  newspapers  burst  forth  raging  and  declared 
that  the  time-honored  flag  of  England  had  been  disgraced  “by  a  piece 
of  striped  bunting  flying  at  the  mast-heads  of  a  few  fir-built  frigates, 
manned  by  a  handful  of  *  *  *  *  and  outlaws !”  And  the  com¬ 

ment,  though  stated  in  unpleasant  language,  was  true! 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1812  military  operations 
were  active,  but  not  decisive,  on  the  Niagara  frontier.  The  troops 
in  that  quarter,  consisting  of  the  New  York  militia,  a  few  regulars, 
and  recruits  from  other  States,  were  commanded  by  General  Stephen 
Van  Rensselaer.  The  first  movement  of  the  Americans  was  made 
against  Queenstown,  on  the  Canada  side  of  the  river.  On  the  13th 
of  October  a  thousand  men  were  embarked  in  boats  and  landed  on 
the  western  shore.  They  were  resisted  at  the  water’s  edge,  and 
Colonel  Solomon  Van  Rensselaer,  the  leader,  was  wounded.  The 
subordinate  officers  led  the  charge,  and  the  British  batteries  on  the 
heights  of  Queenstown  were  carried.  The  enemy’s  forces  were  ral¬ 
lied,  however,  by  General  Brock,  and  returning  to  the  charge,  were 
a  second  time  repulsed.  General  Brock  fell  mortally  wounded.  The 
Americans  began  to  entrench  themselves,  and  orders  were  sent  across 
the  river  for  the  remaining  division,  twelve  hundred  strong,  to  has¬ 
ten  to  the  rescue.  But  the  American  militia  on  the  eastern  shore  de¬ 
clared  that  they  were  there  to  defend  the  United  States,  and  not  to 
invade  Canada.  There  they  stood  all  afternoon,  while  their  comrades 
at  Queenstown  were  surrounded  by  the  British,  who  came  with  strong 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


393 


reinforcements  from  Fort  George.  The  Americans  bravely  defended 
themselves  until  they  had  lost  a  hundred  and  sixty  men  in  killed  and 
wounded,  and  were  then  obliged  to  surrender.  General  Van  Rensse¬ 
laer,  disgusted  at  the  conduct  of  the  New  York  militia,  resigned  his 
command,  and  was  succeeded  by  General 
Alexander  Smyth  of  Virginia. 

This  officer  began  his  career  as  com¬ 
mander  by  issuing  two  proclamations  that 
would  have  put  to  shame  the  bulletins  of 
Bonaparte  or  Caesar.  He  declared  that  in 
a  few  days  his  standards  should  be  planted 
in  the  strongholds  of  Canada.  After  cross¬ 
ing  Niagara  and  conquering  the  British  do¬ 
minions,  he  would  annex  them  to  the  United 
States !  His  predecessors  in  command  of  the 
army  had  been  popular  men,  but  wholly  des¬ 
titute  of  skill  or  experience  in  the  art  of  war ! 

The  soldiers  of  the  “Army  of  the  Center,”  as 
he  called  the  militia  under  his  authority,  had 
now  a  general  who  would  lead  them  to  cer¬ 
tain  victory !  Every  man  who  performed  a 
gallant  action  should  have  his  name  immortalized  in  the  annals  of  his 
country !  And  so  on  for  quantity  and  style. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Americans,  numbering  between  four  and 
five  thousand,  had  been  rallied  at  Black  Rock,  a  few  miles  north 
of  Buffalo.  From  this  point,  on  the  28th  of  November,  a  company 
was  sent  across  to  the  Canada  shore ;  but  instead  of  following  with 
a  stronger  detachment,  General  Smyth  ordered  the  advance  party  to 
return.  A  few  days  afterward  another  crossing  was  planned,  and  the 
Americans  were  already  embarked,  when  they  were  commanded  to 
return  to  winter  quarters.  The  militia  became  mutinous.  Smyth  was 
charged  with  cowardice  and  disloyalty,  and  after  three  months  was 
deposed  from  his  command.  Thus  ended  the  military  operations  of 
1812.  In  the  autumn  Madison  was  re-elected  President;  the  choice 
for  Vice-President  fell  on  Elbridge  Gerry  of  Massachusetts.  In  the 
debates  at  the  opening  of  Congress  the  policy  of  the  administration 
was  strongly  condemned  by  the  opponents  of  the  war;  but  vigorous 
measures  were  adopted  for  strengthening  the  army  and  navy. 


T 

MILKS  4 

8 

Vi  IB 

THE  NIAGARA  FRONTIER,  1812. 


CHAPTER  L. 


WAR  OF  1812.— CONTINUED. 

IN  the  beginning  of  1813  the  American  army  was  organized  in  three 
divisions:  the  Army  of  the  North,  commanded  by  General 
Wade  Hampton,  to  operate  in  the  country  of  Lake  Champlain;  the 
Army  of  the  Centre,  under  direction  of  the  commander-in-chief,  to 
resume  offensive  movements  on  the  Niagara  frontier  and  Lake  Ontario ; 
the  Army  of  the  West,  under  command  of  General  Winchester, 
who  was  soon  superseded  by  General  Harrison.  Early  in  January  the 
latter  division,  made  up  of  various  detachments  of  militia  from  the 
Western  States,  moved  toward  the  head  of  Lake  Erie  to  regain  the 
ground  lost  by  Hull  in  the  previous  summer.  On  the  10th  of  the  month 
the  American  advance,  composed  of  eight  hundred  men  under  Winchester, 
reached  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee.  A  body  of  British  and  Indians  was 
posted  at  Frenchtown,  on  the  river  Raisin,  thirty  miles  from  Winchester’s 
camp.  A  detachment  of  Americans  pressed  forward,  attacked  the  enemy, 
captured  the  town,  encamped  there,  and  on  the  20th  of  the  month  were 
joined  by  Winchester  with  the  main  division. 

Two  days  afterward  the  Americans  were  suddenly  assaulted  by  a 
force  of  a  thousand  five  hundred  British  and  Indians  under  command  of 
General  Proctor.  A  severe  battle  was  fought,  each  party  losing  nearly 
three  hundred  men.  The  British  were  checked,  and  for  a  while  the  issue 
was  doubtful ;  but  General  Winchester,  having  been  taken  by  the  enemy, 
advised  his  forces  to  capitulate  under  a  pledge  of  protection  given  by 
Proctor  and  his  subordinates.  As  soon  as  the  surrender  was  made  the 
British  general  set  off  at  a  rapid  rate  to  return  to  Malden.  The  American 
wounded  were  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  savages,  who  at  once  began  their 
work  with  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  and  torch.  The  two  houses 
into  which  most  of  the  wounded  had  been  crowded  were  fired,  while  the 
painted  barbarians  stood  around  and  hurled  back  into  the  flames  whoever 
attempted  to  escape.  The  rest  of  the  prisoners  were  dragged  away  through 
untold  sufferings  to  Detroit,  where  they  were  ransomed  at  an  enormous 
price.  This  shameful  campaign  has  fixed  on  the  name  of  Proctor  the 
indelible  stain  of  infamy. 

General  Harrison,  on  hearing  the  fate  of  Winchester’s  division,  fell 
back  from  the  Maumee,  but  soon  returned  and  built  Fort  Meigs.  Here 


WAR  OF  12. 


401 


he  remained  until  the  1st  of  May,  when  he  was  besieged  by  a  force  of  two 
thousand  British  and  savages,  led  by  Proctor  and  Tecumtha.  Meanwhile, 
General  Clay  with  twelve  hundred  Kentuckians  advanced  to  the  relief  of 
the  fort.  The  besiegers  were  attacked  in  turn,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
besieged  made  a  successful  sally.  But  for  the  mistake  of  Colonel  Dudley, 
who  allowed  his  detachment  to  be  cut  off  and  captured,  the  British  would 
have  been  completely  routed.  Again  the  American  prisoners  were  treated 
with  savage  cruelty  until  Tecumtha,  not  Proctor,  interfered  to  save  them. 
In  a  few  days  the  Indians  deserted  in  large  numbers,  and  Proctor,  be¬ 
coming  alarmed,  abandoned  the  siege,  and  on  the  9th  of  May  retreated  to 
Malden. 

For  nearly  three  months  active  operations  were  suspended.  In  the 
latter  part  of  July,  Proctor  and  Tecumtha  with  a  force  of  nearly  four 
thousand  men  returned  to  Fort  Meigs,  now  commanded  by  General  Clay. 
For  several  days  the  British  general  beat  about  the  American  position, 
attempting  to  draw  out  the  garrison.  Failing  in  that,  he  filed  off  with 
about  half  his  forces  and  attacked  Fort  Stephenson,  at  Lower  Sandusky. 
This  place  was  defended  by  a  hundred  and  sixty  men  under  command  of 
Colonel  Croghan,  a  stripling  but  twenty-one  years  of  age.  But  he  ex¬ 
hibited  the  skill  and  bravery  of  a  veteran.  To  the  enemy’s  summons, 
accompanied  with  a  threat  of  massacre  in  case  of  refusal,  he  answered  that 
the  fort  should  be  held  as  long  as  there  was  a  man  left  alive  within  it. 
For  a  while  the  British  cannonaded  the  ramparts  without  much  effect, 
and  on  the  2d  of  August  advanced  to  carry  the  place  by  storm.  Croghan 
filled  his  only  gun  with  slugs  and  grape-shot,  and  masked  it  in  such  a 
position  as  to  rake  the  ditch  from  end  to  end.  The  British,  believing  the 
fort  to  be  silenced,  crowded  into  the  fatal  trench,  and  were  swept  away 
almost  to  a  man.  The  repulse  was  complete.  Proctor,  fearing  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  Harrison,  raised  the  siege  and  returned  to  Malden. 

At  this  time  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie  were  commanded  by  a  British 
squadron  of  six  vessels  carrying  sixty-three  guns.  It  was  seen  that  a  suc¬ 
cessful  invasion  of  Canada  could  only  be  made  by  first  gaining  control  of 
the  lake.  This  serious  undertaking  was  imposed  on  Commodore  Oliver 
H.  Perry  of  Rhode  Island — a  young  man  not  twenty-eight  years  old  who 
had  never  been  in  a  naval  battle.  His  antagonist,  Commodore  Barclay, 
was  a  veteran  from  the  sea-service  of  Europe.  With  indefatigable  energy 
Perry  directed  the  construction  of  nine  ships,  carrying  fifty-four  guns,  and 
was  soon  afloat  on  the  lake.  On  the  10th  of  September  the  two  fleets  met 
a  short  distance  north-west  of  Put-in  Bay.  Careful  directions  had  been 
given  by  both  commanders  for  the  impending  battle;  both  were  resolved 

on  victory.  The  fight  was  begun  by  the  American  squadron,  Perry’s 
26 


402 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


flag-ship,  the  Lawrence,  leading  the  attack.  His  principal  antagonist  was 
the  Detroit,  under  the  immediate  command  of  Barclay.  The  British  guns, 
being  longer,  had  the  wider  range,  and  were  better  served.  The  Lawrence 
was  ruined;  nearly  all  the  cannon  were  dismounted,  masts  torn  away, 
sailors  killed. 

Between  the  other  ships  the  battle  was  proceeding  in  a  desultory 
way  without  much  damage ;  but  Barclay’s  flag-ship  was  almost  as  nearly 
wrecked  as  the  Lawrence.  Perceiving  with  quick  eye  how  the  battle  stood, 
the  dauntless  Perry,  himself  unhurt,  put  on  his  uniform,  seized  his  ban¬ 
ner,  got  overboard  into  an  open  boat,  passed  within  pistol-shot  of  the 
enemy’s  ships,  a  storm  of  balls  flying  around  him,  and  transferred  his  flag 
to  the  Niagara.  A  shout  went  up  from  the  American  fleet ;  it  was  the 
signal  of  victory.  With  the  powerful  Niagara  still  uninjured  by  the 
battle,  Perry  bore  down  upon  the  enemy’s  line,  drove  right  through 
the  midst,  discharging  terrible  broadsides  right  and  left.  In  fifteen 
minutes  the  work  was  done ;  the  British  fleet  was  helpless.  Perry  with 
a  touch  of  pride  returned  to  the  bloody  deck  of  the  Lawrence,  and  there 
received  the  surrender.  And  then  he  sent  to  General  Harrison  this 
famous  despatch:  “We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours — two 
ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner  and  one  sloop.” 

This  victory  gave  the  Americans  full  control  of  Lake  Erie.  Both 
Proctor  and  Harrison  awaited  the  result.  If  Barclay  should  win,  Proctor 
would  invade  Ohio;  if  Perry  should  prove  victorious,  Harrison  would 
conquer  Canada.  For  the  Americans  the  way  was  now  opened.  On  the 
27th  of  September  Harrison’s  army  was  embarked  at  Sandusky  Bay  and 
landed  near  Malden.  The  disheartened  British  retreated  to  Sandwich, 
the  Americans  following  hard  after.  From  the  latter  place  Proctor  con¬ 
tinued  his  retreat  to  the  river  Thames,  and  there  faced  about  to  fight. 
The  battle-field  was  well  chosen  by  the  British,  whose  lines  extended 
from  the  river  to  a  swamp.  Here,  on  the  5th  of  October,  they  were 
attacked  by  the  Americans  led  by  Harrison  and  General  Shelby,  governor 
of  Kentucky.  In  the  beginning  of  the  battle,  Proctor,  being  a  coward, 
ran.  The  British  regulars  sustained  the  attack  with  firmness,  and  were 
only  broken  when  furiously  charged  by  the  Kentuckians  under  Colonel 
Richard  M.  Johnson.  When  that  part  of  the  field  was  won,  the  Ameri¬ 
cans  wheeled  against  the  Indians,  who,  to  the  number  of  fifteen  hundred, 
lay  hidden  in  the  swamp  to  the  west.  Here  the  battle  raged  fiercely. 
Tecumtha  had  staked  all  on  the  issue.  For  a  while  his  war-whoop 
sounded  above  the  din  of  the  conflict.  Presently  his  voice  was  heard  no 
longer,  for  the  great  chieftain  had  fallen.  At  the  same  time  Colonel 
Johnson  was  borne  away  severely  wounded.  The  savages,  appalled  by 


WAR  OF  ’12. 


403 


the  death  of  their  leader,  fled  in  despair.  The  victory  was  complete.  So 
ended  the  campaign  in  the  West.  The  Indian  confederacy  was  broken 
to  pieces.  All  that  Hull  had  lost  was  regained.  Michigan  was  recovered. 
Ohio  no  longer  feared  invasion.  Perry  swept  Lake  Erie  with  his  fleet. 
Canada  was  prostrated  before  the  victorious  army  of  Harrison. 

Meanwhile,  the  Creeks  of  Alabama,  kinsmen  of  the  Shawnees,  had 
taken  up  arms.  In  the  latter  part  of  August,  Fort  Mims,  forty  miles 
north  of  Mobile,  was  surprised  by  the  savages,  who  appeased  their  thirst 
for  blood  with  the  murder  of  nearly  four  hundred  people ;  not  a  woman 
or  child  was  spared,  and  but  few  of  the  men  in  the  fort  escaped.  The 
news  of  the  massacre  spread  consternation  throughout  the  Southwest. 
The  governors  of  Tennessee,  Georgia  and  Mississippi  Territory  made 
immediate  preparations  for  invading  the  country  of  the  Creeks.  The 
Tennesseeans,  under  command  of  General  Jackson,  were  first  to  the  res¬ 
cue.  A  detachment  of  nine  hundred  men,  led 
by  General  Coffee,  reached  the  Indian  town 
of  Tallushatchee,  attacked  it,  burned  it,  left 
not  an  Indian  alive.  On  the  8th  of  Novem- 
-  ber  a  battle  was  fought  at  Talladega,  east  of 
the  Coosa,  and  the  savages  were  defeated  with 
severe  losses.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  same 
month  another  fight  occurred  at  Autosse,  on 
the  south  bank  of  the  Tallapoosa,  and  again 
the  Indians  were  routed. 

During  the  winter  Jackson’s  troops,  un¬ 
provided  and  starving,  became  mutinous  and 
were  going  home.  But  the  general  set  the 
example  of  living  on  acorns ;  then  rode  before 
the  rebellious  line  and  threatened  with  death  the  first  mutineer  who 
stirred.  And  no  man  stirred.  On  the  22d  of  January,  1814,  the  battle 
of  Emucfau  was  fought  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tallapoosa.  The  valor 
of  the  Tennesseeans  again  gave  them  the  victory.  At  Tohopeka,  called 
by  the  whites  the  Horseshoe  Bend,  the  Creeks  made  their  final  stand. 
Here  the  Tallapoosa  winds  westward  and  northward,  enclosing  a  large 
tract  of  land  in  the  form  of  a  peninsula  with  a  narrow  neck.  This  posi¬ 
tion  the  Indians  had  fortified  with  more  than  their  usual  skill.  The 
whites,  led  by  General  Coffee,  surrounded  the  place,  so  as  to  prevent 
escape  by  crossing  the  river.  On  the  27th  of  March,  the  main  body 
of  whites  under  General  Jackson  stormed  the  breastworks  and  drove 
the  Indians  into  the  bend.  There,  huddled  together  without  the  pos¬ 
sibility  of  escape,  a  thousand  Creek  warriors,  with  the  women  and 


SCENE  OF  THE  CREEK  WAR, 
1813-14. 


404 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


children  of  the  tribe,  met  their  doom.  The  desperate  Red  men  asked 
no  quarter,  and  none  was  given.  The  few  chiefs  who  were  still  abroad 
sent  in  their  submission ;  the  spirit  of  the  nation  was  completely 
broken. 

On  the  25th  of  April,  1813,  General  Dearborn,  commanding  the 
(Army  of  the  Centre,  embarked  his  forces  at  Sackett’s  Harbor,  near  the 
eastern  extremity  of  Lake  Ontario.  The  object  of  the  expedition  was  to 
capture  Toronto,  the  capital  of  Upper  Canada.  Here  was  the  most  im¬ 
portant  depot  of  supplies  in  British  America.  The  American  fleet  under 
Commodore  Chauncey  had  already  obtained  the  mastery  of  the  lake,  so 
that  Dearborn’s  passage  was  unopposed.  On  the  27th  of  the  month  a 
force  of  seventeen  hundred  men,  commanded  by  General  Pike,  was 
landed  within  two  miles  of  Toronto.  At  the  water’s  edge  they  were 
met  by  the  British.  The  Americans  drove  the  enemy  for  a  mile  and 
a  half,  stormed  a  battery,  and  rushed  forward  to  carry  the  main  de¬ 
fences.  At  that  moment  the  British  magazine  blew  up  with  terrific 
violence.  Tliq  assaulting  column  was  covered  with  the  debris  of  the 
explosion.  Two  hundred  men  were  killed  or  wounded.  General  Pike 
was  fatally  injured,  but  lived  long  enough  to  hear  the  shout  of  vic¬ 
tory;  for  the  Americans,  first  shocked  and  then  maddened  by  the 
calamity,  made  a  furious  charge  and.  drove  the  British  out  of  the  town. 
General  Sheaffe  with  a  body  of  regulars  escaped ;  the  rest  were  taken 
prisoners.  Property  to  the  value  of  a  half  million  dollars  was  secured 
to  the  victors. 

While  this  movement  was  taking  place  the  enemy  made  a  descent 
on  Sackett’s  Harbor.  By  the  withdrawal  of  the  American  forces  that 
post  had  been  left  exposed.  The  British  succeeded  in  destroying  a  quan¬ 
tity  of  stores ;  but  General  Brown  rallied  the  militia,  and  drove  back  the 
assailants  with  considerable  loss.  Meanwhile,  the  victorious  troops  at 
Toronto  had  re-embarked  and  crossed  the  lake  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Niagara.  On  the  27th  of  May  the  Americans,  led  by  Generals  Chandler 
and  Winder,  crossed  the  river  and  stormed  Fort  George,  on  the  Canada 
shore.  The  British  hastily  destroyed  their  posts  along  the  Niagara  and 
retreated  to  Burlington  Bay,  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  lake.  The 
Americans,  pursuing  them  thither,  were  attacked  in  the  night,  but  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  repulsing  the  enemy  with  loss. 

During  the  months  of  summer  military  operations  on  the  frontier 
were  suspended.  After  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  General  Harrison  had 
transferred  his  forces  to  Buffalo,  and  then  resigned  his  commission.  On 
account  of  old  age  and  ill  health  General  Dearborn  also  withdrew  from 
the  service,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Wilkinson.  The  next  cam- 


WAR  OF  12. 


405 


paign,  which  was  planned  by  General  Armstrong,  secretary  of  war,  em¬ 
braced  the  conquest  of  Montreal.  For  this  purpose  the  Army  of  the 
Centre,  under  Wilkinson,  was  ordered  to  join  the  Army  of  the  North  at 
some  convenient  point  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  enterprise  was  attended 
with  many  difficulties  and  not  a  few  delays.  Not  until  the  5th  of  Novem¬ 
ber  did  a  force  of  seven  thousand  men,  embarking  from  the  mouth  of 
French  Creek,  twenty  miles  north  of  Sackett’s  Harbor,  sail  down  the  St. 
Lawrence  for  the  conquest  of  Montreal.  Parties  of  British,  Canadians 
and  Indians,  gathering  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  river,  constantly  im¬ 
peded  the  progress  of  the  expedition.  General  Brown  was  landed  with  a 
considerable  force  to  disperse  these  bands  or  drive  the  enemy  into  the 
interior.  On  the  11th  of  the  month  a  severe  battle  was  fought  at  a 
place  called  Chrysler’s  Field.  Neither  party  gained  a  victory,  but  the 
advantage  remained  with  the  British.  The  Americans,  having  lost 
nearly  three  hundred  men  in  the  fight,  passed  down  the  river  to  St. 
Regis,  on  the  southern  shore,  where  the  forces  of  General  Hampton 
were  expected  from  PJattsburg  to  form  a  junction  with  Wilkinson’s 
command.  But  Hampton  did  not  stir  ;  and  the  project  of  attacking 
Montreal  had  to  be  abandoned.  The  Americans  then  went  into  winter 
quarters  at  Fort  Covington,  at  the  fork  of  Salmon  River,  nine  miles 
from  St.  Regis. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  British  on  the  Niagara  frontier  rallied  and 
advanced  against  Fort  George.  General  McClure,  the  commandant, 
abandoned  the  place  on  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  but  before  retreating 
burned  the  Canadian  town  of  Newark.  It  cost  the  people  of  Northern 
New  York  dearly ;  for  the  British  and  Indians  crossed  the  river,  cap¬ 
tured  Fort  Niagara,  and  fired  the  villages  of  Youngstown,  Lewiston  and 
Manchester.  On  next  to  the  last  day  of  the  year  Black  Rock  and  Buffalo 
were  laid  in  ashes. 

In  the  sea-fights  of  1813  victory  generally  declared  for  the  British. 
During  the  year  both  nations  wasted  much  blood  and  treasure  on  the 
ocean.  Off  the  coast  of  Demarara,  on  the  24th  of  February,  the  sloop- 
of-war  Hornet ,  commanded  by  Captain  James  Lawrence,  fell  in  with  the 
British  brig  Peacock.  The  ships  were  equally  matched.  A  terrible  battle 
of  fifteen  minutes  ensued,  and  the  Peacock ,  already  sinking,  struck  her 
colors.  While  the  Americans  were  trying  to  transfer  the  conquered  crew 
the  ocean  yawned  and  the  brig  sank  out  of  sight.  Nine  British  sailora 
Mid  three  of  Lawrence’s  men  were  sucked  down  in  the  whirlpool. 

On  returning  to  Boston  the  command  of  the  Chesapeake — one  of 
the  best  frigates  in  the  American  navy — was  given  to  Lawrence,  and 
again  he  put  to  sea.  Before  sailing  he  received  a  challenge  from  Captain 


406 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Broke,  of  the  British  frigate  Shannon ,  to  come  out  and  fight  him.  Law¬ 
rence  ought  not  to  have  accepted  the  banter;  for  his  equipments  were 
incomplete  and  his  crew  ill  assorted,  sick  and  half  mutinous.  But  he  was 
young,  and  the  favorite  of  the  nation ;  fired  with  applause,  he  went  un¬ 
hesitatingly  to  meet  his  foe.  Eastward  from  Cape  Ann  the  two  vessels 
met  on  the  first  day  of  June.  The  battle  was  obstinate,  brief,  dreadful. 
In  a  short  time  every  officer  who  could  direct  the  movements  of  the 
Chesapeake  was  either  killed  or  wounded.  The  brave  young  Lawrence 
was  struck  with  a  musket-ball,  and  fell  dying  on  the  bloody  deck. 
As  they  bore  him  down  the  hatchway  he  gave  in  feeble  voice  his  last 
heroic  order — ever  afterward  the  motto  of  the  American  sailor — “  Don’t 
give  up  the  ship  !”  The  British  were  already  leaping  on  deck,  and 
the  flag  of  England  was  hoisted  over  the  shattered  vessel.  Both 
ships  were  charnel-houses;  but  the  Shannon  was  still  able  to  tow  her 
prize  into  the  harbor  of  Halifax.  There  the  bodies  of  Lawrence  and 
Ludlow,  second  in  command,  were  tenderly  and  honorably  buried  by  the 
British.  , 

The  next  important  naval  battle  was  fought  on  the  14th  of  August 
between  the  American  brig  Argus  and  the  British  Pelican.  The  former 
vessel  had  made  a  daring  cruise  about  the  coasts  of  England,  capturing 
more  than  twenty  ships.  Herself  overtaken  by  the  Pelican,  she  was 
obliged,  after  a  severe  conflict,  to  surrender.  On  the  5th  of  September 
another  British  brig,  the  Boxer ,  cruising  off  the  coast  of  Maine,  was  over¬ 
hauled  and  captured  by  the  American  Enterprise,  commanded  by  Captain 
Burrows.  The  fight  raged  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  when  the  Boxer 
surrendered.  Captain  Blyth,  the  British  commander,  was  killed ;  and 
the  gallant  Burrows  received  a  mortal  wound.  The  bodies  of  both 
officers  were  taken  to  Portland  and  buried  side  by  side  with  military 
honors.  All  summer  long  Captain  Porter  in  the  frigate  Essex  cruised  in 
the  South  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  For  five  months  he  was  the 
terror  of  British  merchantmen  in  those  broad  waters.  On  the  28th  of 
the  following  March,  while  the  Essex  was  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Val¬ 
paraiso,  she  was  beset,  contrary  to  the  law  of  nations,  by  two  powerful 
British  vessels,  the  Phoebe  and  the  Cherub.  The  Essex  had  been  crippled 
by  a  storm,  and  was  anchored  in  neutral  waters ;  in  that  condition  Captain 
Porter  fought  his  two  antagonists  until  nearly  all  of  his  men  were  killed 
or  wounded ;  then  struck  his  colors  and  surrendered.  Notwithstanding 
the  losses  sustained  by  the  American  navy,  privateers  continued  to  scour 
the  ocean  and  capture  British  vessels. 

From  honorable  warfare  the  naval  officers  of  England  stooped  to 
marauding  along  the  sea-shore.  Early  in  the  year  a  squadron  entered 


THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  14 


407 


Delaware  Bay  and  anchored  before  Lewistown.  A  requisition  on  the  in¬ 
habitants  to  supply  the  fleet  with  provisions  was  met  with  a  brave  refusal. 
A  threat  to  burn  the  town  was  answered  with  a  message  of  defiance.  A 
bombardment  of  twenty-four  hours’  duration  followed ;  the  houses  were 
much  injured,  and  the  people  fled,  carrying  their  property  to  places  of 
safety.  Other  British  men-of-war  entered  the  Chesapeake  and  burned 
several  villages  on  the  shores  of  the  bay.  At  the  town  of  Hampton,  just 
above  the  Roads,  the  soldiers  and  marines  perpetrated  such  outrages  as 
covered  their  memory  with  shame.  Commodore  Hardy,  to  whom  the 
blockade  of  the  New  England  harbors  had  been  assigned,  behaved  with 
more  humanity ;  even  the  Americans  recognized  and  praised  his  honor¬ 
able  conduct.  The  year  1813  closed  without  decisive  results. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’H. 

IN  the  spring  of  1814  another  invasion  of  Canada  was  planned.  The 
Niagara  frontier  was  the  scene  of  operations;  but  there  was  much 
delay  in  bringing  the  scattered  detachments  of  General  Wilkinson’s  army 
into  proper  position.  Not  until  the  3d  of  July  did  Generals  Scott  and 
Ripley,  at  the  head  of  three  thousand  men,  cross  the  Niagara  from  Black 
Rock  to  Fort  Erie.  This  post,  garrisoned  by  two  hundred  British,  was 
surrendered  without  a  battle.  On  the  following  day  the  Americans  ad¬ 
vanced  down  the  river-bank  in  the  direction  of  Chippewa  village.  Before 
reaching  that  “place,  however,  they  were  met  by  the  British  army,  led  by 
General  Riall.  On  the  evening  of  the  5th  a  severe  battle  was  fought  on 
the  plain  just  south  of  Chippewa  River.  The  Americans,  led  on  by 
Generals  Scott  and  Ripley  and  the  gallant  Major  Jessup,  won  the  day; 
but  their  loss  amounted  to  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  men.  The 
British  veterans,  after  more  than  five  hundred  of  their  number  had  fallen, 
were  driven  into  their  entrenchments. 

General  Riall  retreated  first  to  Queenstown  and  afterward  to  Bur¬ 
lington  Heights.  General  Scott,  commanding  the  American  right,  was 
detached  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  On  the  evening  of  the 
25th  of  July  he  found  himself  suddenly  confronted  by  Riall’s  army, 
strongly  posted  on  the  high  grounds  in  sight  of  Niagara  Falls.  Here 


408 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


was  fought  the  hardest  battle  of  the  war.  A  man  less  courageous  and 
self-confident  than  Scott  would  have  retreated;  but  with  extraordinary 
daring  he  held  his  own  until  reinforced  by  the  other  divisions  of  the 
army.  The  British  reserves  were  also  rapidly  brought  into  action. 
Twilight  faded  into  darkness,  and  still  the  battle  was  undecided.  A  de¬ 
tachment  of  Americans,  getting  upon  the  British  rear,  captured  General 
Riall  and  his  entire  statf.  Still  the  contest  raged.  The  key  to  the 
enemy’s  position  was  a  high  ground  crowned  with  a  battery.  Calling 
Colonel  James  Miller  to  his  side  and  pointing  to  the  hill,  General  Brown 
said,  “  Colonel,  take  your  regiment  and  storm  that  battery.”  “  I’ll  try, 
sir,”  was  the  answer  of  the  gallant  officer;  and  he  did  take  it,  and  held 
it  against  three  desperate  assaults  of  the  British.  In  the  last  charge 
General  Drummond,  who  led,  was  wounded,  and  the  royal  army,  num¬ 
bering  fully  five  thousand,  was  driven  from  the  field  witli  a  loss  of  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  men.  The  Americans  engaged  in  the  battle 
numbered  about  four  thousand ;  their  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  miss¬ 
ing  was  more  than  eight  hundred. 

After  this  battle  of  Niagara,  or  Lundy’s  Lane,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  General  Ripley  took  command  of  the  American  forces;  for  Generals 
Brown  and  Scott  were  both  wounded.  It  was  deemed  prudent  to  fall 
back  to  Fort  Erie.  To  that  place  General  Gaines  crossed  over  from 
Buffalo,  and  being  the  senior  officer,  assumed  command  of  the  army. 
Very  soon  General  Drummond  received  reinforcements,  moved  forward, 
and  on  the  4th  of  August  invested  Fort  Erie.  The  siege  continued  for 
ten  days,  and  then  the  British  attempted  to  storm  the  works,  but  were 
driven  back  with  severe  losses.  But  the  enemy  was  reinforced  and  the 
siege  resumed.  A  regular  and  destructive  bombardment  was  kept  up  by 
the  British,  and  was  answered  by  the  Americans  with  equal  energy.  On 
the  28th  of  August  General  Gaines  was  injured  by  the  explosion  of  a 
shell  and  obliged  to  relinquish  his  command.  General  Brown,  though 
still  suffering  from  the  wound  received  at  Niagara,  was  again  called  to 
direct  the  defences  of  the  fort.  On  the  17th  of  September  a  sortie  was 
ordered,  and  the  advanced  works  of  the  British  were  gallantly  carried. 
At  the  same  time  news  arrived  that  the  American  general  Izard  was  ap¬ 
proaching  from  Plattsburg  with  strong  reinforcements.  Alarmed  at  the 
threatening  aspect  of  affairs,  the  British  raised  the  siege  and  retreated  to 
Fort  George.  On  the  5th  of  November  Fort  Erie  was  evacuated  and 
destroyed  by  the  Americans,  who  then  recrossed  the  Niagara  and  went 
into  winter  quarters  at  Black  Rock  and  Buffalo.  So  ended  the  war  in 
the  country  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario. 

The  w  inter  of  1813-14  wras  passed  by  the  Army  of  the  North  at 


THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’14. 


409 


French  Mills,  afterward  called  Fort  Covington.  In  the  latter  part  of 
February  General  Wilkinson  advanced  his  forces  to  Plattsburg,  and  in 
the  following  month  began  an  invasion  of  Canada.  At  La  Colie,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Sorel,  he  encountered  a  force  of  the  enemy,  made  an  im¬ 
prudent  attack  and  was  defeated.  Falling  back  to  Plattsburg,  he  was 
superseded  by  General  Izard.  How  that  officer  marched  to  the  relief  of 
General  Brown  at  Fort  Erie  has  already  been  narrated.  The  remaining 
division  of  the  northern  army,  fifteen  hundred  strong,  was  left  under  com¬ 
mand  of  General  Macomb  at  Plattsburg.  At  this  time  the  American 
flotilla  on  Lake  Champlain  was  commanded  by  Commodore  MacDonough. 
For  the  purpose  of  destroying  this  fleet  and  obtaining  control  of  the  lake, 
the  British  general  Prevost  advanced  into  Northern  New  York  at  the 
head  of  fourteen  thousand  men,  and  at  the  same  time  ordered  Commodore 
Downie  to  ascend  the  Sorel  with  his  fleet. 

The  invading  army  reached  Plattsburg  without  opposition.  Com¬ 
modore  MacDonough’s  squadron  lay  in  the  bay.  On  the  6th  of  Septem¬ 
ber  General  Macomb  retired  with  his  small  but  courageous  army  to  the 
south  bank  of  the  Saranac,  which  skirted  the  village.  On  came  the 
British,  entered  the  town,  and  attempted  to  cross  the  river,  but  were 
driven  back.  For  four  days  they  renewed  their  efforts;  the  Americans 
had  torn  up  the  bridges,  and  a  passage  could  not  be  effected.  The  British 
fleet  was  now  ready  for  action,  and  a  general  battle  by  land  and  water 
was  planned  for  the  11th.  Prevost’s  army,  arranged  in  three  columns, 
was  to  sweep  across  the  Saranac  and  carry  Macomb’s  position,  while 
Downie’s  powerful  flotilla  was  to  bear  down  on  MacDonough.  The 
naval  battle  began  first,  and  was  obstinately  fought  for  two  hours  and  a 
half.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Downie  and  many  of  his  officers  had  been 
killed ;  the  heavier  British  vessels  were  disabled  and  obliged  to  strike 
their  colors.  The  smaller  ships  escaped;  for  the  American  brigs  were 
so  badly  crippled  that  pursuit  could  not  be  made.  Nevertheless,  the 
victory  on  the  lake  was  complete  and  glorious.  The  news  was  carried 
ashore,  where  the  Americans  were  bravely  contesting  the  passage  of  the 
river  against  overwhelming  numbers.  At  one  ford  the  British  column 
succeeded  in  crossing;  but  the  tidings  from  the  lake  fired  the  militia  with 
ardor ;  they  made  a  rush,  and  the  enemy  was  driven  back.  Prevost,  after 
losing  nearly  two  thousand  five  hundred  men  and  squandering  two  and  a 
half  million  dollars  in  a  fruitless  campaign,  retired  precipitately  to  Canada. 
The  ministry  of  England,  made  wise  by  the  disasters  of  this  invasion, 
began  to  devise  measures  looking  to  peace. 

In  the  country  of  the  Chesapeake  the  scenes  of  the  previous  year 
were  renewed  by  the  British.  Late  in  the  summer  Admiral  Cochrane 


410 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


arrived  off  the  coast  of  Virginia  with  an  armament  of  twenty-one  vessels. 
General  Ross  with  an  army  of  four  thousand  veterans,  treed  from  service 
in  Europe,  came  with  the  fleet.  The  American  squadron,  commanded 
by  Commodore  Barney,  was  unable  to  oppose  so  powerful  a  force.  The 
enemy’s  flotilla  entered  the  Chesapeake  with  the  purpose  of  attacking 
Washington  and  Baltimore.  The  larger  division  of  the  British  fleet 
sailed  into  the  Patuxent,  and  on  the  19th  of  August  the  forces  of  General 
Ross  were  landed  at  the  town  of  Benedict.  Commodore  Barney  was 
obliged  to  blow  up  his  vessels  and  take  to  the  shore.  From  Benedict  the 
British  advanced  against  Washington.  At  Bladensburg,  six  miles  north¬ 
east  of  the  capital,  they  were  met,  on  the  24th  of  the  month,  by  the 
militia  and  the  marines  under  Barney.  Here  a  battle  was  fought.  The 
undisciplined  militia  behaved  badly.  Barney’s  seamen  were  overpowered 
by  the  British,  and  himself  taken  prisoner.  The  news  of  the  defeat  was 
rapidly  borne  to  Washington.  The  President,  the  cabinet  officers  and 
the  people  betook  themselves  to  flight,  and  Ross  marched  unopposed  into 
the  city.  He  had  been  ordered  by  his  superiors  to  use  the  torch,  and  the 
work  of  destruction  was  accordingly  begun.  All  the  public  buildings  ex¬ 
cept  the  Patent  Office  were  burned.  The  beautiful  but  unfinished  Capitol 
and  the  President’s  house  were  left  a  mass  of  blackened  ruins.  Many 
private  edifices  were  also  destroyed ;  but  General  Ross,  himself  a  humane 
man,  did  less  than  he  was  ordered  to  do.* 

Five  days  after  the  capture  of  Washington,  a  portion  of  the  British' 
fleet,  ascending  the  Potomac,  reached  Alexandria.  The  inhabitants  of 
that  town,  in  order  to  avoid  the  fate  of  the  capital,  purchased  the  forbear¬ 
ance  of  the  enemy  by  the  surrender  of  twenty-one  ships,  sixteen  thousand 
barrels  of  flour  and  a  thousand  hogsheads  of  tobacco.  Baltimore  redeemed 
herself  more  bravely.  Against  that  city,  after  the  capture  of  W ashington, 
General  Ross  proceeded  with  his  army  and  fleet.  Meanwhile,  the  militia, 
to  the  number  of  ten  thousand,  had  gathered  under  command  of  General 
Samuel  Smith,  a  Revolutionary  veteran.  On  the  12th  of  September  the 
British  were  landed  at  North  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Patapsco ;  and 
the  fleet  began  the  ascent  of  the  river.  The  land-forces,  after  marching 
about  halfway  to  Baltimore,  were  met  by  the  Americans  under  General 
Strieker.  A  skirmish  ensued  in  which  General  Ross  was  killed ;  but 
Colonel  Brooks  assumed  command  of  the  invading  army,  and  the  march 
continued.  When  approaching  the  city,  the  British  came  upon  the  Amer¬ 
ican  lines  and  were  brought  to  a  halt  by  a  severe  cannonade.  General 

*  An  excuse  for  this  outrageous  barbarism  was  found  in  the  previous  conduct  of  the 
Americans,  who,  at  Toronto  and  other  places  on  the  Canadian  frontier,  had  behaved  buS 
little  better. 


THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  T4. 


411 


Strieker,  however,  ordered  hie  men  to  fall  back  to  a  second  line  of 
defences,  from  which  they  gave  the  enemy  a  permanent  check. 

Meanwhile,  the  British  squadron  had  ascended  the  Patapsco  and 
begun  the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry,  at  the  entrance  to  the  har¬ 
bor.  From  sunrise  of  the  13th  until  after  midnight  the  guns  of  the 
fleet  poured  a  tempest  of  shot  and  shells  upon  the  fortress.*  At  the 
end  of  that  time  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  were  as  full  of  spirit  and 
the  works  as  strong  as  at  the  beginning.  It  was  plain  that  the  Brit¬ 
ish  had  undertaken  more  than  they  could  accomplish.  Disheartened 
and  baffled,  they  ceased  to  fire.  The  land-forces  retired  from  before 
the  American  entrenchments  and  re-embarked.  The  siege  of  Balti¬ 
more  was  at  an  end. 

During  the  summer  of  1814  two  expeditions  were  made  against 
the  British  and  Indians  of  the  North-west.  In  May  a  force  of  two 
hundred  men  ascended  the  Mississippi  from  St.  Louis  and  took  post 
at  Prairie  du  Chien,  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wiscon¬ 
sin.  The  object  was  to  overawe  the  hostile  Winnebagoes  and  Chip- 
pewas  by  establishing  an  outpost  in  their  territory.  But  before  the 
fort  was  well  begun  a  force  of  six  hundred  Canadians  and  Indians  in¬ 
vested  the  place,  and  on  the  17th  of  July  compelled  the  detachment 
to  surrender.  The  more  important  expedition  was  directed  against 
the  British  fortress  and  depot  of  stores  at  Mackinaw.  A  regiment 
of  six  hundred  men,  commanded  by  Colonel  Croghan,  famous  for  his 
heroism  at  Sandusky,  marched  northward  in  midsummer  from  De¬ 
troit.  Some  vessels  of  Perry’s  fleet  accompanied  the  land  forces  as  a 
convoy ;  but  the  movement  was  slow,  and  Mackinaw  was  not  reached 
until  the  4th  of  August.  Finding  the  defences  of  the  place  too  high 
and  strong  to  be  injured  by  his  guns  Croghan  ordered  an  assault, 
which  was  made  with  spirit,  but  repulsed.  The  enterprise  was  then 
abandoned,  with  no  further  injury  to  the  British  than  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  some  supplies  and  shipping  in  Georgian  Bay. 

New  England  did  not  escape  the  ravages  of  war.  On  the  9th 
and  10th  of  August  the  village  of  Stonington,  in  the  south-eastern 
corner  of  Connecticut,  was  bombarded  by  Commodore  Hardy ;  but 
the  British,  attempting  to  land,  were  beaten  back  by  the  militia. 
The  fisheries  of  the  New  England  coast  were  for  the  most  part  bro¬ 
ken  up.  The  salt-works  at  Cape  Cod  escaped  only  by  the  payment 
of  heavy  ransoms.  All  the  principal  harbors  from  Maine  to  Dela- 

*  During  the  night  of  the  bombardment  Francis  S.  Key,  detained  on  board  a  British 
ship  and  watching  the  American  flag  over  Fort  McHenry — seen  at  intervals  by  the  glare 
of  rockets  and  the  flash  of  cannon — composed  The  Star-spangled  Banner. 


412 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ware  were  under  a  rigorous  blockade,  and  the  foreign  commerce  of 
the  Eastern  States  was  totally  destroyed.  The  beacons  in  the  light¬ 
houses  were  allowed  to  burn  out,  and  a  general  gloom  settled  over 
the  country. 

From  the  beginning  many  of  the  people  of  New  England  had 
opposed  the  war.  Their  interests  centred  in  ships  and  factories ;  the 
former  were  captured  at  sea,  and  the  latter  came  to  a  stand-still. 
Industry  was  paralyzed.  The  members  of  the  Federal  party  cried  out 
against  the  continuance  of  the  contest.  The  legislature  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  advised  the  calling  of  a  convention.  The  other  Eastern  States 
responded  to  the  call ;  and  on  the  14th  of  December  the  delegates 
assembled  at  Hartford.  The  objects  of  the  convention  were  not  very 
clearly  expressed;  but  opposition  to  the  war  and  the  policy  of  the 
administration  was  the  leading  principle.  _  The  leaders  of  the  Dem¬ 
ocratic  party,  who  supported  the  war-policy  of  the  government,  did 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  purposes  of  the  assembly  were  disloyal 
and  treasonable.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  convention  ruined  the  Fed¬ 
eral  party.  After  remaining  in  session  with  closed  doors  for  nearly 
three  weeks,  the  delegates  published  an  address  more  moderate  and 
just  than  had  been  expected ;  and  then  adjourned.  But  little  hope 
of  political  preferment  remained  for  those  who  participated  in  the 
Hartford  convention. 

During  the  progress  of  the  war  the  Spanish  authorities  of  Flor¬ 
ida  sympathized  with  the  British.  In  the  month  of  August  a  de¬ 
tachment  of  the  enemy’s  fleet  was  allowed  by  the  commandant  of 
Pensacola  to  use  that  post  for  the  purpose  of  fitting  out  an  expedition 
against  Fort  Bowyer,  commanding  the  entrance  to  the  bay  of  Mobile, 
On  the  15th  of  September  the  latter  post  was  attacked,  but  the  assail¬ 
ants  were  driven  off.  General  Jackson,  who  at  that  time  commanded 
the  American  forces  in  the  South,  remonstrated  with  the  Spaniards 
against  this  violation  of  neutrality,  but  received  no  satisfaction.  Jack- 
son,  whose  way  it  was  to  mete  out  summarv  justice  to  offenders,  marched 
a  force  against  Pensacola,  stormed  the  town  and  drove  the  British  out 
of  Florida.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  last  campaign  of  the  war. 

After  the  taking  of  Pensacola,  General  Jackson  returned  to  his 
headquarters  at  Mobile.  There  he  learned  that  the  British  were  mak¬ 
ing  formidable  preparations  for  the  conquest  of  Louisiana.  Repairing 
at  once  to  New  Orleans,  he  assumed  control  of  the  city,  declared  mar¬ 
tial  law,  mustered  the  militia,  and  adopted  the  most  vigorous  meas¬ 
ures  for  repelling  the  invasion.  From  La  Fitte,  chief  of  a  band  of 
smugglers  in  the  Bay  of  Barataria,  he  obtained  information  of  the 


THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’14. 


413 

enemy’s  plans.  The  British  army,  numbering  twelve  thousand,  came 
in  a  fleet  of  fifty  vessels  from  Jamaica.  Sir  Edward  Packenham,  broth¬ 
er-in-law  of  the  duke  of  Wellington,  was  commander  of  the  invading 
forces.  On  the  10th  of  December  the  squadron  entered  the  outlet  of 
Lake  Borgne,  sixty  miles  north-east  of  New  Orleans.  Four  days  af¬ 
terward  a  flotilla  of  gun-boats  which  had  been  placed  to  guard  the 
lake  was  captured  by  the  British,  but  not  until  a  severe  loss  had  been 
inflicted  on  the  enemy. 

On  the  22d  of  the  month  Packenham’s  advance  reached  the 
Mississippi  nine  miles  below  the  city.  A  detachment  was  sent  to  the 
western  bank  of  the  river,  but  this  operation  was  checked  by  a  counter 
movement  on  the  part  of  the  Americans.  On  the  night  of  the  23d 
General  Jackson  sent  a  schooner  down  the  Mississippi  to  bombard  the 
British  camp,  while  at  the  same  time  he  and  General  Coffee  advanced 
with  two  thousand  Tennessee  riflemen  to  attack  Packenham’s  camp 
in  front.  After  a  bloody  assault  Jackson  was  obliged  to  retire,  the 
enemy  losing  most  in  the  engagement.  On  the  following  day  Jackson 
fell  back  and  took  a  strong  position  along  the  canal,  four  miles  below 
the  city.  Packenham  advanced,  and  on  the  28th  cannonaded  the 
American  position  with  but  little  effect.  On  New  Year’s  day  the 
attack  was  renewed.  The  heavy  guns  of  the  British  had  now  been 
brought  into  position ;  but  the  Americans  easily  held  their  ground,  and 
the  enemy  was  again  driven  back.  Packenham  now  made  arrange¬ 
ments  to  lead  his  whole  army  in  a  grand  assault  on  the  American  lines. 

Jackson  was  ready.  Earthworks  had  been  constructed,  and  a 
long  line  of  cotton-bales  and  sand-bags  thrown  up  for  protection.  On 
the  morning  of  the  memorable  8th  of  January  the  British  moved  for¬ 
ward.  They  went  to  a  terrible  fate.  The  battle  began  with  the  light 
of  early  morning,  and  was  ended  before  nine  o’clock.  Packenham 
hurled  column  after  column  against  the  American  position,  and  col¬ 
umn  after  column  was  smitten  with  irretrievable  ruin.  Jackson’s  men, 
behind  their  breastworks,  were  almost  entirely  secure  from  the  enemy’s 
fire,  while  every  discharge  of  the  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  rifles  told 
with  awful  effect  on  the  exposed  veterans  of  England.  Packenham, 
trying  to  rally  his  men,  was  killed;  General  Gibbs,  second  in  com¬ 
mand,  was  mortally  wounded.  General  Keene  fell  disabled;  only 
General  Lambert  was  left  to  call  the  shattered  fragments  of  the  army 
from  the  field.  Never  was  there  in  a  great  battle  such  disparity  of 
losses.  Of  the  British  fully  seven  hundred  were  killed,  fourteen  hun¬ 
dred  wounded,  and  five  hundred  taken  prisoners.  The  American  loss 
amounted  to  eight  killed,  and  thirteen  wounded. 


414 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


After  the  battle  Jackson  granted  a  truce  for  the  burial  of  the 
British  dead.  That  done,  General  Lambert  recalled  the  detachment 
from  the  west  bank  jf  the  river  and  retired  with  his  ruined  army  into 
Lake  Borgne.  At  Fort  Bowyer  he  received  the  news  of  peace. 
Jackson  marched  into  New  Orleans  with  his  victorious  army,  and  was 
received  with  unbounded  enthusiasm.  Such,  so  far  as  operations  by 
land  wTere  concerned,  was  the  close  of  the  war.  On  the  ocean  hostili¬ 
ties  lingered  until  spring.  On  the  20th  of  February  the  American 
frigate  Constitution ,  cruising  off  Cape  St.  Vincent,  caught  sight  of  two 
hostile  vessels,  gave  chase,  and  after  a  severe  fight  captured  them. 
They  proved  to  be  British  brigs  —  the  Cyane,  of  thirty-six  guns,  and 
the  Levant,  of  eighteen.  On  the  23d  of  March  the  American  Hornet, 
commanded  by  Captain  Biddle,  ended  the  conflict  by  capturing  the 
British  Penguin  off  the  coast  of  Brazil. 

Already  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been  made  and  ratified.  Both  na¬ 
tions  had  long  desired  such  a  result.  In  the  summer  of  1814  Amer¬ 
ican  commissioners  were  sent  to  Ghent,  in  Belgium,  and  were  there 
met  by  Lord  Gambier,  Henry  Goulburn  and  William  Adams,  ambas¬ 
sadors  of  Great  Britain.  The  agents  of  the  United  States  were  John 
Quincy  Adams,  James  A.  Bayard,  Henry  Clay,  Jonathan  Russell  and 
Albert  Gallatin.  Several  months  were  spent  in  negotiations;  and  on 
the  24th  of  December,  1814,  a  treaty  was  agreed  to  and  signed.  In 
England  the  news  was  received  with  deep  satisfaction ;  in  the  United 
States,  with  a  delight  bordering  on  madness.  Before  the  terms  of 
settlement  could  be  known,  the  people  broke  forth  in  universal  jubilee. 
Nobody  stopped  to  inquire  whether  the  treaty  was  good  or  bad,  hon¬ 
orable  or  dishonorable.  The  Federalists  found  abundant  reason  for 
rejoicing  that  a  war  which  they  had  persistently  opposed  as  impolitic 
and  unjust,  Avas  at  an  end.  The  Democrats  sent  up  a  double  huzza, 
shouting  first  for  Jackson’s  victory  and  afterward  for  peace.  Nor 
could  the  country  well  be  blamed  for  rejoicing  that  a  conflict  which 
had  cost  the  United  States  a  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-three 
vessels  and  more  than  eighteen  thousand  sailors,  was  ended.  The 
war-cloud  rolled  away  like  an  incubus  from  the  public  mind.  The 
long  blockaded,  half-rotten  shipping  of  New  England  was  decked  with 
flags  and  streamers,  and  in  one  day  the  dock-yards  were  ringing  with 
the  sound  of  saw  and  hammer.  On  the  18th  of  February  the  treaty 
was  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  peace  was  publicly 
proclaimed.  It  was  in  the  interim  between  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty 
and  the  reception  of  the  news  in  the  United  States  that  the  battle  of  New 
Orleans  was  fought.  A  telegraph  would  have  saved  all  that  bloodshed. 

There  never  was  a  more  absurd  treaty  than  that  of  Ghent.  Its 


THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  T4. 


415 


only  significance  was  that  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  having 
been  at  war,  agreed  to  be  at  peace.  Not  one  of  the  distinctive  issues 
to  decide  which  the  war  had  been  undertaken  was  settled  or  even  men¬ 
tioned.  Of  the  impressment  of  American  seamen  not  a  word  was  said. 
The  wrongs  done  to  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  were  not  re¬ 
ferred  to.  The  rights  of  neutral  nations  were  left  as  undetermined  as 
before.  Of  “  free  trade  and  sailors’  rights,”  which  had  been  the  battle- 
cry  of  the  American  navy,  no  mention  was  made.  The  principal  articles 
of  the  compact  were  devoted  to  the  settlement  of  unimportant  bounda  • 
ries  and  the  possession  of  some  petty  islands  in  the  Bay  of  Passama- 
quoddy.  There  is  little  doubt,  however,  that  at  the  time  of  the  treaty' 
Great  Britain  gave  the  United  States  a  private  assurance  that  impress¬ 
ment  and  the  other  wrongs  complained  of  by  the  Americans  should  be 
practiced  no  more.  For  the  space  of  sixty  years  vessels  bearing  the  flag 
of  the  United  States  have  been  secure  from  such  insults  as  caused  the  war 
of  1812.  Another  advantage  gained  by  America  was  the  recognition  of 
her  naval  power.  It  was  no  longer  doubtful  that  American  sailors  were 
the  peers  in  valor  and  patriotism  of  any  seamen  in  the  world.  It  was 
no  small  triumph  for  the  Republic  that  her  flag  should  henceforth  be 
honored  on  every  ocean. 

At  the  close  of  the  conflict  the  country  was  burdened  with  a 
debt  of  a  hundred  million  dollars.  The  monetary  affairs  of  the  na¬ 
tion  were  in  a  deplorable  condition.  The  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  expired  in  1811,  and  in  the  following  years  the  other 
banks  of  the  country  were  obliged  to  suspend  specie  payment.  The 
people  were  thus  deprived  of  the  currency  necessary  for  the  transac¬ 
tion  of  business.  Domestic  commerce  was  paralyzed  by  the  want  of 
money',  and  foreign  trade  destroyed  by  the  enemy’s  fleet.  In  the  year 
after  the  close  of  the  war  a  bill  was  passed  by  Congress  to  recharter 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  The  measure  being  objectionable,  the 
President  interposed  his  veto;  but  in  the  following  session  the  bill 
was  again  passed  in  an  amended  form.  The  capital  was  fixed  at  thir¬ 
ty-five  million  dollars.  The  central  banking-house  was  established  at 
Philadelphia,  and  branches  were  authorized  at  various  other  cities. 
On  the  4th  of  March,  1817,  the  new  financial  institution  went  into 
operation ;  and  the  business  and  credit  of  the  country  were  thereby 
greatly'  improved.  Meanwhile,  the  United  States  had  been  engaged 
in  a  foreign  war. 

During  the  conflict  with  Great  Britain  the  Algerine  pirates  re 
aewed  their  depredations  on  American  commerce.  As  soon  as  the  treaty 
of  Ghent  was  concluded  the  government  of  the  United  States  ordered 
Commodore  Decatur,  commanding  a  fleet  of  nine  vessels,  to  proceed  to 


416 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


fixe  Mediterranean  and  chastise  the  Barbary  sea-robbers  into  submission. 
On  the  17th  of  June,  Decatur,  cruising  near  Gibraltar,  fell  in  with  the 
Principal  frigate  of  the  Algerine  squadron,  and  after  a  severe  fight  of 
twenty  minutes  compelled  the  Moorish  ship  to  surrender.  Thirty  ot  the 
piratical  crew,  including  the  admiral,  were  killed,  and  more  than  four 
hundred  taken  prisoners.  On  the  19th  Decatur  captured  another  frigate, 
bearing  twenty  guns  and  a  hundred  and  eight  men.  A  few  days  after¬ 
ward  he  sailed  into  the  Bay  of  Algiers,  and  dictated  to  the  humbled  and 
terrified  dey  the  terms  of  a  treaty.  The  Moorish  emperor  was  obliged  to 
release  his  American  prisoners  without  ransom,  to  relinquish  all  claims  to 
tribute,  and  to  give  a  pledge  that  his  ships  should  trouble  American  mer¬ 
chantmen  no  more.  Decatur  next  sailed  against  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  com¬ 
pelled  both  of  these  states  to  give  pledges  of  good  conduct,  and  to  pay 
large  sums  for  former  violations  of  international  law.  From  that  day 
until  the  present  the  Barbary  powers  have  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  the 
American  flag. 

The  close  of  Madison’s  troubled  administration  was  signalized  by 
the  admission  of  Indiana — the  smallest  of  the  Western  States — into  the 
Union.  The  new*  commonwealth,  admitted  in  December,  1816,  came 
with  an  area  of  nearly  thirty-four  thousand  square  miles,  and  a  popula¬ 
tion  of  ninety-eight  thousand.  About  the  same  time  was  founded  the 
Colonization  Society  of  the  United  States.  Many  of  the  most  distin¬ 
guished  men  in  America  became  members  of  the  association,  the  object 
of  which  was  to  provide  somewhere  in  the  world  a  refuge  for  free  persons 
of  color.  Liberia,  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  was  finally  selected  as 
the  seat  of  the  proposed  colony.  A  republican  form  of  government  was 
established  there,  and  immigrants  arrived  in  sufficient  numbers  to  found 
a  flourishing  negro  State.  The  capital  was  named  Monrovia,  in  honor  of 
James  Monroe,  who,  in  the  fall  of  1816,  was  elected  as  Madison’s  suc¬ 
cessor  in  the  presidency.  At  the  same  time  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  of  New 
York  was  chosen  Vice-President. 


CHAPTER  L 1 1. 

MONROE’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

IN  its  political  principles  the  new  administration  was  Democratic.  The 
policy  of  Madison  was  adopted  by  his  successor.  But  the  storm v 
times  of  Madison  gave  place  to  many  years  of  almost  unbroken  peace 
The  new  President  was  a  native  of  Virginia;  a  man  of  great  talents  anr' 


MONROE'S  A  I)M  I  NIST  II A  T10N. 


417 


accomplishments.  He  had  been  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives;  a  senator;  governor  of  Virginia;  envoy 
to  France;  minister  to  England;  secretary  of  state  under  Madison.  The 
members  of  the  new  cabinet  were — John  Quincy  Adams,  secretary  of  state  ; 
William  H.  Crawford,  secretary  of  the  treasury ;  John  C.  Calhoun,  secre¬ 
tary  of  war;  William  Wirt,  attorney-general.  The  animosities  and  party 
strifes  of  the  previous  years  were  in  a  measure  forgotten.  Statesmen  of  ail 
parties  devoted  their  energies  to  the  payment  of  the  national  debt.  It  was 
a  herculean  task ;  but  commerce  revived ;  the  government  was  economic¬ 
ally  administered ;  population  increased ;  wealth  flowed  in ;  and  in  a  few 
years  the  debt  was  honestly  paid. 

In  the  first  summer  of  Monroe’s  administration  the  attention  of 
the  United  States  was  directed  to  the  little  kingdom  of  ITayti  in  the 
northern  part  of  St.  Domingo.  Christophe,  the  sovereign  of  the 
country,  was  anxious  to  secure  from  America  a  recognition  of  Hay- 
tian  independence ;  for  he  feared  that  Louis  XVIII.,  the  restored 
Bourbon  king  of  France,  would  reclaim  Flayti  as  a  part  of  the  French 
empire.  The  President  met  the  overtures  of  Christophe  with  favor,  and 
an  agent  was  sent  out  in  the  frigate  Congress  to  conclude  a  treaty  of 
commerce  with  the  kingdom.  But  the  Haytian  authorities  refused  to 
negotiate  with  an  agent  who  was  not  regularly  accredited  as  a  minister 
to  an  independent  state;  and  the  mission  resulted  in  failure  and  dis¬ 
appointment. 

In  September  of  the  same  year  an  important  treaty  was  con¬ 
cluded  with  the  Indian  nations  of  what  was  formerly  the  Northwestern 
Territory.  The  tribes  mostly  concerned  were  the  Wyandots,  Dela¬ 
wares,  Senecas,  and  Shawnees ;  but  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  and  Pot- 
tawattamies  were  also  interested  in  the  treaty.  The  subject  discussed 
was  the  cession,  by  purchase  and  otherwise,  of  various  tracts  of  land, 
mostly  in  Ohio.  The  Indian  title  to  about  four  millions  of  acres,  em¬ 
bracing  the  valley  of  the  Maumee,  was  extinguished  by  the  payment 
to  the  tribes  concerned  of  fourteen  thousand  dollars  in  cash.  Besides 
this,  the  Delawares  were  to  receive  an  annuity  of  five  hundred  dollars; 
while  to  the  Wyandots,  Senecas,  Shawnees  and  Ottawas  was  guaran¬ 
teed  the  payment  of  ten  thousand  dollars  annually  forever.  The 
Chippewas  and  Pottawattamies  received  an  annuity  of  three  thousand 
three  hundred  dollars  for  fifteen  years.  A  reservation  of  certain  tracts, 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  about  three  hundred  thousand  acres, 
was  made  by  the  Red  men  with  the  approval  of  the  government.  For 
it  was  believed  that  the  Indians,  living  in  small  districts  surrounded 
with  American  farms  and  villages,  would  abandon  barbarism  for  the 

27 


418 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


habits  of  civilized  life.  But  the  sequel  proved  that  the  men  of  the 
woods  had  no  aptitude  for  such  a  change. 

In  December  of  1817  the  western  portion  of  Mississippi  Terri¬ 
tory  was  organized  as  the  State  of  Mississippi  and  admitted  into  the 
Union.  The  new  State  contained  an  area  of  forty-seven  thousand 
square  miles,  and  a  population  of  sixty-five  thousand  souls.  At  the 
same  time  the  attention  of  the  government  was  called  to  a  nest  of 
buccaneers  who  had  established  themselves  on  Amelia  Island,  off  the 
north-eastern  coast  of  Florida.  One  Gregor  McGregor,  acting  under 
a  commission  from  the  revolutionarv  authorities  of  New  Granada  and 
Venezuela,  had  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  adventurers, 
gathered  mostly  from  Charleston  and  Savannah,  and  fortified  the  island 
as  a  rendezvous  of  slave-traders  and  South  American  privateers.  It 
was  thought  by  the  audacious  rascals  that  the  well-known  sympathy 
of  the  United  States  for  the  Spanish  American  republics  south  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien  would  protect  them  from  attack.  They  accord¬ 
ingly  proclaimed  a  blockade  of  St.  Augustine  and  proceeded  With  their 
business  as  though  there  was  no  civilized  power  in  the  world.  But 
the  Federal  government  took  a  different  view  or  the  matter.  An 
armament  was  sent  against  the  pirates,  and  the  lawless  establishment 
was  broken  up.  Another  rendezvous  of  the  same  sort,  on  the  island 
of  Galveston,  off  the  coast  oJ  Texas,  was  also  suppressed. 

In  the  first  year  of  Monroe’s  administration  the  question  of  inter¬ 
nal  improvements  began  to  be  much  agitated.  The  territorial  vastness 
of  the  country  made  it  necessary  to  devise  suitable  means  of  communi¬ 
cation  between  the  distant  parts.  Without  railroads  and  canals  it  was 
evident  that  the  products  of  the  great  interior  could  never  reach  a 
market.  Had  Congress  a  right  to  vote  money  to  make  the  needed 
improvements?  Jefferson  and  Madison  had  both  answered  the  ques¬ 
tion  in  the  negative.  Monroe  held  similar  views;  and  a  majority  of 
Congress  voted  against  the  proposed  appropriations.  In  one  instance, 
however,  a  bill  was  passed  appropriating  the  means  necessary  for  the 
construction  of  a  national  road  across  the  Alleghanies,  from  Cumber¬ 
land  to  Wheeling.  The  question  of  internal  improvements  was  then 
referred  to  the  several  States;  and  New  York  took  the  lead  by  con¬ 
structing  a  splendid  canal  from  Buffalo  >  Albany,  a  distance  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty-three  miles.  The  cost  of  this  important  work  was 
more  than  seven  and  a  half  million  dollars,  and  the  eight  years  of 
Monroe’s  administration  were  occupied  in  completing  it. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1817  the  Seminole  Indians  on  the  frontiers  of 
Georgia  and  Alabama  became  hostile.  Some  bad  negroes  and  treacher- 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION 


419 


ous  Creeks  joined  the  savages  in  their  depredations.  General  Gaines, 
commandant  of  a  post  on  Flint  River,  was  sent  into  the  Seminole 
country,  but  after  destroying  a  few  villages  his  forces  were  found  in¬ 
adequate  to  conquer  the  Red  men.  General  Jackson  was  then  ordered 
to  collect  fr  m  the  adjacent  States  a  sufficient  army  and  reduce  the 
Seminoles  to  submission.  Instead  f  *  Rowing  his  directions,  that 
stern  and  s  1  willed  man  mustered  a  thousand  riflemen  from  West 
Tennessee,  and  in  the  spring  of  1818  overran  the  hostile  country  with 
little  opposition.  The  Indians  were  a  "  aid  to  fight  the  man  whom 
they  had  named  the  Big  Knife. 

While  engaged  in  this  expedition  against  the  Seminoles,  Jackson 
entered  Florida  and  took  possession  of  the  Spanish  post  at  St.  Mark’s. 
He  deemed  it  necessary  to  do  so  in  order  to  succeed  in  suppressing 
the  savages.  The  Spanish  troops  stationed  at  St.  Mark’s  were  removed 
to  Pensacola;  and  two  Englishmen,  named  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister, 
who  fell  into  Jackson’s  hands,  were  charged  with  inciting  the  Semi¬ 
noles  to  insurrection,  tried  by  a  court-martial,  and  hanged.  Jackson 
then  advanced  against  Pensacola,  captured  the  town,  besieged  and  took 
the  fortress  of  Barancas,  at  the  entrance  to  the  bay,  and  sent  the  Span¬ 
ish  authorities  to  Havana.  These  summary  proceedings  excited  much 
comment  throughout  the  country.  The  enemies  of  General  Jackson 
condemned  him  in  unmeasured  terms ;  but  the  President  and  Con¬ 
gress  justified  his  deeds.  A  resolution  of  censure,  introduced  into  the 
House  of  Representatives,  was  voted  down  by  a  large  majority.  The 
king  of  Spain  complained  much ;  but  his  complaint  was  unheeded. 
Seeing  that  the  defence  of  such  a  province  would  cost  more  than  it 
was  worth,  the  Spanish  monarch  then  proposed  to  cede  the  territory 
to  the  United  States.  For  this  purpose  negotiations  were  opened  at 
Washington  City;  and  on  the  22d  of  February,  1819,  a  treaty  was 
concluded  by  which  East  and  West  Florida  and  the  outlying  islands 
were  surrendered  to  the  American  government.  In  consideration  of 
the  cession  the  United  States  agreed  to  relinquish  all  claim  to  the  ter¬ 
ritory  of  Texas  and  to  pay  to  American  citizens,  for  depredations  com¬ 
mitted  by  Spanish  vessels,  a  sum  not  exceeding  five  million  dollars. 
By  the  same  treaty  the  eastern  boundary  of  Mexico  was  fixed  at  the 
River  Sabine. 

The  year  1819  was  noted  for  a  great  financial  crisis — the  first  of 
many  that  have  occurred  to  disturb  and  distress  the  country.  With 
the  reorganization  of  the  Bank  of  he  United  States  in  1817,  the  im¬ 
proved  facilities  for  credit  gave  rise  to  many  extravagant  speculations, 
generally  conceived  in  dishonesty  and  carried  on  by  fraud.  The  great 


420 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


branch  bank  at  Baltimore  was  especially  infested  by  a  band  of  unscru¬ 
pulous  speculators  who  succeeded,  in  connivance  with  the  officers,  in 
withdrawing  from  the  institution  fully  two  millions  of  dollars  beyond 
its  securities.  President  Cheves,  however,  of  the  superior  Board  of 
Directors,  adopted  a  policy  which  exposed  the  prevailing  rascality, 
and  by  putting  an  end  to  the  system  of  unlimited  credits,  gradually 
restored  the  business  of  the  country  to  a  firmer  basis.  But,  for  the 
time  being,  financial  affairs  were  thrown  into  confusion;  and  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States  itself  was  barely  saved  from  suspension 
and  bankruptcy. 

Monroe’s  administration  was  noted  for  the  great  number  of  new 
members  which  were  added  to  the  Union.  In  1818,  Illinois,  the 
twenty-first  State,  embracing  an  area  of  more  than  fifty-five  thousand 
square  miles,  was  organized  and  admitted.  The  population  of  the 
new  commonwealth  was  forty-seven  thousand.  In  December  of  the 
following  year  Alabama  was  added,  with  a  population  of  a  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousand,  and  an  area  of  nearly  fifty-one  thousand 
square  miles.  About  the  same  time  Arkansas  Territory  was  organ¬ 
ized  out  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  Territory  of  Missouri.  Early 
in  1820  the  province  of  Maine,  which  had  been  under  the  jurisdic- 
d  let  ion  of  Massachusetts  since  1652,  was  separated  from  that  govern¬ 
ment  and  admitted  into  the  Union.  At  the  time  of  admission  the 
population  of  the  new  State  had  reached  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  thousand ;  and  its  territory  embraced  nearly  thirty-two  thou¬ 
sand  square  miles.  In  August  of  1821  the  great  State  of  Missouri, 
with  an  area  of  sixty-seven  thousand  square  miles,  and  a  population 
of  seventy-four  thousand,  was  admitted  as  the  twenty-fourth  member 
of  the  Union;  but  the  admission  was  attended  with  a  political  agita¬ 
tion  so  violent  as  to  threaten  the  peace  of  the  country. 

The  bill  to  organize  Missouri  as  a  territory  was  brought  forward 
in  February  of  1819.  The  institution  of  slavery  had  already  been 
planted  there,  and  the  question  was  raised  in  Congress  whether  the 
new  State  should  be  admitted  with  the  existing  system  of  labor,  or 
whether  by  congressional  action  slave-holding  should  be  prohibited. 
On  motion  of  James  Tallmadge  of  New  York  a  clause  was  inserted  in 
the  territorial  bill  forbidding  any  further  introduction  of  slaves  into 
Missouri  and  granting  freedom  to  all  slave-children  on  reaching  the 
age  of  twenty-five.  The  bill  as  thus  amended  became  the  organic 
law  of  the  territory.  A  few  days  afterwards  when  Arkansas  was 
presented  for  territorial  organization,  John  W.  Taylor  of  New  York 
moved  the  insertion  of  a  clause  similar  to  that  in  the  Missouri  bill  ; 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


421 


but  the  proposed  amendment  was  voted  down  after  a  hot  debate. 
Taylor  then  made  a  motion  that  hereafter,  in  the  organization  of  ter¬ 
ritories  out  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  slavery  should  be  interdicted 
in  all  that  part  north  of  the  parallel  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty 
minutes.  This  proposition  was  also  lost  after  a  very  excited  discus¬ 
sion.  Meanwhile,  Tallmadge’s  amendment  to  the  Missouri  bill  was 
defeated  in  the  Senate,  and  as  a  consequence  both  the  new  territories 
were  organized  without  restrictions  in  the  matter  of  slavery. 

When  the  bill  to  admit  Missouri  as  a  State  was  finally,  in  Jan¬ 
uary  of  1820,  brought  before  Congress,  the  measure  was  opposed  by 
those  who  had  desired  the  exclusion  of  slavery.  But  at  that  time  the 
new  Free  State  of  Maine  was  asking  for  admission  into  the  Union; 
and  those  who  favored  slavery  in  Missouri  determined  to  exclude 
Maine  unless  Missouri  should  also  be  admitted.  After  another  angry 
debate,  which  lasted  till  the  16th  of  February,  the  bill  coupling  the 
two  new  States  together  was  actually  passed ;  and  then  Senator  Thomas 
of  Illinois  made  a  motion  that  henceforth  and  forever  slavery  should 
be  excluded  from  all  that  part  of  the  Louisiana  cession — Missouri 
excepted — lying  north  of  the  parallel  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty 
minutes.  Such  was  the  celebrated  Missouri  Compromise,  one  of  the 
most  important  acts  of  American  legislation — a  measure  chiefly  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  genius,  and  carried  through  Congress  by  the  persistent 
efforts,  of  Henry  Clay.  The  principal  conditions  of  the  plan  were 
these :  first ,  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a  slave-holding  State ;  sec¬ 
ondly,  the  division  of  the  rest  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  by  the  par¬ 
allel  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes ;  thirdly,  the  admission 
of  new  States,  to  be  formed  out  of  the  territory  south  of  that  line,  with 
or  without  slavery,  as  the  people  might  determine ;  fourthly,  the  pro¬ 
hibition  of  slavery  in  all  the  new  States  to  be  organized  out  of  terri¬ 
tory  north  of  the  dividing-line.  By  this  compromise  the  slavery  agi¬ 
tation  was  allayed  until  1849. 

Meanwhile,  the  country  had  measurably  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  the  late  war.  With  peace  and  plenty  the  resources  of  the 
nation  were  rapidly  augmented.  Toward  the  close  of  his  term  the 
President’s  administration  grew  into  high  favor  with  the  people;  and 
in  the  fall  of  1820  he  was  re-elected  with  great  unanimity.  As  Vice- 
President,  Mr.  Tompkins  was  also  chosen  for  a  second  term.  Scarcely 
had  the  excitement  over  the  admission  of  Missouri  subsided  when  the 
attention  of  the  government  was  called  to  an  alarming  system  of 
piracy  which  had  sprung  up  in  the  West  Indies.  Early  in  1822  the 
American  frigate  Congress,  accompanied  with  eight  smaller  vessels. 


422 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


■was  sent  thither;  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  more  than  twenty 
piratical  ships  were  captured.  In  the  following  summer  Commodore 
Porter  was  despatched  with  a  larger  fleet  to  cruise  about  Cuba  and 
the  neighboring  islands.  Such  was  his  vigilance  that  the  retreats  of 
the  sea-robbers  were  completely  broken  up;  not  a  pirate  was  left 
afloat. 

At  this  time  the  countries  of  South  America  were  disturbed 
with  many  revolutions.  From  the  days  of  Pizarro  these  states  had 
been  dependencies  of  European  monarchies.  Now  they  declared  their 
independence,  and  struggled  to  maintain  it  by  force  of  arms.  The 
people  of  the  United  States,  having  achieved  their  own  liberty,  nat¬ 
urally  sympathized  with  the  patriots  of  the  South.  Mr.  Clay  urged 
upon  the  government  the  duty  of  giving  official  recognition  to  the 
South  American  republics.  At  last  his  views  prevailed ;  and  in  March 
of  1822  a  bill  was  passed  by  Congress  recognizing  the  new  states  as 
sovereign  nations.  In  the  following  year  this  action  was  followed  up 
by  the  President  with  a  vigorous  message,  in  which  he  declared  that 
for  the  future  the  American  continents  were  not  to  he  considered  as  sub¬ 
jects  for  colonization  by  any  European  power.  This  famous  declara¬ 
tion  constitutes  what  has  ever  since  been  known  in  the  politics  and 
diplomacy  of  the  United  States  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine — a  doc¬ 
trine  by  which  the  entire  Western  hemisphere  is  consecrated  to  free 
institutions. 

Great  was  the  joy  of  the  American  people  in  the  summer  of 
1824.  The  venerated  La  Fayette,  now  aged  and  gray,  returned  once 
more  to  visit  the  land  for  whose  freedom  he  had  shed  his  blood.  The 
honored  patriots  who  had  fought  by  his  side  came  forth  to  greet  him. 
The  younger  heroes  crowded  around  him.  In  every  city,  and  on 
every  battle-field  which  he  visited,  he  was  surrounded  by  a  throng  of 
shouting  freemen.  His  journey  through  the  country  was  a  triumph. 
It  was  a  solemn  and  sacred  moment  when  he  stood  alone  by  the  grave 
of  Washington.  Over  the  dust  of  the  great  dead  the  patriot  of 
France  paid  the  homage  of  his  tears.  In  September  of  1825  he  bade 
a  final  adieu  to  the  people  who  had  made  him  their  guest,  and  then 
sailed  for  his  native  land.  At  his  departure,  the  frigate  Brandy¬ 
wine — a  name  significant  for  him — was  prepared  to  bear  him  away. 
While  Liberty  remains  to  cheer  the  West,  the  name  of  La  Fayette 
shall  be  hallowed. 

Before  the  departure  of  the  illustrious  Frenchman  another  pres¬ 
idential  election  had  been  held.  It  was  a  time  of  great  excitement 
and  much  division  of  sentiment.  Four  candidates  were  presented  for 


ADAMS'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


422 


the  suffrages  of  the  people.  There  was  an  appearance  of  sectionalism 
in  the  canvass.  John  Quincy  Adams  was  put  forward  as  the  candi¬ 
date  of  the  East ; 

William  H.  Craw¬ 
ford  of  Georgia  as 
the  choice  of  the 
South ;  Henry  Clay 
and  Andrew  Jack- 
son  as  the  favorites 
of  the  West.  Nei¬ 
ther  candidate  re¬ 
ceived  a  majority  of 
the  electoral  votes, 
and  for  the  second 
time  in  the  history 
of  the  government 
the  choice  of  Presi¬ 
dent  was  referred  to 
the  House  of  Rep¬ 
resentatives.  By 
that  body  Mr.  Ad¬ 
ams  was  duly  elec¬ 
ted.  For  Vice- 
President,  John  C.  LA  FAYETm 

Calhoun  of  South  Carolina  had  been  chosen  by  the  electoral  college. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

ADAMS’S  ADMINISTRATION,  1825-1829. 

THE  new  President  was  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March ,  1825. 

He  was  a  man  of  the  highest  attainments  in  literature  and  states¬ 
manship.  At  the  age  of  eleven  years  he  accompanied  his  father)  John 
Adams,  to  Europe.  At  Paris  and  Amsterdam  and  St.  Petersburg  the 
son  continued  his  studies,  and  at  the  same  time  became  acquainted 
with  the  manners  and  politics  of  the  Old  World.  The  vast  opportu¬ 
nities  of  his  youth  were  improved  to  the  fullest  extent.  In  his  riper 
years  he  served  his  country  as  ambassador  to  the  Netherlands,  Fartu- 


424 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


gal,  Prussia,  Russia  and  England.  Such  were  his  abilities  in  the  field 
of  diplomacy  as  to  elicit  from  Washington  the  extraordinary  praise  of 
being  the  ablest  minister  of  which  America  could  boast.  His  life,  from 
1794  till  1817,  was  devoted  almost  wholly  to  diplomatical  services  at 
the ‘various  European  capitals.  At  that  critical  period  when  the  rela¬ 
tions  of  the  United  States  with  foreign  nations  were  as  yet  not  well 
established,  his  genius  secured  the  adoption  of  treaty  after  treaty  in 
which  the  interests  of  his  country  were  guarded  with  patriotic  vigi¬ 
lance.  In  1806  he  was  honored  with  the  professorship  of  Rhetoric 
and  Belles-Lettres  at  Harvard  College  of  which  he  was  an  alumnus. 
He  had  also  held  the  office  of  United  States  senator  from  Massachu¬ 
setts;  and  on  the  accession  of  Monroe  to  the  presidency  was  chosen 
secretary  of  state.  To  the  presidential  chair  he  brought  the  wisdom 
of  mature  years,  great  experience  and  unusual  ability. 

The  new  administration  was  an  epoch  of  peace  and  prosperity  in 
the  country ;  but  the  spirit  of  party  manifested  itself  with  much  vio¬ 
lence.  The  adherents  of  General  Jackson  and  Mr.  Crawford  united 
in  opposition  to  the  policy  of  the  President;  and  there  was  a  want  of 
unanimity  between  the  different  departments  of  the  government.  In 
the  Senate  the  political  friends  of  Mr.  Adams  were  in  a  minority, 
and  their  majority  in  the  lower  House  only  lasted  for  one  session. 
In  his  inaugural  address  the  President  strongly  advocated  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  internal  improvements;  but  the  adverse  views  of  Congress 
prevented  his  recommendations  from  being  adopted. 

For  a  quarter  of  a  century  a  difficulty  had  existed  between  the 
government  of  the  United  States  and  Georgia  in  respect  to  the  lands 
held  in  that  State  by  the  Creek  Indians.  When,  in  1802,  Georgia 
relinquished  her  claim  to  Mississippi  Territory,  the  general  govern¬ 
ment  agreed  to  purchase  and  surrender  to  the  State  all  the  Creek 
lands  lying  within  her  own  borders.  This  pledge  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  had  never  been  fulfilled,  and  Georgia  complained  of 
bad  faith.  The  difficulty  became  alarming;*  but  finally,  in  March  of 
1826,  a  treaty  was  concluded  between  the  Creek  chiefs  and  the  Pres¬ 
ident,  by  which  a  cession  of  all  their  lands  in  Georgia  was  obtained. 
At  the  same  time  the  Creeks  agreed  to  remove  to  a  new  home  beyond 
the  Mississippi. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1826 — -just  fifty  years  to  a  day  after  the  Dec¬ 
laration  of  Independence — the  venerable  John  Adams,  second  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  United  States,  and  his  successor,  Thomas  Jefferson,  both 
died.  Both  had  lifted  their  voices  for  freedom  in  the  early  and  per¬ 
ilous  days  of  the  Revolution.  One  had  written  and  both  had  signed 


ADAMS'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


425 


the  great  Declaration.  Both  had  lived  to  see  their  country’s  independ 
ence.  Both  had  served  that  country  in  its  highest  official  station.  Both 
had  reached  extreme  old  age:  Adams  was  ninety;  Jefferson,  eighty- 
two.  Now,  while  the  cannon  were  booming  for  the  fiftieth  birthday 
of  the  nation,  the  gray  and  honored  patriots  passed,  almost  at  the  same 
hour,  from  among  the  living. 

In  the  following  September,  William  Morgan,  a  resident  of 
Western  New  York,  having  threatened  to  publish  the  secrets  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  suddenly  disap¬ 
peared  from  his  home,  and  was  never  heard  of  afterward.  The  Ma¬ 
sons  fell  under  the  suspicion  of  having  abducted  and  murdered  him. 
A  great  clamor  was  raised  against  them  in  New  York,  and  the  ex¬ 
citement  extended  to  other  parts  of  the  country.  The  issue  between 
the  Masons  and  their  enemies  became  a  political  one,  and  many  emi¬ 
nent  men  were  embroiled  in  the  controversy.  For  several  years  the 
anti-Masonic  party  exercised  a  considerable  influence  in  the  elections 
of  the  country.  De  Witt  Clinton,  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
valuable  statesmen  of  New  York,  had  to  suffer  much,  in  loss  of  repu¬ 
tation,  from  his  membership  in  the  order.  His  last  days  were  clouded 
with  the  odium  which  for  the  time  being  attached  to  the  Masonic 
name. 

In  the  congressional  debates  of  1828  the  question  of  the  tariff 
was  much  discussed.  By  a  tariff  is  understood  a  duty  levied  on  im¬ 
ported  goods.  The  object  of  the  same  is  twofold :  first,  to  produce  a 
revenue  for  the  government;  and  secondly,  to  raise  the  price  of  the 
article  on  which  the  duty  is  laid,  in  order  that  the  domestic  manu¬ 
facturer  of  the  thing  taxed  may  be  able  to  compete  with  the  foreign 
producer.  When  the  duty  is  levied  for  the  latter  purpose,  it  is  called 
a  protective  tariff.  Whether  it  is  sound  policy  for  a  nation  to  have 
protective  duties  is  a  question  which  has  been  much  debated  in  all 
civilized  countries.  Mr.  Adams  and  his  friends  decided  in  favor  of 
a  tariff;  and  in  1828  the  duties  on  fabrics  made  of  wool,  cotton,  linen 
and  silk,  and  those  on  articles  manufactured  of  iron,  lead,  etc.,  were 
much  increased.  The  object  of  such  legislation  was  to  stimulate  the 
manufacturing  interests  of  the  country.  The  question  of  the  tariff 
has  always  been  a  sectional  issue.  The  people  of  the  Eastern  and 
Middle  States,  where  factories  abound,  have  favored  protective  du¬ 
ties;  while  in  the  agricultural  regions  of  the  South  and  West  such 
duties  have  been  opposed. 

The  administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams  was  the  beginning 
of  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  United  States.  The  Revolution- 


426 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ary  sages  had  gradually  fallen  out  of  the  ranks  of  leadership;  and  the 
influences  of  the  Revolution  were  not  any  longer  distinctly  felt  in  the 
decision  of  national  questions.  Even  the  war  of  1812,  with  its  bitter 
party  antagonisms,  its  defeats  and  victories,  and  its  absurd  ending,  was 
fading  out  of  memory.  New  dispositions  and  tastes  arose  among  the 
people ;  new  issues  confronted  the  public ;  new  methods  prevailed  in 
the  halls  of  legislation.  Old  party  lines  could  no  longer  be  traced ; 
old  party  names  were  reduced  to  a  jargon.  Already  the  United  States 
had  surpassed  in  growth  and  development  the  sanguine  expectations 
of  the  fathers.  But  the  conflicting  opinions  and  interests  of  the  na¬ 
tion,  reflected  in  the  stormy  debates  of  Congress,  gave  cause  for  con¬ 
stant  anxiety  and  alarm.  *’■  '&• 

With  the  fall  of  1828  came  anotiie^^^sMential1  election.  The 
contest  was  specially  exciting.  Mr.  Adapts,  sftppprted  by  Mr.  Clay, 
the  secretary  of  state,  was  put  forward  for  re-elchtjon .  In  accordance 
with  an  understanding  which  had  existed  for  several  years,  General 
Jackson  appeared  as  the  candidate  of  the  opposition.  In  the  previ¬ 
ous  election  Jackson  had  received  more  electoral  votes  than  Adams; 
but  disregarding  the  popular  preference,  the  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  had  chosen  the  latter.  Now  the  people  were  determined  to 
have  their  way;  and  Jackson  was  triumphantly  elected,  receiving  a 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  electoral  votes  against  eighty-three  for 
his  opponent.  As  soon  as  the  election  was  over,  the  excitement — 
as  usual  in  such  cases — abated ;  and  the  thoughts  of  the  people  were 
turned  to  other  subjects. 


CHAPTER  LI V. 

JACKSON S  ADMINISTRATION,  1829-1887. 

•  '  ,.w 

THE  new  President  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  born  on  the 
Waxhaw,  March  15th,  1767.  His  belligerent  nature  broke  out  in 
boyhood,  and  his  mother’s  plan  of  devoting  him  to  the  ministry  was 
hopelessly  defeated.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  was  under  arms  and 
witnessed  Sumter’s  defeat  at  Hanging  Rock.  He  was  captured  by  the 
British,  maltreated,  and  left  to  die  of  smallpox ;  but  his  mother  se¬ 
cured  his  release  from  prison  and  his  life  was  saved.  After  the  Revo¬ 
lution  he  began  the  study  of  law,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  went 


JACKSON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


42? 


to  Nashville.  In  1796  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives 
from  the  new  State  of  Tennessee.  Here  his  turbulent  and  willful  dis¬ 
position  manifested  itself  in  full  force.  During  the  next  year  he  was 
promoted  to  the  Senate,  where  he  remained  a  year,  without  making  a 
speech  o  r  casting  a 
vote.  He  then  .  re¬ 
signed  his  seat  and 
returned  home.  His 
subsequent  career  is  a 
part  of  the  history  of 
the  country,  more  par¬ 
ticularly  of  the  South¬ 
west  with  which  sec¬ 
tion  his  name  was 
identified.  He  came 
to  the  presidential  of¬ 
fice  as  a  military  hero. 

But  he  was  more  than 
that:  a  man  of  great 
native  powers  and  in- 
flexible  honesty. 

His  talents  were 
strong  but  u  n  p  o  1  - 
ished ;  his  integrity 
unassailable;  his  will 
like  iron.  He  was 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 


one  of  those  men 

for  whom  no  toils  are  too  arduous,  no  responsibility  too  great.  His 
personal  character  was  strongly  impressed  upon  his  administration. 
Believing  that  the  public  affairs  would  be  best  conducted  by  such 
means,  he  removed  nearly  seven  hundred  office-holders,  and  appointed 
in  their  stead  his  own’  political  friends.  In  defence  of  such  a  course 
the  precedent  established  by  Mr.  Jefferson  was  pleaded. 

In  his  first  annual  message  the  President  took  strong  grounds 
against  rechartering  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  Believing  that 
institution  to  be  both  inexpedient  and  unconstitutional,  he  recom¬ 
mended  that  the  old  charter  should  be  allowed  to  expire  by  its  own 
limitation  in  1836.  But  the  influence  of  the  bank,  with  its  many 
branches,  was  very  great;  and  in  1832  a  bill  to  recharter  was  brought 
before  Congress  and  passed.  To  this  measure  the  President  opposed 
his  veto;  and  since  a  two-thirds  majority  in  favor  of  the  bill  could  not 


428 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


be  secured,  the  proposition  to  grant  a  new  charter  failed,  and  the  bank 
ceased  by  the  original  limitation. 

It  was  in  the  early  part  of  Jackson’s  administration  that  the 
partisan  elements  of  the  country,  which  for  some  years  had  been 
whirling  about  in  a  chaotic  condition,  was  resolved  into  the  two  great 
factions  of  Whig  and  Democratic  —  a  form  which  remained  as  the  es« 
stablished  order  in  politics  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  old  Fed¬ 
eral  party,  under  whose  auspices  the  government  was  organized,  had 
lost  control  of  national  affairs  on  the  retirement  of  John  Adams  from 
the  presidency.  Still  the  party  lingered,  opposed  the  war  of  1812,  and 
became  odious  from  its  connection  with  the  Hartford  Convention.  In 
1820  only  enough  of  the  old  organization  remained  to  be  severely 
handled  in  the  great  debates  on  the  Missouri  Compromise.  Then  fol¬ 
lowed,  during  Monroe’s  second  term,  what  is  known  in  American  po¬ 
litical  history  as  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling.  Partisanship  seemed 
ready  to  expire.  On  the  other  side,  the  line  of  political  descent  had 
begun  with  the  anti-Federalists  who  after  opposing  the  National  consti¬ 
tution  and  the  administrative  policy  of  Washington  and  Adams,  became 
under  the  name  of  Republicans  the  champions  of  France  as  against 
Great  Britain.  But  this  name  was  soon  exchanged  for  that  of  Demo¬ 
crats;  and  under  that  title  the  party  came  into  power  with  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  Jefferson.  Then  followed  the  administrations  of  Madison, 
Monroe,  and  John  Quincy  Adams  under  the  same  political  banner. 
But  in  the  case  of  Adams  the  new  forces  were  already  at  work,  When 
Jackson  became  President  his  arbitrary  measures  alarmed  the  country 
and  drove  all  the  elements  of  the  opposition  into  a  compact  phalanx 
under  the  leadership  of  Clay  and  Webster.  To  this  new  party  organi¬ 
zation  the  name  of  Whig  was  given  —  a  name  taken  from  the  old 
Scotch  Covenanters  and  English  republicans  of  the  seventeenth  cen¬ 
tury,  worn  by  the  patriots  of  the  American  Revolution  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  Tories,  and  now  adopted  as  the  permanent  title  of  the 
opponents  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy. 

The  reopening  of  the  tariff  question  occasioned  great  excitement 
in  Congress  and  throughout  the  country.  In  the  session  of  1831-32 
additional  duties  were  levied  upon  manufactured  goods  imported  from 
abroad.  By  this  act  the  manufacturing  districts  were  again  favored 
at  the  expense  of  the  agricultural  States.  South  Carolina  was  spe¬ 
cially  offended.  A  great  convention  of  her  people  was  held,  and  it 
was  resolved  that  the  tariff-law  of  Congress  was  unconstitutional,  and 
therefore  null  and  void.  Open  resistance  was  threatened  in  case  the 
officers  of  the  government  should  attempt  to  collect  the  revenues  in 


JA  CNSON'S  A I)  MINIS  TEA  TION. 


429 


the  harbor  of  Charleston.  In  the  United  States  Senate  the  right  of  a 
State,  under  certain  circumstances,  to  nullify  an  act  of  Congress  was 
boldly  proclaimed.  On  that  issue  occurred  the  famous  debate  be¬ 
tween  the  eloquent  Colonel  Hayne,  senator  from  South  Carolina,  and 
Daniel  Webster 
of  Massachusetts,  per¬ 
haps  the  greatest  mas¬ 
ter  of  American  ora¬ 
tory.  The  former  ap¬ 
peared  as  the  cham¬ 
pion  of  State  rights, 
and  the  latter  as  the 
advocate  of  constitu¬ 
tional  supremacy. 

But  the  question 
was  not  decided  by 
debate.  The  Presi¬ 
dent  took  the  matter 
in  hand  and  issued  a 
proclamation  denying 
the  right  of  any  State 
to  nullify  the  laws  of 
Congress.  But  Mr. 

Calhoun,  the  Vice-  daniel  webster. 

President,  resigned  his 

office  to  accept  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  where  he  might  better  defend 
the  doctrines  of  his  State.  The  President,  having  warned  the  people 
of  South  Carolina  against  pursuing  those  doctrines  further,  ordered  a 
body  of  troops  under  General  Scott  to  proceed  to  Charleston,  and  also 
sent  thither  a  man-of-war.  At  this  display  of  force  the  leaders  of  the 
nullifying  party  quailed  and  receded  from  their  position.  Bloodshed 
was  happily  a  voided ;  and  in  the  following  spring  the  excitement  was 
allayed  by  a  compromise.  Mr.  Clay  brought  forward  and  secured  the 
passage  of  a  bill  providing  for  a  gradual  reduction  of  the  duties 
complained  of  until,  at  the  end  of  ten  years,  they  should  reach  the 
standard  demanded  by  the  South. 

In  the  spring  of  1832  the  Sac,  Fox  and  Winnebago  Indians  of 
Wisconsin  Territory  began  a  war.  They  were  incited  and  led  by  the 
famous  chief  Black  Hawk,  who,  like  many  great  sachems  before  him, 
believed  in  the  possibility  of  an  Indian  confederacy  sufficiently  pow¬ 
erful  to  beat  back  the  whites.  The  lands  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 


430 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


lying  in  the  Rock  River  country  of  Illinois,  had  been  purchased  by 
the  government  twenty-five  years  previously.  The  Indians,  however, 
remained  in  the  ceded  territory,  since  there  was  no  occasion  for  im¬ 
mediate  occupation  by  the  whites.  When  at  last,  after  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  the  Indians  were  required  to  give  possession,  they  caviled  at 
the  old  treaty,  and  refused  to  comply.  The  government  insisted  that 
the  Red  men  should  fulfill  their  contract,  and  hostilities  began  on  the 
frontier.  The  governor  of  Illinois  called  out  the  militia,  and  General 
Scott  was  sent  with  nine  companies  of  artillery  to  Chicago.  At  that 
place  his  force  was  overtaken  with  the  cholera,  and  he  was  prevented 
from  co-operating  with  the  troops  of  General  Atkinson.  The  latter, 
however,  waged  a  vigorous  campaign  against  the  Indians,  defeated 
them  in  several  actions,  and  made  Black  Hawk  prisoner.  The  cap¬ 
tive  chieftain  was  taken  to  Washington  and  the  great  cities  of  the 
East,  where  his  understanding  was  opened  as  to  the  power  of  the 
nation. against  which  he  had  been  foolish  enough  to  lift  his  hatchet. 
Returning  to  his  own  people,  he  advised  them  that  resistance  was 
hopeless.  The  warriors  then  abandoned  the  disputed  lands  and  re¬ 
tired  into  Iowa. 

Difficulties  also  arose  with  the  Cherokees  of  Georgia.  These 
were  the  most  civilized  and  humane  of  all  the  Indian  nations.  They 
had  adopted  the  manners  of  the  whites.  They  had  pleasant  farms, 
goodly  towns,  schools,  printing-presses,  a  written  code  of  laws.  The 
government  of  the  United  States  had  given  to  Georgia  a  pledge  to 
purchase  the  Cherokee  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  State.  The  pledge 
was  not  fulfilled ;  the  authorities  of  Georgia  grew  tired  of  waiting 
for  the  removal  of  the  Indians ;  and  the  legislature  passed  a  statute  by 
which  the  government  of  the  Red  men  was  abrogated  and  the  laws  of 
the  State  extended  over  the  Indian  domain.  With  singular  illiberal¬ 
ly,  it  Avas  at  the  same  time  enacted  that  the  Cherokees  and  Creeks 
should  not  have  the  use  of  the  State  courts  or  the  protection  of  the  laws. 
This  code,  however,  Avas  declared  unconstitutional  by  the  supreme  court 
of  the  United  States.  The  Indians  then  appealed  to  the  President  for 
help ;  but  he  refused  to  interpose  betAveen  them  and  the  laAvs  of  Geor¬ 
gia.  He  also  recommended  the  remoA7al  of  the  Cherokees  to  lands  be¬ 
yond  the  Mississippi ;  and  Avith  this  end  in  vieAv,  the  Indian  Terri¬ 
tory  was  organized  in  the  year  1834.  The  Indians  yielded  Avith  great 
reluctance.  More  than  five  million  dollars  were  paid  them  for  their 
lands ;  but  still  they  clung  to  their  homes.  At  last  General  Scott 
Avas  ordered  to  remove  them  to  the  neAv  territory,  using  force  if 
necessary  to  accomplish  the  work.  The  years  1837-38  were  oc- 


LAND  OF  THE  SEMIN OLES 


JACKSON'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


431 


eupied  with  the  final  transfer  of  the  Cherokees  to  their  homes  in 
the  West. 

More  serious  still  was  the  conflict  with  the  Seminoles  of  Florida. 
The  trouble  arose  from  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  government  to 
remove  the  tribe  to  a  new  domain  beyond  the  Mississippi  Hostili¬ 
ties  began  in  1835.  and  continued  for  four  years.  The  chief  of  the 
Seminoles  was  Osceola,  a  half-breed  of  great  talents  and  audacity.  He 
and  Micanopy,  another  chieftain,  denied  the  validity  of  a  former  treaty 
by  which  the  Seminole  lands  had  been  ceded  to  the  government.  So 
haughty  was  the  bearing  of  Osceola  that  General  Thompson,  the  agent 
of  the  government  in  Florida,  arrested  him  and  put  him  in  irons. 
The  red  warrior  dissembled  his  purpose,  gave  his  assent  to  the  old 
treaty,  and  was  liberated.  As  might  have  been  foreseen,  he  immedi¬ 
ately  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  slaughter  the  whites  and  devastate 
the  country. 

At  this  time  the  interior  of  Florida  was  held  by  General  Clinch, 
who  had  his  headquarters  at  FortDrane,  seventy-five  miles  south-west 
from  St.  Augustine.  The  post  was  considered  in  danger;  and  Majoi 
Hade  with  a  hundred  and  seventeen  men  was  despatched  from  Fort 
Brooke,  at  the  head  of  Tampa  Bay,  to  reinforce  General  Clinch.  After 
mardhing  about  half  the  distance,  Hade’s  forces  fell  into  an  ambus¬ 
cade,  and  were  all  massacred  except  one  man  who  was  left  alive  un¬ 
der  a  heap  of  the  dead.  On  the  same  day  Osceola,  with  a  band  of 
warriors,  prowling  around  Fort  King,  on  the  Ocklawaha,  surrounded 
a  storehouse  where  General  Thompson  was  dining  with  a  company  of 
friends.  The  savages  poured  in  a  murderous  fire,  and  then  rushed 
forward  and  scalped  the  dead  before  the  garrison  of  the  fort,  only 
two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  away,  could  bring  assistance.  General 
Thompson’s  body  was  pierced  by  fifteen  balls ;  and  four  of  his  nine 
companions  were  killed. 

On  the  31st  of  Hecember  General  Clinch  fought  a  battle  with 
the  Indians  on  the  banks  of  the  Withlacoochie.  The  savages  were 
repulsed,  but  Clinch  thought  it  prudent  to  retreat  to  Fort  Hrane.  In 
the  following  February  General  Scott  took  command  of  the  American 
forces  in  Florida.  On  the  29th  of  the  same  month  General  Gaines, 
who  was  advancing  from  the  West  with  a  force  of  a  thousand  men 
for  the  relief  of  Fort  Hrane,  was  attacked  near  the  battle-field  where 
Clinch  had  fought.  The  Seminoles  made  a  furious  onset,  but  were 
repulsed  with  severe  losses.  In  May  some  straggling  Creeks  who 
still  remained  in  the  country  began  hostilities;  but  they  were  soon 
subdued  and  compelled  to  seek  their  reservation  beyond  the  Missis- 


432 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


sippi.  In  October  of  1836  Governor  Call  of  Florida  marched  with 
a  force  of  two  thousand  men  against  the  Indians  of  the  interior.  A 
division  of  his  army  overtook  the  enemy  in  the  Wahoo  Swamp,  a 
short  distance  from  the  scene  of  Dade’s  massacre.  A  battle  ensued, 
and  the  Indians  were  driven  into  the  Everglades  with  considerable 
losses.  Soon  afterward  another  engagement  was  fought  on  nearly  the 
same  ground;  and  again  the  savages  were  beaten,  though  not  deci¬ 
sively.  The  remainder  of  the  history  of  the  Seminole  War  belongs 
to  the  following  administration. 

In  the  mean  time  the  President  had  given  a  final  quietus  to 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  After  vetoing  the  bill  to  recharter 
that  institution,  he  conceived  that  the  surplus  funds  whieh  had  accu¬ 
mulated  in  its  vaults  would  be  better  distributed  among  the  States. 
He  had  no  warrant  of  law  for  such  a  step;  but  believing  himself  to 
be  in  the  right,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  take  the  responsibility.  Ac¬ 
cordingly,  in  October  of  1833,  he  ordered  the  accumulated  funds  of 
the  great  bank,  amounting  to  about  ten  million  dollars,  to  be  distri¬ 
buted  among  certain  State  banks  designated  for  that  purpose.  This 
action  on  the  part  of  the  President  was  denounced  by  the  opposition 
as  a  measure  of  incalculable  mischief — unwarranted,  arbitrary,  dan¬ 
gerous.  In  the  Senate  a  powerful  coalition,  headed  by  Calhoun,  Clay, 
and  Webster,  was  formed  against  the  President;  and  the  new  officers, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  carry  out  his  measures,  were  rejected.  A 
resolution  censuring  his  conduct  was  then  introduced  and  carried;  but 
a  similar  proposition  failed  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  For  a 
while  there  was  a  general  cry  of  indignation,  and  it  seemed  that  the 
administration  would  be  overwhelmed;  but  the  President,  ever  as 
fearless  as  he  was  self-willed  and  stubborn,  held  on  his  course,  un¬ 
moved  by  the  clamor.  The  resolution  of  censure  stood  upon  the  jour¬ 
nal  of  the  Senate  for  four  years  and  was  then  expunged  from  the 
record  through  the  influence  of  Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton  of  Mis¬ 
souri.  The  financial  panic  of  1836-7,  following  soon  after  the 
removal  of  the  funds,  was  attributed  by  the  opponents  of  the  admin¬ 
istration  to  the  President’s  arbitrary  action  and  the  prospective. des¬ 
truction  of  the  national  bank.  To  these  strictures  the  adherents  of 
his  own  party  replied  that  the  financial  distress  of  the  country  was 
attributable  to  the  bank  itself,  which  was  declared  to  be  an  institution 
too  powerful  and  despotic  to  exist  in  a  free  government.  The  Presi¬ 
dent  was  but  little  concerned  with  the  excitement:  he  had  just  en¬ 
tered  on  his  second  term,  with  Martin  Van  Buren  for  Vice-President 
instead  of  Mr.  Calhoun. 

In  1834  the  strong  will  of  the  chief  magistrate  was  brought  into 


THE  NEW  PATENT-OFFICE  AT  WASHINGTON. 


\ 


THE  GENERAL  POST-OFFICE  AT  WASHINGTON 


V 


JA  CKSON’t  ADMINISTRA  TIOK 


435 


conflict  with  France.  The  American  government  held  an  old  claim 
against  that  country  for  damages  done  to  the  commerce  of  the  United 
States  in  the  wars' of  Napoleon.  In  1831  the  French  king  had  agreed 
to  pay  five  million  dollars  for  the  alleged  injuries;  but  the  dilatory 
government  of  France  postponed  and  neglected  the  payment  until 
the  President,  becoming  wrathful,  recommended  to  Congress  to  make 
reprisals  on  French  commerce,  and  at  the  same  time  directed  the 
American  minister  at  Paris  to  demand  his  passports  and  come  home. 
These  measures  had  the  desired  effect,  and  the  indemnity  was  promptly 
paid.  The  government  of  Portugal  was  brought  to  terms  in  a  similar 
manner. 

The  country,  though  flourishing,  was  not  without  calamities. 
Several  eminent  statesmen  fell  by  the  hand  of  death.  On  the  4th  of 
July,  1831,  ex-President  Monroe  passed  away.  Like  Jefferson  and 
Adams,  he  sank  to  rest  amid  the  rejoicings  of  the  national  anniver¬ 
sary.  In  the  following  year  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  the  last 
surviving  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  died  at  the  age 
of  ninety-six.  A  short  time  afterward  Philip  Freneau,  the  poet  of 
the  Revolution,  departed  from  the  land  of  the  living.  The  patriot 
bard  had  reached  the  age  of  eighty.  On  the  24th  of  June,  1833,  John 
Randolph  of  Roanoke  died  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  a  man  admired 
for  his  talents,  dreaded  for  his  wit  and  sarcasm,  and  respected  for  his 
integrity  as  a  statesman.  In  1835  Chief-Justice  Marshall  breathed 
his  last,  at  the  age  of  fourscore  years;  and  in  the  next  year  ex-Pres¬ 
ident  Madison,  worn  with  the  toils  of  eighty-five  years,  passed  away. 
To  these  losses  of  life  must  be  added  two  great  disasters  to  property. 
On  the  16th  of  December,  1835,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  lower  part 
of  New  York  City  and  laid  thirty  acres  of  buildings  in  ashes.  Five 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  houses  and  property  valued  at  eighteen 
million  dollars  were  consumed.  Just  one  year  afterward  the  Patent 
Office  and  Post-Office  at  Washington  were  destroyed  in  the  same 
manner.  But  upon  the  ruins  of  these  valuable  buildings,  more  noble 
and  imposing  structures  were  soon  erected. 

Jackson’s  administration  was  signalized  by  the  addition  of  two 
new  States.  In  June  of  1836  Arkansas  was  admitted,  with  an  area 
of  fifty-two  thousand  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  seventy  thou¬ 
sand.  In  January  of  the  following  year  Michigan  Territory  was 
organized  as  a  State  and  added  to  the  Union.  The  new  common- 
wealth  brought  a  population  of  a  hundred  and  fifty-seven  thousand, 
and  an  area  of  fifty-six  thousand  square  miles.  The  administration 
was  already  within  twro  months  of  its  close.  The  President,  follow¬ 
ing  the  example  of  Washington,  issued  a  patriotic  farewell  address. 


436 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  dangers  of  discord  and  sectionalism  among  the  States  were  set 
forth  with  all  the  masculine  energy  of  the  Jacksonian  dialect.  The 
people  of  the  United  States  were  again  solemnly  warned,  as  they  had 
been  by  the  Father  of  his  Country,  against  the  baleful  influence  of 
demagogues.  The  horrors  of  disunion  were  portrayed  in  the  strong¬ 
est  colors;  and  people  of  every  rank  and  section  were  exhorted  to 
maintain  and  defend  the  American  Union  as  they  would  the  last 
fortress  of  human  liberty.  This  was  the  last  of  those  remarkable 
public  papers  contributed  by  Andrew  Jackson  to  the  history  of  his 
country.  Already,  in  the  autumn  of  the  previous  year,  Martin  Van 
Buren  had  been  elected  President.  The  opposing  candidate  was  Gen¬ 
eral  Harrison  of  Ohio,  who  received  the  support  of  the  new  Whig 
party.  As  to  the  vice-presidency,  no  one  secured  a  majority  in  the 
electoral  college,  and  the  choice  devolved  on  the  Senate.  By  thai 
body  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson  of  Kentucky  was  duly  elected. 


CHAPTER  LV. 

VAN  BUREN’S  ADMINISTRATION \  1837-1841. 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  eighth  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  born  at  Kinderhook,  New  York,  on  the  5th  of  December, 
1782.  After  receiving  a  limited  education  he  became  a  student  of 
law,  and  before  reaching  his  majority  was  recognized  as  an  influential 
democratic  politician.  In  his  thirtieth  year  he  Avas  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  his  native  State ;  and  six  years  afterwards,  by  supplanting 
De  Witt  Clinton,  became  the  recognized  leader  of  the  Democracy  in 
New  York.  In  1821,  and  again  in  1827,  he  was  chosen  United  States 
Senator ;  but  in  the  folloAving  year  he  resigned  his  office  to  accept  the 
governorship  of  his  native  State.  He  also,  in  1831,  resigned  his 
place  as  secretary  of  State  in  the  first  cabinet  of  President  Jackson, 
and  Avas  appointed  minister  to  England.  But  Avhen,  in  December  of 
the  same  year,  his  nomination  was  submitted  to  the  Senate  the  influence 
of  Vice-President  Calhoun  assisted  by  the  Whig  leaders,  Clay  and 
Webster,  procured  the  rejection  of  the  appointment.  Mr.  Van  Buren 
returned  from  his  unfulfilled  mission  ;  became  the  candidate  for  the 
vice-presidency,  and  Avas  elected  in  the  fall  of  1832.  Four  years 
later  he  A\Tas  called  by  the  voice  of  the  poA\Terful  party  to  Avhich  he  be¬ 
longed,  to  succeed  General  Jackson  in  the  highest  office  of  the  nation. 


VAN  BU REN'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


,|0- 
•±i>( 

One  of  the  first  duties  of  the  new  administration  was  to  finish  the 
Seminole  War.  In  the  beginning  of  1837  the  command  of  the  army  in 
Florida  was  transferred  from  General  Scott  to  General  Jessup.  In  the 
following  fall  Osceola  came  to  the  American  camp  with  a  flag  of  truce ; 
but  he  was  suspected  of  treachery,  seized,  and  sent  a  prisoner  to  Fort 
Moultrie,  where  he  died  in  1838.  The  Seminoles,  though  disheartened 
by  the  loss  of  their  chief,  continued  the  war.  In  December  Colonel 
Zachary  Taylor,  with  a  force  of  over  a  thousand  men,  marched  into  the 
Everglades  of  Florida,  determined  to  fight  the  savages  in  their  lairs. 
After  unparalleled  sufferings  he  overtook  them,  on  Christmas  day,  near 
Lake  Okeechobee.  A  hard  battle  was  fought,  and  the  Indians  were  de¬ 
feated,  but  not  until  a  hundred  and  thirty-nine  of  the  whites  had  fallen. 
For  more  than  a  year  Taylor  continued  to  hunt  the  Red  men  through  the 
swamps.  In  1839  the  chiefs  sent  in  their  submission  and  signed  a  treaty; 
but  their  removal  to  the  West  was  made  with  much  reluctance  and  delay. 

In  the  first  year  of  Van  Buren’s  administration  the  country  was  afflicted 
with  a  monetary  panic  of  the  most  serious  character.  The  preceding  years 
had  been  a  time  of  great  prosperity.  The  national  debt  was  entirely  liqui¬ 
dated,  and  a  surplus  of  nearly  forty  million  dollars  had  accumulated  in 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States.  By  act  of  Congress  this  vast  sum  had 
been  distributed  among  the  several  States.  Owing  to  the  abundance  of 
money,  speculations  of  al  1  sorts  grew  rife.  The  credit  system  pervaded  every 
department  of  business.  The  banks  of  the  country  were  suddenly  multi¬ 
plied  to  nearly  seven  hundred.  Vast  issues  of  irredeemable  paper  money 
stimulated  the  speculative  spirit  and  increased  the  opportunities  for  fraud. 

The  bills  of  these  unsound  banks  were  receivable  at  the  land-offices ; 
and  settlers  and  speculators  made  a  rush  to  secure  the  public  lands  while 
money  was  plentiful.  Seeing  that  in  receiving  such  an  unsound  currency 
in  exchange  for  the  national  domain  the  government  was  likely  to  be 
defrauded  out  of  millions,  President  Jackson  had  issued  an  order  called 
tiie  Specie  Circular,  by  which  the  land-agents  were  directed  hence¬ 
forth  to  receive  nothing  but  coin  in  payment  for  the  lands.  The  effects 
of  this  circular  came  upon  the  nation  in  the  first  year  of  Van  Buren’s 
administration.  The  interests  of  the  government  had  been  secured  by 
Jackson’s  vigilance;  but  the  business  of  the  country  was  prostrated  by 
the  shock.  The  banks  suspended  specie  payment.  Mercantile  houses 
failed ;  and  disaster  swept  through  every  avenue  of  trade.  During  the 
months  of  March  and  April,  1837,  the  failures  in  New  York  and  New 
Orleans  amounted  to  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars.  A  com¬ 
mittee  of  business  men  from  the  former  city  besought  the  President  to 
rescind  the  specie  circular  and  to  call  a  special  session  of  Congress.  The 


438 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


former  request  was  refused  and  the  latter  complied  with ;  but  not  until 
the  executive  was  driven  by  the  distresses  of  the  country. 

When  Congress  convened  in  the  following  September,  several  measures 
of  relief  were  brought  forward.  A  bill  authorizing  the  issue  of  treasury 
notes,  not  to  exceed  ten  millions  of  dollars,  was  passed  as  a  temporary  ex¬ 
pedient.  More  important  by  far  was  the  measure  proposed  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent  and  brought  before  Congress  under  the  name  of  the  Independent 
Treasury  Bill.  By  the  provisions  of  this  remarkable  project  the 
public  funds  of  the  nation  were  to  be  kept  on  deposit  in  a  treasury  to  be 
established  for  that  special  purpose.  It  wras  argued  by  Mr.  Van  Buren 
and  his  friends  that  the  surplus  money  of  the  country  would  drift  into 
the  independent  treasury  and  lodge  there ;  and  that  by  this  means  the 
speculative  mania  would  be  effectual ly  checked;  for  extensive  speculations 
could  not  be  carried  on  without  an  abundant  currency.  It  was  in  the 
nature  of  the  President’s  plan  to  separate  the  business  of  the  United  States 
from  the  general  business  of  the  country. 

The  independent  treasury  bill  was  passed  by  the  Senate,  but  de¬ 
feated  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  But  in  the  following  regular 
session  of  Congress  the  bill  was  again  brought  forward  and  adopted.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  business  of  the  country  had  in  a  measure  revived. 
During  the  year  1838  most  of  the  banks  resumed  specie  payments. 
Commercial  affairs  assumed  their  wonted  aspect ;  but  trade  was  less 
vigorous  than  before.  Enterprises  of  all  kinds  languished,  and  the  people 
were  greatly  disheartened.  Discontent  prevailed  ;  and  the  administration 
wras  blamed  with  everything. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1837  there  was  an  insurrection  in  Canada.  A 
portion  of  the  people,  dissatisfied  with  the  British  government,  broke  out 
in  revolt  and  attempted  to  establish  their  independence.  The  insurgents 
found  much  sympathy  and  encouragement  in  the  United  States,  especially 
in  New  York.  From  that  State  a  party  of  seven  hundred  men,  taking 
arms,  seized  and  fortified  Navy  Island,  in  the  Niagara  River.  The 
loyalists  of  Canada  attempted  to  capture  the  place,  and  failed.  They  suc¬ 
ceeded,  however,  in  firing  the  Caroline,  the  supply-ship  of  the  adven¬ 
turers,  cut  her  moorings,  and  sent  the  burning  vessel  over  Niagara  Falls. 
These  events  created  considerable  excitement,  and  the  peaceful  relations 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  were  endangered.  But  the  Presi¬ 
dent  issued  a  proclamation  of  neutrality,  forbidding  interference  with  the 
affairs  of  Canada;  and  General  Wool  was  sent  to  the  Niagara  frontier 
with  a  sufficient  force  to  quell  the  disturbance  and  punish  the  disturbers. 
The  New  York  insurgents  on  Navy  Island  were  obliged  to  surrender, 
and  order  was  soon  restored. 


VAN  BUREN S  ADMINISTRATION. 


439 


Hardly  had  the  excitement  attendant  upon  the  Canadian  troubles 
subsided,  before  the  question  was  raised  as  to  Van  Buren’s  successor 
in  the  presidency.  The  canvass  began  early  and  in  a  very  bitter 
spirit.  The  measures  of  the  administration  had  been  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  call  forth  the  fiercest  political  controversy.  The  Whigs,  ani¬ 
mated  with  the  hope  of  victory,  met  in  national  convention  on  the  4th 
of  December,  1839,  and  again  nominated  General  Harrison  as  their 
leader  in  the  coming  contest.  On  the  Democratic  side  Mr.  Van  Buren 
had  no  competitor;  but  the  unanimity  of  his  party  could  hardly  com¬ 
pensate  for  his  misfortunes  and  blunders.  The  canvass  was  the  most 
exciting  in  the  political  history  of  the  country.  The  President  was 
blamed  with  every  thing.  The  financial  distress  was  laid  at  his  door. 
Extravagance,  bribery,  corruption  —  every  thing  bad  was  charged  upon 
him.  Men  of  business  advertised  to  pay  six  dollars  a  barrel  for  flour 
if  Harrison  should  be  elected ;  three  dollars  a  barrel  if  Van  Buren 
should  be  successful.  The  Whig  orators  tossed  about  the  luckless  ad¬ 
ministration  through  all  the  figures  and  forms  of  speech;  and  the 
President  himself  was  shot  at  with  every  sort  of  dart  that  partisan  wit 
and  malice  could  invent.  The  enthusiasm  in  the  ranks  of  the  oppo¬ 
sition  rose  higher  and  higher;  and  the  result  was  the  defeat  of  the 
Democrats  in  every  State  except  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Illinois,  Missouri, 
New  Hampshire,  Virginia,  and  South  Carolina.  The  electoral  votes 
of  these  States  —  numbering  sixty  —  were  given  to  Van  Buren;  and 
the  remainder,  amounting  to  two  hundred  and  thirty-four,  were  cast 
for  General  Harrison.  After  controlling  the  destinies  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  for  nearly  forty  years,  the  Democratic  party  was  temporarily 
routed.  For  Vice-President,  John  Tyler  of  Virginia  was  chosen. 

In  the  last  year  of  Van  Buren’s  administration  was  completed  the 
sixth  census  of  the  United  States.  The  tables  were,  as  usual,  replete 
with  the  evidences  of  growth  and  progress.  The  national  revenues 
for  the  year  1840  amounted  to  nearly  twenty  millions  of  dollars.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  last  ten  years  the  center  of  population  had  moved  westward 
along  the  thirty-ninth  parallel  of  latitude  from  the  South  Fork  of 
the  Potomac  to  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia  —  a  distance  of  fifty-five 
miles.  The  area  of  the  United  States  now  actually  inhabited,  amounted 
to  eight  hundred  and  seven  thousand  square  miles,  being  an  increase 
in  ten  years  of  twenty-seven  and  six-tenths  per  cent.  The  frontier 
line,  circumscribing  the  population,  passed  through  Michigan,  Wiscon¬ 
sin,  Iowa,  and  the  western  borders  of  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Loui¬ 
siana —  a  distance  of  three  thousand  three  hundred  miles.  The  popu¬ 
lation  had  reached  the  aggregate  of  seventeen  million  souls,  being  an 


440 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


increase  since  1830  of  more  than  six  millions.  It  was  found  from  the 
tables  that  eleven-twelfths  of  the  people  lived  outside  of  the  larger 
cities  and  towns,  showing  the  strong  preponderance  of  the  agricultural 
over  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  interest.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  lessons  of  the  census  was  found  in  the  fact  that  the  wonderful 
growth  of  the  United  States  was  in  extent  and  area,  and  not  in  accu¬ 
mulation —  in  the  spread  of  civilization  rather  than  in  intensity.  For, 
since  1830,  the  average  population  of  the  country  had  not  increased 
by  so  much  as  one  person  to  the  square  mile ! 

The  administration  of  Van  Buren  has  generally  been  reckoned 
as  unsuccessful  and  inglorious.  But  he  and  his  times  were  unfortu¬ 
nate  rather  than  bad.  He  was  the  victim  of  all  the  evils  which  fol¬ 
lowed  hard  upon  the  relaxation  of  the  Jacksonian  methods  of  govern¬ 
ment.  He  had  neither  the  will  nor  the  disposition  to  rule  as  his 
predecessor  had  done;  nor  were  the  people  and  their  representatives 
any  longer  in  the  humor  to  suffer  that  sort  of  government.  The  pe¬ 
riod  was  unheroic :  it  was  the  ebb-tide  between  the  belligerent  excite¬ 
ments  of  1832  and  the  war  with  Mexico;  The  financial  panic  added 
opprobrium  to  the  popular  estimate  of  imbecility  in  the  government. 
“The  administration  of  Van  Buren,”  said  a  bitter  satirist,  “ is  like 
a  parenthesis:  it  may  be  read  in  a  low  tone  of  voice  or  altogether 
omitted  without  injuring  the  sense!”  But  the  satire  lacked  one  essen¬ 
tial  quality  —  truth. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  HARRISON  AND  TYLER ,  18*1-1848. 

THE  new  President  was  a  Virginian  by  birth,  and  the  adopted  son 
of  Robert  Morris,  the  financier  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  a  grad¬ 
uate  of  Hampden-Sidney  College,  and  afterward  a  student  of  medicine. 
Attracted  by  the  military  life,  he  entered  the  army  of  St.  Clair ;  was 
rapidly  promoted;  became  lieutenant-governor  and  then  governor  of 
Indiana  Territory,  which  office  he  filled  with  great  ability.  His  mil¬ 
itary  career  in  the  North-west  has  already  been  narrated.  He  was 
inaugurated  President  on  the  4th  of  March,  1841,  and  began  his 
duties  by  issuing  a  call  for  a  special  session  of  Congress  to  consider 
u  sundry  important  matters  connected  with  the  finances  of  the  coun¬ 
try.”  An  able  cabinet  was  organized,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Dan- 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  HARRISON  AND  TYLER. 


441 


iel  Webster  as  secretary  of  state.  Everything  promised  well  for  the 
new  Whig  administration  ;  but  before  Congress  could  convene,  the 
venerable  President,  bending  under  the  weight  of  sixty-eight  years, 
fell  sick,  and  died  just  one  month  after  his  inauguration.  It  was 
the  first  time  that  such  a  calamity  had  befallen  the  American  peo¬ 
ple.  Profound  and  universal  grief  was  manifested  at  the  sad  event. 
On  the  6th  of  April  Mr.  Tyler  took  the  oath  of  office,  and  became 
President  of  the  United  States. 

He  was  a  statesman  of  considerable  distinction ;  a  native  of  Vir¬ 
ginia  ;  a  graduate  of  William  and  Mary  College.  At  an  early  age  he 
left  the  profession  of  law  to  enter  public  life ;  was  chosen  a  member 
of  Congress ;  and  in  1825  was  elected  governor  of  Virginia.  From 
that  position  he  was  sent  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States ;  and  now 
at  the  age  of  fifty-one  was  called  to  the  presidency.  He  had  been 
put  upon  the  ticket  with  General  Harrison  through  motives  of  expe¬ 
diency  ;  for  although  a  Whig  in  political  principles,  he  was  known  to 
be  hostile  to  the  United  States  Bank.  And  this  hostility  was  soon  to  be 
manifested  in  a  remarkable  manner. 

The  special  session  of  Congress  continued  from  May  till  Septem¬ 
ber.  One  of  the  first  measures  proposed  and  carried  was  the  repeal 
of  the  independent  treasury  bill.  A  general  bankrupt  law  was  then 
brought  forward  and  passed,  by  which  a  great  number  of  insolvent 
business  men  were  relieved  from  the  disabilities  of  debt.  The  next 
measure — a  favorite  scheme  of  the  Whigs — was  the  rechartering  of 
the  bank  of  the  United  States.  The  old  charter  had  expired  in  1836  ; 
but  the  bank  had  continued  in  operation  under  the  authority  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  Now  a  bill  to  recharter  was  brought  forward 
and  passed.  The  President  interposed  his  veto.  Again  the  bill  was 
presented,  in  a  modified  form,  and  received  the  assent  of  both  Houses, 
only  to  be  rejected  by  the  executive.  By  this  action  a  final  rupture 
was  produced  between  the  President  and  the  party  which  had  elected 
him.  The  indignant  Whigs,  baffled  by  a  want  of  a  two-thirds  major¬ 
ity  in  Congress,  turned  upon  him  with  storms  of  invective.  All  the 
members  of  the  cabinet  except  Mr.  Webster  resigned;  and  he  retained 
his  place  only  because  of  a  pending  difficulty  with  Great  Britain. 

The  difficulty  was  in  the  nature  of  a  dispute  about  the  north¬ 
eastern  boundary  of  the  United  States.  The  territorial  limit  of  the 
country  in  that  direction,  not  having  been  clearly  defined  by  the  treaty 
of  1783,  had  been  one  of  the  points  under  discussion  by  the  commis¬ 
sioners  at  Ghent  in  1814.  But  like  other  matters  presented  for  adju¬ 
dication  before  that  polite  and  easily  satisfied  congress,  the  boundary 


442 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


question  had  been  postponed  rather  than  settled.  It  was  then  agree J, 
however,  to  refer  the  establishment  of  the  entire  line  between  the 
United  States  and  Canada  to  the  decision  of  three  commissioners  to  be 
jointly  constituted  by  the  two  governments.  The  first  of  these  bodies 
accomplished  its  work  successfully  by  awarding  to  the  United  States 
the  islands  in  the  Bay  of  Passamaquoddy.  The  third  commission 
also  performed  its  duty  by  establishing  the  true  boundary  line  from 
the  intersection  of  the  forty-fifth  parallel  of  latitude  with  the  River 
St.  Lawrence  to  the  western  point  of  Lake  Huron.  To  the  second 
commission  was  assigned  the  more  difficult  task  of  settling  the  bound¬ 
ary  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  St.  Lawrence;  and  this  work  they  failed 
to  accomplish.  For  nearly  twenty-five  years  the  limit  of  the  United 
States  on  the  northeast  remained  in  controversy;  and  at  times  the  dif¬ 
ficulty  became  so  serious  as  to  endanger  the  peace  of  the  two  nations. 
Finally  the  whole  matter  at  issue  was  referred  to  Lord  Ashburton, 
acting  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  and  Mr.  Webster,  the  American 
Secretary  of  State.  After  an  able  discussion  of  all  the  points  in  dis¬ 
pute,  the  boundary  was  definitely  established  as  follows:  From  the 
mouth  of  the  River  St.  Croix  ascending  that  stream  to  its  western 
fountain;  from  that  fountain  due  north  to  the  St.  John’s;  thence  with 
that  river  to  its  source  on  the  watershed  between  the  Atlantic  and 
the  St.  Lawrence;  thence  in  a  southwesterly  direction  along  the  crest 
of  the  highlands  to  the  northwestern  source  of  the  Connecticut;  and 
down  that  stream  to  and  along  the  forty-fifth  parallel  to  the  St.  Law¬ 
rence.  The  work  of  the  commissioners  extended  also  to  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  the  boundary  from  the  western  point  of  Lake  Huron 
through  Lake  Superior  to  the  northwestern  extremity  of  the  Lake  of 
Woods,  thence  —  confirming  the  treaty  of  October,  1818, —  southward 
to  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  latitude,  and  thence  with  that  parallel  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  important  settlement,  known  as  the  Web¬ 
ster- Ashburton  Treaty,  was  completed  on  the  9th  of  August,  1842, 
and  was  ratified  by  the.  Senate  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month. 

In  the  next  year  the  country  was  vexed  with  a  domestic  trouble. 
For  nearly  two  centuries  tjie  government  of  Rhode  Island  had  been 
administered  under  a  charter  granted  by  Charles,  II.'  By  the  terms 
of  that  ancient  instrument  the  right  of  suffrage  was  restricted  to  those 
who  held  a  certain  amount  of  property.  There  were  other  clauses  re¬ 
pugnant  to  the  spirit  of  republicanism;  and  a  proposition  was  made 
to  change  the  constitution  of  the  State.  On  that  issue  the  people  of 
Rhode  Island  were  nearly  unanimous;  but  in  respect  to  the  maimer 
of  abrogating  the  old  charter  there  was  a  serious  division.  One  fac- 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  HARRISON  AND  TYLER. 


443 


tion,  called  the  “  law  and  order  party/’  proceeding  in  accordance  with 
the  former  constitution,  chose  Samuel  W.  King  as  governor.  The 
other  faction,  called  the  “suffrage  party,”  acting  in  an  irregular  way, 
elected  Thomas  W.  Dorr.  In  May  of  1842  both  parties  met  and  or¬ 
ganized  their  rival  governments. 

The  “  law  and  order  party  ”  now  undertook  to  suppress  the  faction 
of  Dorr.  The  latter  resisted  and  made  an  attempt  to  capture  the 
State  arsenal.  But  the  militia,  under  the  direction  of  King’s  officers, 
drove  the  assailants  away.  A  month  later  the  adherents  of  Dorr  again 
appeared  in  arms,  but  were  dispersed  by  the  troops  of  the  United 
States.  Dorr  fled  from  Rhode  Island;  returned  soon  afterward,  was 
caught,  tried  for  treason,  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for 
life.  He  was  then  offered  pardon  on  condition  of  taking  an  oath  of 
allegiance.  This  he  stubbornly  refused  to  do;  and  in  June  of  1845 
obtained  his  liberty  without  conditions. 

The  year  1842  was  noted  for  the  completion  of  the  Bunker 
Hill  Monument.  No  enterprise  of  a  similar  character  had,  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  country,  called  forth  so  much  patriotic  enthusiasm. 
The  foundation  of  the  noble  struc¬ 
ture  was  laid  on  the  17th  of  June, 

1825,  the  corner-stone  being  put  into 
its  place  by  the  venerable  La  Fay¬ 
ette.  Daniel  Webster,  then  young 
in  years  and  fame,  delivered  the  ora¬ 
tion  of  the  day,  while  two  hundred 
Revolutionary  veterans  —  forty  of 
them  survivors  of  the  battle  fought 
on  that  hill-crest  just  fifty  years  be¬ 
fore —  gathered  with  the  throng  to 
hear  him.  But  the  work  of  erection 
went  on  slowly.  More  than  a  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  were 
expended,  and  seventeen  years 
elapsed  before  the  grand  shaft — com¬ 
memorative  of  the  heroes  living1  and 
dead  —  was  finished.  At  last  the 
work  was  done,  and  the  mighty  column  of  Quincy  granite,  thirty-one 
feet  square  at  the  base  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  feet  in  height, 
stood  out  sublimely  against  the  clouds  and  sky.  It  was  deemed  fit¬ 
ting,  however,  to  postpone  the  dedication  until  the  next  anniversary 
of  the  battle;  and  preparations  were  made  accordingly.  On  the  17tn 


BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT. 


444 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  June,  1843,  an  immense  multitude  of  people  —  including  most  of 
the  Revolutionary  soldiers  who  had  not  yet  fallen  —  gathered  from  all 
parts  of  the  Republic  to  witness  the  imposing  ceremony.  Mr.  Web¬ 
ster,  now  full  of  years  and  honors,  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  address  of 
dedication  —  a  duty  which  he  performed  in  a  manner  so  touching  and 
eloquent  as  to  add  new  luster  to  his  fame  as  an  orator.  The  celebra¬ 
tion  was  concluded  with  a  public  dinner  given  in  Faneuil  Hall,  the 
cradle  of  American  liberty. 

In  the  latter  part  of  Tyler’s  administration  the  State  of  New 
York  was  the  scene  of  a  serious  social  disturbance.  Until  the  year 
1840  the  descendants  of  Van  Rensselaer,  one  of  the  old  Dutch  pa- 
troons  of  New  Netherland,  had  held  a  claim  on  certain  lands  in  the 
counties  of  Rensselaer,  Columbia  and  Delaware.  In  liquidation  of 
this  claim  they  had  continued  to  receive  from  the  farmers  certain 
trifling  rents.  At  last  the  farmers  grew  tired  of  the  payment,  and 
rebelled.  From  1840  until  1844  the  question  was  frequently  dis¬ 
cussed  in  the  New  York  legislature;  but  no  satisfactory  settlement 
was  reached.  In  the  latter  year  the  anti-rent  party  became  so  bold 
as  to  coat  with  tar  and  feathers  those  of  their  fellow-tenants  who 
made  the  payments.  Officers  were  sent  to  apprehend  the  rioters; 
and  them  they  killed.  Time  and  again  the  authorities  of  the  State 
were  invoked  to  quell  the  disturbers ;  and  the  question  in  dispute  has 
never  been  permanently  settled. 

Of  a  different  sort  was  the  difficulty  with  the  Mormons,  who  now 
began  to  play  a  part  in  the  history  of  the  country.  Under  the  leader¬ 
ship  of  their  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  they  made  their  first  important  set¬ 
tlement  in  Jackson  county,  Missouri.  Here  their  numbers  increased  to 
fully  fifteen  hundred ;  and  they  began  to  say  that  the  great  West  was 
to  be  their  inheritance.  Not  liking  their  neighbors  or  their  practices, 
the  people  of  Missouri  determined  to  be  rid  of  them.  As  soon  as  op¬ 
portunity  offered,  the  militia  was  called  out,  and  the  Mormons  were 
obliged  to  leave  the  St^te.  In  the  spring  of  1839  they  crossed  the 
Mississippi  into  Illinois,  and  on  a  high  bluff  overlooking  the  river 
laid  out  a  city  which  ^hey  called  Nauvoo,  meaning  the  Beautiful. 
Here  they  built  a  splendid  temple.  Other  Mormons  from  different 
parts  of  the  Union  and  from  Europe  came  to  join  the  community, 
until  the  number  was  swelled  to  ten  thousand.  Again  popular  sus¬ 
picion  was  aroused  against  them.  Under  the  administration  of  Smith, 
laws  were  enacted  contrary  to  the  statute  of  Illinois.  The  people 
charged  the  Mormons  with  the  commission  of  certain  thefts  and  mur¬ 
ders  ;  and  it  was  believed  that  the  courts  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nau¬ 
voo  would  be  powerless  to  convict  the  criminals. 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  HARRISON  AND  TYLER. 


445 


In  the  midst  of  much  excitement  Smith  and  his  brother  were  ar¬ 
rested,  taken  to  Carthage,  and  lodged  in  jail.  On  the  27th  of  June,  1844, 
a  mob  gathered,  broke  open  the  jail  doors  and  killed  the  prisoners.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  rest  of  the  summer  there  were  many  scenes  of  violence.  In  1845 
the  charter  of  Nauvoo  was  annulled  by  the  legislature  of  Illinois.  Most 
of  the  Mormons  gave  up  in  despair  and  resolved  to  exile  themselves  be¬ 
yond  the  limits  of  civilization.  In  1846  they  began  their  march  to  the 
far  West.  In  September  Nauvoo  was  cannonaded  for  three  days,  and  the 
remnant  of  inhabitants  driven  to  join  their  companions  at  Council  Bluffs. 
Thence  they  dragged  themselves  wearily  westward;  crossed  the  Rocky 
Mountains ;  reached  the  basin  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  founded  Utah 
Territory. 

Meanwhile,  a  great  agitation  had  arisen  in  the  country  in  regard  to 
the  republic  of  Texas.  From  1821  to  1836  this  vast  territory  lying  be¬ 
tween  Louisiana  and  Mexico,  had  been  a  province  of  the  latter  country. 
For  a  long  time  it  had  been  the  policy  of  Spain  and  Mexico  to  keep 
Texas  uninhabited,  in  order  that  the  vigorous  race  of  Americans  might 
not  encroach  on  the  Mexican  borders.  At  last,  however,  a  large  land- 
grant  was  made  to  Moses  Austin  of  Connecticut,  on  condition  that  he 
would  settle  three  hundred  American  families  within  the  limits  of  his  do¬ 
main.  Afterward  the  grant  was  confirmed  to  his  son  Stephen,  with  the 
privilege  of  establishing  five  hundred  additional  families  of  immigrants. 
Thus  the  foundation  of  Texas  was  laid  by  people  of  the  English  race. 

Owing  to  the  oppressive  policy  adopted  by  Mexico,  the  Texans, 
in  the  year  1835,  raised  the  standard  of  rebellion.  Many  adventurers 
and  some  heroes  from  the. United  States  flocked  to  their  aid.  In  the 
first  battle,  fought  at  Gonzales,  a  thousand  Mexicans  were  defeated  by 
a  Texan  force  numbering  five  hundred.  On  the  6th  of  March,  1836, 
a  Texan  fort,  called  the  Alamo,  was  surrounded  by  a  Mexican  army 
of  eight  thousand,  commanded  by  President  Santa  Anna.  The  feeble 
garrison  was  overpowered  and  massacred  under  circumstances  of  great 
atrocity.  The  daring  David  Crocket,  an  ex-congressman  of  Tennessee, 
and  a  famous  hunter,  was  one  of  the  victims  of  the  butchery.  In  the 
next  month  was  fought  the  decisive  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  which  gave 
to  Texas  her  freedom.  The  independence  of  the  new  State  was  ao* 
knowledged  by  the  United  States,  Great  Britain  and  France. 

As  soon  as  the  people  of  Texas  had  thrown  off  the  Mexican  yoke 
they  asked  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union.  At  first  the  proposition 
was  declined  by  President  Van  Buren,  who  feared  a  war  with  Mex¬ 
ico.  In  the  last  year  of  Tyler’s  administration  the  question  of  annex¬ 
ation  was  again  agitated.  The  population  of  Texas  had  increased  to 

more  than  two  hundred  thousand  souls.  The  territory  embraced  an 

31 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


area  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  thousand  square  miles— a  do¬ 
main  more  than  five  times  as  large  as  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  It 
was  liive  annexing  an  empire.  The  proposition  to  admit  Texas  into 
the  Union  was  the  great  question  on  which  the  people  divided  in 

the  presidential  elec¬ 
tion  of  1844.  The 
annexation  was  fa¬ 
vored  by  the  Demo¬ 
crats  and  opposed  by 
the  Whigs.  The 
parties  were  equally 
matched  in  strength; 
and  the  contest  sur¬ 
passed  in  excitement 
anything  which  had 
been  known  in  Amer¬ 
ican  politics.  James 
K.  Polk  of  Tennessee 
was  put  forward  as 
the  Democratic  can¬ 
didate,  while  the 
Whigs  chose  their 
favorite  leader,  Hen- 
.  professor  morse.  ry  Clay.  The  former 

was  elected,  and  the 

hope  of  the  latter  to  reach  the  presidency  was  forever  eclipsed.  For 
Vice-President,  George  M.  Dallas  of  Pennsylvania  was  chosen. 

The  convention  by  which  Mr.  Polk  was  nominated  was  held  at 
Baltimore.  On  the  29th  of  May,  1844,  the  news  of  the  nomination  was 
sent  to  Washington  by  the  Magnetic  Telegraph.  It  was  the  first 
despatch  ever  so  transmitted ;  and  the  event  marks  an  era  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  civilization.  The  inventor  of  the  telegraph,  which  has  proved 
so  great  a  blessing  to  mankind,  was  Professor  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse 
of  Massachusetts.  The  magnetic  principle  on  which  the  invention 
depends  had  been  known  since  1774;  but  Professor  Morse  was  the  first 
to  apply  that  principle  for  the  benefit  of  men.  He  began  his  experi¬ 
ments  in  1832:  and  five  years  afterward  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
patent  on  his  invention.  Then  followed  another  long  delay;  and  it 
was  not  until  the  last  day  of  the  session  in  1843  that  he  procured 
from  Congress  an  appropriation  of  thirty  thousand  dollars.  With 
that  appropriation  was  constructed  between  Baltimore  and  Wash* 


POLK'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


447 


ington  the  tirst  telegraphic  line  in  the  world.  Perhaps  no  other 
invention  has  exercised  a  more  beneficent  influence  on  the  welfare 
and  l^ppiness  of  the  human  race. 

When  Congress  convened  in  December  of  1844,  the  proposition 
to  admit  Texas  into  the  Union  was  formally  brought  forward.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  winter  the  question  was  frequently  debated;  and  on  the  1st 
of  March — only  three  days  before  Tyler’s  retirement  from  the  presi¬ 
dency — the  bill  of  annexation  was  adopted.  The  President  imme- 
liately  gave  his  assent;  and  the  Lone  Star  took  its  place  in  the 
constellation  of  the  States.  On  the  day  before  the  inauguration  of 
Mr.  Polk  bills  for  the  admission  of  Florida  and  Iowa  were  also 
signed;  but  the  latter  State — the  twenty-ninth  member  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Union — was  not  formally  admitted  until  the  following  year. 


CHAPTER  LYI I. 

POLK’S  ADMINISTRATION,  AND  THE  MEXICAN  WAR,  1845-1849. 

PRESIDENT  POLK  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina.  In  boyhood 
he  removed  with  his  father  to  Tennessee ;  entered  the  legislature 
of  the  State ;  and  was  then  elected  to  Congress,  where  he  served  as 
member  or  speaker  for  fourteen  years.  In  1839  he  was  chosen  gov¬ 
ernor  of  Tennessee,  and  from  that  position  was  called,  at  the  early 
age  of  forty-nine,  to  the  presidential  chair.  At  the  head  of  the  new 
cabinet  was  placed  James  Buchanan  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  an  of¬ 
fice  requiring  high  abilities;  for  the  threatening  question  with  Mexico 
came  at  once  to  a  crisis.  As  soon  as  the  resolution  to  annex  Texas 
was  adopted  by  Congress,  Almonte,  the  Mexican  minister  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  demanded  his  passports  and  left  the  country. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1845,  the  Texan  legislature  ratified  the  act 
of  annexation  ;  and  the  union  was  completed.  Knowing  the  warlike 
determination  of  Mexico,  the  authorities  of  Texas  sent  an  immediate 
and  urgent  request  to  the  President  to  despatch  an  army  for  their  pro¬ 
tection.  Accordingly,  General  Zachary  Taylor  was  ordered  to  march 
from  Camp  Jessup,  in  Western  Louisiana,  and  occupy  Texas.  The 
real  question  at  issue  between  that  State  and  Mexico  was  concerning 
boundaries.  The  foundation  of  the  difficulty  had  been  laid  as  early  as 


448 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  Mexican  revolution  of  1821.  By  that  event  Mexico  had  achieved 
her  independence  of  Spain,  and  in  rearranging  her  civil  administra¬ 
tion  had  united  Coahuila  and  Texas  —  the  two  frontier  States  east  of 
the  Rio  Grande  —  under  one  provincial  government.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  at  the  time  of  the  Texan  rebellion  of  1836.  Texas, 
being  successful  in  her  struggle  with  Mexico,  naturally  claimed  that 
her  own  independence  carried  with  it  the  independence  of  Coahuila, 
and  that,  therefore,  the  territory  of  the  latter  province  became  an  in¬ 
tegral  part  of  the  new  Texan  republic.  This  theory  the  joint  legis¬ 
lature  of  Texas  and  Coahuila  made  haste  to  put  into  statutory  form 
by  a  resolution  of  December  19th,  1836.  Mexico,  however,  insisted 
that  Texas  only,  and  not  Coahuila,  had  revolted  against  her  authority, 
and  that,  therefore,  the  latter  province,  was  still  rightfully  a  part  of 
the  Mexican  dominions,  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  Texas  —  now  a 
State  in  the  American  Union — claimed  the  Rio  Grande  as  her  west¬ 
ern  limit,  while  Mexico  was  de¬ 
termined  to  have  the  Nueces  as 
the  separating  line.  The  ter¬ 
ritory  between .  the  two  rivers 
was  in  dispute.  The  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  United  States  made 
a  proposal  to  settle  the  contro¬ 
versy  by  negotiation,  but  the 
authorities  of  Mexico  scornfully 
refused.  This  refusal  was  con¬ 
strued  by  the  Americans  as  a 
virtual  acknowledgment  that 
the  Mexicans  were  in  the 
wrong,  and  that  the  Rio  Grande 
might  justly  be  claimed  as  the 
boundary.  Instructions  were 
accordingly  sent  to  General 
Taylor  to  advance  his  army  as 
near  to  that  river  as  circum¬ 
stances  would  warrant.  Under  these  orders  he  moved  forward  to  Cor¬ 
pus  Christi,  at  the  mouth  of  the1  Nueces,  established  a  camp,  and  by 
the  beginning  of  November,  1845,  had  concentrated  a  force  of  between 
four  and  five  thousand  men. 

In  the  following  January  General  Taylor  was  ordered  to  advance 
to  the  Rio  Grande.  It  was  known  that  the  Mexican  government  had 
resolved  not  to  receive  the  American  ambassador  sent  thither  to  ne- 


roLICS  ADMINISTRATION. 


449 


gotiate  a  settlement.  It  had  also  transpired  that  an  army  of  Mexicans 
was  gathering  in  the  northern  part  of  the  country  for  the  invasion  of 
Texas,  or,  at  any  rate,  for  the  occupation  of  the 
disputed  territory.  On  the  8th  of  March  the 
American  army  began  the  advance  from  Corpus 
Christi  to  Point  Isabel,  on  the  gulf.  At  that 
place  General  Taylor  established  a  depot  of  sup¬ 
plies,  and  then  pressed  forward  to  the  Rio 
Grande.  Arriving  at  the  river  a  few  miles 
above  the  mouth,  he  took  his  station  opposite 
Matamoras  and  hastily  erected  a  fortress,  after¬ 
ward  named  Fort  Brown. 

On  the  26th  of  April,  General  Arista,  who 
had  arrived  at  Matamoras  on  the  previous  day  and  assumed  com¬ 
mand  of  the  Mexican  forces  on  the  frontier,  notified  General  Tay¬ 
lor  that  hostilities  had  begun.  On  the  same  day  a  company  of  Amer¬ 
ican  dragoons,  commanded  by  Captain  Thornton,  was  attacked  by  a 
body  of  Mexicans,  east  of  the  Rio  Grande ,  and  after  losing  sixteen 
men  in  killed  and  wounded,  was  obliged  to  surrender.  This  was  the 
first  bloodshed  of  the  war.  At  the  same  time  large  bodies  of  Mexi¬ 
cans —  marauders,  infantry,  and  cavalry  —  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  be¬ 
low  Fort  Brown  and  threatened  the  American  lines  of  communication. 
General  Taylor,  alarmed  lest  the  Mexicans  should  make  a  circuit  and 
capture  the  stores  at  Point  Isabel,  hastened  to  that  place  and  strength¬ 
ened  the  defences.  The  fort  opposite  Matamoras  was  left  under  the 
command  of  Major  Brown  with  a  garrison  of  three  hundred  men.  The 
withdrawal  of  the  American  general  with  the  greater  part  of  his  forces 
was  witnessed  by  the  Mexicans  in  Matamoras,  who,  mistaking  the 
movement  for  a  retreat  inspired  by  fear,  were  in  great  jubilation. 
The  Republican  Monitor,  a  Mexican  newspaper  of  Matamoras,  pub¬ 
lished  on  the  following  day  a  flaming  editorial,  declaring  that  the 
cowardly  invaders  of  Mexico  had  fled  like  a  gang  of  poltroons  to  the 
sea-coast  and  were  using  every  exertion  to  get  out  of  the  country  be¬ 
fore  the  thunderbolt  of  Mexican  vengeance  should  smite  them.  Ar¬ 
ista  himself  was  confident  that  the  Americans,  becoming  alarmed  at 
their  exposed  position,  had  shrunk  from  the  conflict  and  that  it  was  only 
necessary  for  him  to  bombard  Fort  Brown  in  order  to  end  the  war. 

As  soon  as  his  supplies  at  Point  Isabel  were  deemed  secure, 
General  Taylor  set  out  with  a  provision-train  and  an  army  of  more 
than  two  thousand  men  to  return  to  Fort  Brown.  Meanwhile,  the 
Mexicans  to  the  number  of  six  thousand  had  crossed  the  Rio  Grande 

29 


m  i  lk-*  ^ini  400  .inn 


SCENE  OF  TAYLOR’S  CAMPAIGN, 
1846-47. 


450 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  taken  a  strong  position  at  Palo  Alto,  directly  in  Taylor’s  route.  At 
noon  on  the  8th  of  May  the  Americans  fame  in  sight  and  immediately 
joined  battle.  After  a  severe  engagement  of  five  hours’  duration  the 
Mexicans  were  driven  from  the  field,  with  the  loss  of  a  hundred  men. 
The  American  artillery  was  served  with  signal  effect;  while  the  fighting 
of  the  enemy  was  clumsy  and  ineffectual.  Only  four  Americans  were 
killed  and  forty  wounded;  but  among  the  former  was  the  gallant  and 
much-lamented  Major  Ringgold  of  the  artillery. 

On  the  following  day  General  Taylor  resumed  his  march  in  the 
direction  of  Fort  Brown.  When  within  three  miles  of  that  place,  he 
again  came  upon  the  Mexicans,  who  had  rallied  in  full  force  to  dispute 
his  advance.  They  had  selected  for  their  second  battle-field  a  place 
called  Resaca  de  la  Palma.  Here  an  old  river-bed,  dry  and  overgrown 
with  cactus,  crossed  the  road  leading  to  the  fort.  The  enemy’s  artillery 
was  well  posted  and  better  served  than  on  the  previous  day.  The  Ameri¬ 
can  lines  were  severely  galled  until  the  brave  Captain  May  with  his  regi¬ 
ment  of  dragoons  charged  through  a  storm  of  grape-shot,  rode  over  the 
Mexican  batteries,  sabred  the  gunners,  and  captured  La  Vega,  the  com¬ 
manding  general.  The  Mexicans,  abandoning  their  guns  and  flinging 
away  their  accoutrements,  fled  in  a  general  rout.  Before  nightfall  they 
had  put  the  Rio  Grande  between  themselves  and  the  invincible  Americans. 
On  reaching  Fort  Brown,  General  Taylor  found  that  during  his  absence 
the  place  had  been  constantly  bombarded  by  the  guns  of  Matamoras. 
But  a  brave  defence  had  been  made,  which  cost,  with  other  losses  and 
suffering,  the  life  of  Major  Brown,  the  commandant.  Such  was  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  a  war  in  which  Mexico  experienced  a  long  list  of  humiliating 
defeats. 

When  the  news  of  the  battles  on  the  Rio  Grande  was  borne  through 
the  Union,  the  war  spirit  was  everywhere  aroused.  Party  dissensions 
were  hushed  into  silence.  The  President,  in  a  message  to  Congress,  noti¬ 
fied  that  body  that  the  lawless  soldiery  of  Mexico  had  shed  the  blood  of 
American  citizens  on  American  soil.  On  th«  11th  of  May,  1846,  Con¬ 
gress  promptly  responded  with  a  declaration  that  war  already  existed  by 
the  act  of  the  Mexican  government.  The  President  was  authorized  to 
accept  the  services  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  and  ten  million  dollars 
were  placed  at  his  disposal.  War  meetings  were  held  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  within  a  few  weeks  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  men 
rushed  forward  to  enter  the  ranks.  A  grand  invasion  of  Mexico  was 
planned  by  General  Scott.  The  American  forces  were  organized  in  three 
divisions :  the  Army  of  the  West,  under  General  Kearney,  to  cross 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  conquer  the  northern  Mexican  provinces; 


POLK’S  A  D  MINIS  Til  A  TION. 


451 


the  Army  of  the  Centre,  under  General  Scott  as  commander-in 
chief,  to  march  from  the  gulf'  coast  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy’s  country 
the  Army  of  Occupation,  commanded  by  General  Taylor,  to  subdin 
and  hold  the  districts  on  the  Rio  Grande. 

The  work  of  mustering  the  American  troops  was  entrusted  to  Gen.' 
eral  Wool.  By  the  middle  of  summer  he  succeeded  in  despatching  to 
General  Taylor  a  force  of  nine  thousand  men.  He  then  established  his 
camp  at  San  Antonio,  Texas,  and  from  that  point  prepared  the  gathering 
recruits  for  the  field.  Meanwhile,  Taylor  had  resumed  active  operations 
on  the  Rio  Grande.  Ten  days  after  the  battle  of  Resaca  de  la  Palma  he 
crossed  from  Fort  Brown  and  captured  Matamoras.  Soon  afterward  he 
began  his  march  up  the  right  bank  of  the  river  and  into  the  interior. 
The  Mexicans,  grown  wary  of  their  antagonist,  fell  back  and  took  post  at 
the  fortified  town  of  Monterey.  To  capture  that  place  was  the  next  object 
of  the  campaign;  but  the  American  army  was  feeble  in  numbers,  and 
General  Taylor  was  obliged  to  tarry  near  the  Rio  Grande  until  the  latter 
part  of  August.  By  that  time  reinforcements  had  arrived,  increasing  his 
numbers  to  six  thousand  six  hundred.  With  this  force  the  march  against 
Monterey  was  begun ;  and  on  the  19th  of  September  the  town,  defended 
by  fully  ten  thousand  troops,  under  command  of  Ampudia,  was  reached 
and  invested. 

The  siege  was  pressed  with  great  vigor.  On  the  21st  of  the  month 
several  assaults  were  made,  in  which  the  Americans,  led  by  General 
Worth,  carried  the  fortified  heights  in  the  rear  of  the  town.  In  that  part 
of  the  defences  only  the  bishop’s  palace — a  strong  building  of  stone — re¬ 
mained  ;  and  this  was  taken  by  storm  on  the  following  day.  On  the 
morning  of  the  23d  the  city  was  successfully  assaulted  in  front  by  Gen¬ 
erals  Quitman  and  Butler.  In  the  face  of  a  tremendous  cannonade  and 
an  incessant  tempest  of  musket-balls  discharged  from  the  house-tops  and 
alleys,  the  American  storm ing-parties  charged  resistlessly  into  the  town. 
They  reached  the  Grand  Plaza,  or  public  square.  They  hoisted  the  vic¬ 
torious  flag  of  the  Union.  They  turned  upon  the  buildings  where  the 
Mexicans  were  concealed ;  broke  open  the  doors ;  charged  up  dark  stair¬ 
ways  to  the  flat  roofs  of  the  houses ;  and  drove  the  terrified  enemy  to  an 
ignominious  surrender.  The  honors  of  war  were  granted  to  Ampudia, 
who  evacuated  the  city  and  retired  toward  the  capital.  The  storming  of 
Monterey  was  a  signal  victory,  gained  against  great  superiority  of  num¬ 
bers  and  advantage  of  position. 

After  the  capitulation  General  Taylor  received  notice  that  overtures 
of  peace  were  about  to  be  made  by  the  Mexican  government.  He  there¬ 
fore  agreed  to  an  armistice  of  eight  weeks,  during  which  time  neither  party 


452 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


should  renew  hostilities.  In  reality  the  Mexicans  had  no  thought  of 
peace.  They  employed  the  whole  interval  in  warlike  preparations.  The 
famous  general  Santa  Anna  was  called  home  from  his  exile  at  Havana 
to  take  the  presidency  of  the  country.  In  the  course  of  the  autumn  a 
Mexican  army  of  twenty  thousand  men  was  raised  and  sent  into  the  field. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  armistice  had  expired ;  and  General  Taylor,  acting 
under  orders  of  the  War  Department,  again  moved  forward.  On  the  15th 
of  November,  the  town  of  Saltillo,  seventy  miles  south-west  from  Mon¬ 
terey,  was  captured  by  the  American  advance  under  General  Worth.  In 
the  following  month,  Victoria,  a  city  in  the  province  of  Tamaulipas,  was 
taken  by  the  command  of  General  Patterson.  To  that  place  General 
Butler  advanced  from  Monterey  on  the  march  against  Tampico,  on  the 
river  Panuco.  At  Victoria,  however,  he  learned  that  Tampico  had 
already  capitulated  to  Captain  Conner,  commander  of  an  American 
flotilla.  Meanwhile,  General  Wool,  advancing  with  strong  reinforce¬ 
ments  from  San  Antonio,  entered  Mexico,  and  took  a  position  within  sup¬ 
porting  distance  of  Monterey.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  General  Scott 
arrived  and  assumed  the  command  of  the  American  forces. 

The  Army  of  the  West  had  not  been  idle.  In  June  of  1846 
General  Kearney  set  out  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  on  the  Missouri,  for 
the  conquest  of  New  Mexico  and  California.  After  a  long  and  wearisome 
march  he  reached  Santa  Fe,  and  on  the  18  th  of  August  captured  and  gar¬ 
risoned  the  city.  The  whole  of  New  Mexico  submitted  without  further 
resistance.  With  a  body  of  four  hundred  dragoons  Kearney  then  con¬ 
tinued  his  march  toward  the  Pacific  coast.  At  the  distance  of  three  hun¬ 
dred  miles  from  Santa  Fe  he  was  met  by  the  famous  Kit  Carson,  who 
brought  intelligence  from  the  far  West  that  California  had  already  been 
subdued.  Kearney  accordingly  sent  back  three-fourths  of  his  forces,  and 
with  a  party  of  only  a  hundred  men  made  his  way  to  the  Pacific.  On 
that  far-off  coast  stirring  events  had  happened. 

For  four  years  Colonel  John  C.  Fremont  had  been  exploring  the 
country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  had  hoisted  the  American 
flag  on  the  highest  peak  of  the  great  range,  and  then  directed  his  route  by 
Salt  Lake  to  Oregon.  Turning  southward  into  California,  he  received 
despatches  informing  him  of  the  impending  war  with  Mexico.  Deter¬ 
mined  to  strike  a  blow  for  his  country,  he  urged  the  people  of  California, 
many  of  whom  were  Americans,  to  declare  their  independence.  The 
hardy  frontiersmen  of  the  Sacramento  valley  flocked  to  his  standard ;  and 
a  campaign  was  at  once  begun  to  overthrow  the  Mexican  authority.  In 
several  petty  engagements  the  Americans  were  victorious  over  greatly 
superior  numbers.  Meanwhile,  Commodore  Sloat,  commanding  an 


FREMONT  ON  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS, 


POLK'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


453 


American  fleet,  had  captured  the  town  of  Monterey,  on  the  coast,  eighty 
miles  south  of  San  Francisco.  A  few  days  afterward  Commodore  Stock- 
ton  took  command  of  the  Pacific  squadron  and  made  himself  master  of 
San  Diego.  Hearing  of  these  events,  Fremont  raised  the  flag  of  the 
United  States  instead  of  the  flag  of  California,  and  joined  the  naval  com¬ 
manders  in  a  successful  movement  against  Los  Angelos,  which  was  taken 
without  opposition.  Before  the  end  of  summer  the  whole  of  the  vast 
province  was  subdued.  In  November  General  Kearney  arrived  with  his 
company  and  joined  Fremont  and  Stockton.  About  a  month  later  the 
Mexicans  rose  in  rebellion,  but  were  defeated  on  the  8th  of  January, 
1847,  in  the  decisive  battle  of  San  Gabriel,  by  which  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  was  completely  established.  A  country  large  enough  for 
an  empire  had  been  conquered  by  a  handful  of  resolute  men. 

In  the  mean  time,  Colonel  Doniphan,  who  had  been  left  by  Kear¬ 
ney  in  command  of  New  Mexico,  had  made  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
movements  of  the  war.  With  a  body  of  seven  hundred  fearless  men  he 
began  a  march  through  the  enemy’s  country  from  Santa  Fe  to  Saltillo,  a 
distance  of  more  than  eight  hundred  miles.  Reaching  the  Rio  Grande  on 
Christmas  day,  he  fought  and  gained  the  battle  of  Bracito ;  then,  crossing 
the  river,  captured  El  Paso,  and  in  two  months  pressed  his  way  to  within 
twenty  miles  of  Chihuahua.  On  the  banks  of  Sacramento  Creek  he  met 
the  Mexicans  in  overwhelming  numbers,  and  on  the  28th  of  February 
completely  routed  them.  He  then  marched  unopposed  into  Chihuahua — 
a  city  of  more  than  forty  thousand  inhabitants — and  finally  reached  the 
division  of  General  Wool  in  safety. 

As  soon  as  General  Scott  arrived  in  Mexico  he  ordered  a  large  pan 
of  the  Army  of  Occupation  to  join  him  on  the  gulf  for  the  conquest  of  the 
capital.  By  the  withdrawal  of  these  troops  from  the  divisions  of  Taylor 
and  Wool  these  officers  were  left  in  a  very  exposed  and  critical  condition  ; 
for  Santa  Anna  was  rapidly  advancing  against  them  with  an  army  of 
twenty  thousand  men.  To  resist  this  tremendous  array  General  Taylor 
was  able  to  concentrate  at  Saltillo  a  force  numbering  not  more  than  six 
thousand ;  and  after  putting  sufficient  garrisons  in  that  town  and  Mon¬ 
terey,  his  effective  forces  amounted  to  but  four  thousand  eight  hundred. 
With  this  small  but  resolute  army  he  marched  boldly  out  to  meet  the 
Mexican  host.  A  favorable  battle-ground  was  chosen  at  Buena  Vista, 
four  miles  south  of  Saltillo.  Here  Taylor  posted  his  troops  and  awaited 
the  enemy. 

On  the  22d  of  February  the  Mexicans,  twenty  thousand  strong, 
came  pouring  through  the  gorges  and  over  the  hills  from  the  direction  of 
San  Luis  Potosi.  Santa  Anna  demanded  a  surrender,  and  was  met  with 


454 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


defiance.  On  the  morning  of  the  23d  the  battle  began  with  an  effort  to  out¬ 
flank  the  American  position  on  the  right ;  but  the  attempt  was  thwarted  by 
the  troops  of  Illinois.  A  heavy  column  was  then  thrown  against  the  centre, 
only  to  be  shattered  and  driven  back  by  Captain  Washington’s  artillery. 
The  Mexicans  next  fell  in  great  force  upon  the  American  left  flank,  where 
the  second  regiment  of  Indianians,  acting  under  a  mistaken  order,  gave 
way,  putting  the  army  in  great  peril.  But  the  troops  of  Mississippi  and 
Kentucky  were  rallied  to  the  breach ;  the  men  of  Illinois  and  Indiana 
came  bravely  to  the  support;  and  again  the  enemy  was  hurled  back. 
In  the  crisis  of  the  battle  the  Mexicans  made  a  furious  and  final  charge 
upon  Captain  Bragg’s  battery ;  but  the  gunners  stood  at  their  posts  un¬ 
daunted,  and  the  columns  of  lancers  were  scattered  with  terrible  volleys 
of  grape-shot.  A  charge  of  American  cavalry,  though  made  at  the  sacri¬ 
fice  of  many  lives,  added  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  foe.  Against  tremen¬ 
dous  odds  the  field  was  fairly  won.  On  the  night  after  the  battle  the 
Mexicans,  having  lost  nearly  two  thousand  men,  made  a  precipitate  re¬ 
treat.  The  American  loss  was  also  severe,  amounting,  in  killed,  wounded 
and  missing,  to  seven  hundred  and  forty-six.  This  was  the  last  of  General 
Taylor’s  battles.  He  soon  afterward  returned  to  the  United  States,  where 
he  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm. 

On  the  9th  of  March,  1847,  General  Scott  began  the  last  campaign 
of  the  war.  With  a  force  of  twelve  thousand  men  he  landed  to  the  south 

of  Vera  Cruz,  and  in  three  days  the 
investment  of  the  city  was  completed. 
Trenches  were  opened  at  the  distance 
of  eight  hundred  yards ;  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  22d  the  cannonade 
was  begun.  On  the  water  side  Vera 
Cruz  was  defended  by  the  celebrated 
castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa,  erected 
by  Spain  in  the  early  part  of  the  sev¬ 
enteenth  century,  at  the  cost  of  four 
million  dollars.  For  four  days  an 
incessant  storm  of  shot  and  shell  from  the  fleet  of  Commodore  Conner  and 
the  land-batteries  of  Scott  was  poured  upon  the  doomed  castle  and  town. 
Life  and  property  were  swept  into  a  common  ruin.  An  assault  was 
already  planned,  when  the  humbled  authorities  of  the  city  proposed  ca¬ 
pitulation.  On  the  night  of  the  27th  terms  of  surrender  were  signed,  and 
two  days  afterward  the  American  flag  floated  over  Vera  Cruz. 

The  route  from  the  gulf  to  the  capital  was  now  open.  On  the  8th 
of  April  General  Twiggs,  in  command  of  the  American  advance,  set  out 


SCENE  OF  SCOTT’S  CAMPAIGN,  1847. 


POLK'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


455 


on  the  road  to  Jalapa.  The  main  division,  led  by  General  Scott  in  per¬ 
son,  followed  immediately.  For  several  days  there  was  no  serious  oppo¬ 
sition;  but  on  the  12th  of  the  month  Twiggs  came  upon  Santa  Anna, 
who,  with  an  army  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  had  taken  possession  of  the 
heights  and  rocky  pass  of  Cerro  Gordo.  The  position,  though  seemingly 
impregnable,  must  be  carried,  or  further  advance  was  impossible.  On  the 
morning  of  the  18th  the  American  army  was  arranged  for  an  assault  which, 
according  to  all  the  rules  of  war,  promised  only  disaster  and  ruin.  But  to 
the  troops  of  the  United  States  nothing  now  seemed  too  arduous,  no  deed  too 
full  of  peril.  Before  noonday  every  position  of  the  Mexicans  had  been  suc¬ 
cessfully  stormed  and  themselves  driven  into  a  precipitate  rout.  Nearly 
three  thousand  prisoners  were  taken,  together  with  forty-three  pieces  of 
bronze  artillery,  five  thousand  muskets  and  accoutrements  enough  to 
supply  an  army.  The  American  loss  amounted  to  four  hundred  and 
thirty-one,  that  of  the  enemy  to  fully  a  thousand.  Santa  Anna  escaped 
with  his  life,  but  left  behind  his  private  papers  and  wooden  leg. 

On  the  next  day  the  victorious  army  entered  Jalapa.  On  the  22d 
the  strong  castle  of  Perote,  crowning  a  peak  of  the  Cordilleras,  was  taken 
without  resistance.  Here  another  park  of  artillery  and  a  vast  amount  of 
warlike  stores  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  Turning  southward, 
General  Scott  next  led  his  army  against  the  ancient  and  sacred  city  of 
Puebla.  Though  inhabited  by  eighty  thousand  people,  no  defence  was 
made  or  attempted.  The  handful  of  invaders  marched  unopposed  through 
the  gates,  and  on  the  15th  of  May  took  up  their  quarters  in  the  city. 
The  American  army  was  now  reduced  to  five  thousand  men,  and  General 
Scott  was  obliged  to  pause  until  reinforcements  could  be  brought  forward 
from  Vera  Cruz.  Negotiations  were  again  opened  in  the  hope  of  peace ; 
but  the  Mexican  authorities,  stubborn  and  foolhardy  as  at  the  beginning, 
preferred  to  fight  it  out. 

By  the  7th  of  August  General  Scott  had  received  reinforcements, 
swelling  his  numbers  to  nearly  eleven  thousand.  Leaving  a  small  garvi- 
son  in  Puebla,  he  again  began  his  march  upon  the  capital.  The  route 
now  lay  over  the  summit  of  the  Cordilleras.  At  the  passes  of  the  moun¬ 
tains  resistance  had  been  expected ;  but  the  advance  was  unopposed,  and 
the  army  swept  through  to  look  down  on  the  Valley  of  Mexico. 
Never  before  had  the  American  soldiery  beheld  such  a  scene.  Clear  to 
the  horizon  stretched  a  most  living  landscape  of  green  fields,  villages  and 
lakes — a  picture  too  beautiful  to  be  torn  with  the  dread  enginery  of  war. 

The  army  pressed  on  to  Ayotla,  only  fifteen  miles  from  the  capital. 
Thus  far  General  Scott  had  followed  the  great  national  road  from  Vera 
Cruz  to  Mexico ;  but  now,  owing  to  the  many  fortifications  and  danger- 


456 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ous  passes  in  front,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  change  the  route.  From 
Ayotla,  therefore,  the  army  wheeled  to  the  south,  around  Lake  Chaleo, 
and  thence  westward  to  San  Augustine.  From  this  place  it  was  but  ten 
miles  to  the  capital.  The  city  could  be  approached  only  by  causeways 
leading  across  marshes  and  the  beds  of  bygone  lakes.  At  the  ends  of 
these  causeways  were  massive  gates  strongly  defended.  To  the  left  of 
the  line  of  march  were  the  almost  inaccessible  positions  of  Contreras,  San 
Antonio  and  Molino  del  Rey.  Directly  in  front,  beyond  the  marshes  and 
closer  to  the  city,  were  the  powerful  defences  of  Churubusco  and  Chapul- 
tepee,  the  latter  a  castle  of  great  strength.  These  various  positions  were 
held  by  Santa  Anna  with  a  force  of  more  than  thirty  thousand  Mexicans. 
That  General  Scott,  with  an  army  not  one-third  as  great  in  numbers, 
could  take  the  city  seemed  an  impossibility.  But  he  was  resolved  to 
do  it. 

On  the  19th  of  August  the  divisions  of  Generals  Pillow  and  Twiggs 
were  ordered  to  storm  the  Mexican  position  at  Contreras.  About  night¬ 
fall  the  line  of  communications  between  that  place  and  Santa  Anna’s  re¬ 
serves  was  cut,  and  in  the  darkness  of  the  following  midnight  an  assault¬ 
ing  column,  led  by  General  Persifer  F.  Smith,  moved  against  the  enemy’s 
camp.  The  attack  was  made  at  sunrise,  and  in  seventeen  minutes  six 
thousand  Mexicans,  commanded  by  General  Valencia,  were  driven  in 
utter  rout  from  their  fortifications.  The  American  storm ing-party  num¬ 
bered  less  than  four  thousand.  This  was  the  first  victory  of  that  mem¬ 
orable  20th  of  August.  A  few  hours  afterward  General  Worth  advanced 
against  San  Antonio,  compelled  an  evacuation  and  routed  the  flying  gar¬ 
rison.  This  was  the  second  victory.  Almost  at  the  same  time  General 
Pillow  led  a  column  against  one  of  the  heights  of  Churubusco  where  the 
enemy  had  concentrated  in  great  force.  After  a  terrible  assault  the  posi¬ 
tion  was  carried  and  the  Mexicans  scattered  like  chaff*.  This  was  the 
third  triumph.  The  division  of  General  Twiggs  added  a  fourth  victory 
by  storming  and  holding  another  height  of  Churubusco,  while  the  fifth 
and  last  was  achieved  by  Generals  Shields  and  Pierce,  who  defeated 
Santa  Anna,  coming  to  reinforce  his  garrisons.  The  whole  Mexican  army 
was  hurled  back  upon  the  remaining  fortification  of  Chapultepec. 

On  the  morning  after  the  battles  the  Mexican  authorities  sent  out 
a  proposition  to  negotiate.  It  was  only  a  ruse  to  gain  time,  for  the  terms 
proposed  by  them  were  such  as  conquerors  would  have  dictated  to  the 
vanquished.  General  Scott,  who  did  not  consider  his  army  vanquished, 
rejected  the  proposals  with  scorn,  rested  his  men  until  the  7th  of  Septem* 
ber,  and  then  renewed  hostilities.  On  the  next  morning  General  Worth 
was  ordered  to  take  Molino  del  Rey  and  Casa  de  Mata,  the  western  do* 


POLK'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


457 


lences  of  Chapultepec.  These  positions  were  held  by  fourteen  thousand 
Mexicans;  but  the  Americans,  after  losing  a  fourth  of  their  number  in  the 
desperate  onset,  were  again  victorious.  The  guns  were  next  brought  to 
bear  on  Chapultepec  itself,  and  on  the  13th  of  the  month  that  frowning 
citadel  was  carried  by  storm.  Through  the  San  Cosme  and  Belen  gates 
the  conquering  army  swept  resistlessly,  and  at  nightfall  the  soldiers  of  the 
Union  were  in  the  suburbs  of  Mexico. 

In  the  darkness  of  that  night  Santa  Anna  and  the  officers  of  the 
government  fled  from 
the  city;  but  not  un¬ 
til  they  had  turned 
loose  two  thousand 
convicts  to  fire  upon 
the  American  army. 

On  the  following 
morning,  before  day- 
dawn,  forth  came  a 
deputation  from  the 
city  to  beg  for  mercy.' 

This  time  the  messen¬ 
gers  were  in  earnest; 
but  General  Scott, 
weary  of  trifling, 
turned  them  away 
with  contempt.  “  F or- 
ward !”  was  the  order 
that  rang  along  the 
American  lines  at  sun¬ 
rise.  The  war-worn 
regiments  swept  into 
the  beautiful  streets  of  general  winfield  scott.  j 

the  famous  city,  and 

at  seven  o’clock  the  flag  of  the  United  States  floated  over  the  halls  of  the 
Montezumas.  So  ended  one  of  the  most  brilliant  campaigns  known  in 
modern  history. 

On  leaving  his  conquered  capital  Santa  Anna,  with  his  usual 
treachery,  turned  about  to  attack  the  American  hospitals  at  Puebla. 
Here  about  eighteen  hundred  sick  men  had  been  left  in  charge  of  Colonel 
Childs.  For  several  days  a  gallant  resistance  was  made  by  the  feeble 
garrison,  until  General  Lane,  on  his  march  to  the  capital,  fell  upon  the 
besiegers  and  scattered  them.  It  was  the  closing  stroke  of  the  war — a 


458 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


contest  in  which  the  Americans,  few  in  number  and  in  a  far-distant 
densely-peopled  country,  had  gained  every  victory. 

The  military  power  of  Mexico  was  now  completely  broken.  Santa 
Anna  was  a  fugitive.  It  only  remained  to  determine  the  conditions  of 
peace.  In  the  winter  of  1847-48  American  ambassadors  met  the  Mexican 
Congress,  in  session  at  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  and  on  the  2d  of  February  a 
treaty  was  concluded  between  the  two  nations.  The  compact  was  ratified 
by  both  governments,  and  on  the  4th  of  the  following  July  President  Polk 
made  a  proclamation  of  peace.  B  v  the  terms  of  settlement  the  boundary¬ 
line  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States  was  fixed  as  follows:  The 
Rio  Grande  from  its  mouth  to  the  southern  limit  of  New  Mexico ;  thence 
westward  along  the  southern  and  northward  along  the  western  boundary 
of  that  territory  to  the  river  Gila ;  thence  down  that  river  to  the  Colo¬ 
rado  ;  thence  westward  to  the  Pacific.  The  whole  of  New  Mexico  and 
Upper  California  was  relinquished  to  the  United  States.  Mexico  guar¬ 
anteed  the  free  navigation  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  the  river  Colo¬ 
rado  from  its  mouth  to  the  confluence  of  the  Gila.  In  consideration  of 
these  territorial  acquisitions  and  privileges  the  United  States  agreed  to 
surrender  all  places  held  by  military  occupation  in  Mexico,  to  pay  into 
the  treasury  of  that  country  fifteen  million  dollars,  and  to  assume  all  debts 
flue  from  the  Mexican  government  to  American  citizens,  said  debts  not  to 
exceed  three  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Thus  at  last  was  the 
territory  of  the  United  States  spread  out  in  one  broad  belt  from  ocean  to 
ocean. 

In  the  mean  time  the  troublesome  and  alarming  question  of  the 
Oregon  Boundary  was  finally  disposed  of.  For  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  the  territorial  limit  of  the  United  States  on  the  northwest 
had  been  a  matter  of  controversy  between  the  Federal  government 
and  Great  Britain.  By  the  terms  of  the  convention  of  1818  the  in¬ 
ternational  line  had  been  carried  westward  from  the  northwestern  ex¬ 
tremity  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  along  the  forty-ninth  parallel  to 
the  crest  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  but  from  that  point  to  the  Pacific 
no  agreement  could  be  reached.  As  early  as  1807,  and  again  in  1818 
and  1826,  the  United  States  had  formally  claimed  the  parallel  of  fifty- 
four  degrees  and  forty  minutes;  but  this  boundary  Great  Britain  refused 
to  accept.  By  a  convention,  held  in  August  of  1827,  it  was  agreed  by 
the  representatives  of  the  two  powers  that  the  territory  lying  between 
the  forty-ninth  parallel  —  which,  according  to  the  English  theory,  was 
the  true  international  line  —  and  the  parallel  of  fifty-four  degrees  and 
forty  minutes  should  remain  open  indefinitely  and  impartially  for  the 
joint  occupancy  of  British  and  American  citizens.  By  this  action  th< 


POLK’S  A D MINIS T RA  TIOK 


459 


difficulty  was  postponed  for  sixteen  years;  but  thoughtful  statesmen 
of  both  nations  became  alarmed  that  a  question  of  such  magnitude 
should  remain  unsettled,  and  negotiations  were  renewed.  In  1843 
the  minister  resident  of  the  United  States  in  London  again  proposed 
the  parallel  of  fifty-four  degrees  and  forty  minutes,  but  the  proposition 
was  rejected.  In  the  next  year  the  British  ambassador  at  Washington 
again  suggested  the  forty-ninth  degree  of  latitude  as  the  true  bound¬ 
ary;  but  to  this  the  government  of  the  United  States  refused  to  ac¬ 
cede.  Then  came  the  war  with  Mexico  and  with  it  the  prospective 
extension  of  territory  on  the  southwest.  The  views  of  the  adminis¬ 
tration  in  regard  to  the  northwestern  boundary  became  less  stringent; 
and  finally,  in  a  convention  of  the  two  powers  held  on  the  15th  of 
June,  1846,  the  question  was  definitely  settled  by  a  treaty.  Every 
point  of  the  long-standing  controversy  was  decided  in  favor  of  Great 
Britain.  The  forty-ninth  parallel  was  established  as  the  international 
boundary  from  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  middle  of 
the  channel  which  separates  the  continent  from  Vancouver’s  Island; 
thence  southerly  through  the  middle  of  said  channel  and  of  Fuca’s 
Straits  to  the  Pacific.  Vancouver’s  Island  itself  was  awarded  to  Great 
Britain;  and  the  free  navigation  of  the  Columbia  River  was  guaran¬ 
teed  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  other  British  subjects  on  the 
same  conditions  as  those  imposed  on  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
The  treaty  was  by  no  means  so  favorable  as  might  have  been  expected, 
and  by  many  it  was  denounced  as  actually  dishonorable  to  the  Fed¬ 
eral  government.  It  is  certain  that  better  terms  might  have  been  de¬ 
manded  and  obtained.* 

A  few  days  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Mexico 
an  event  occurred  in  California  which  spread  excitement  through  the 
civilized  world.  A  laborer,  employed  by  Captain  Sutter  to  cut  a  mill- 
race  on  the  American  fork  of  the  Sacramento  River,  discovered  some 
pieces  of  gold  in  the  sand  where  he  was  digging.  With  further  search 
other  particles  were  found.  The  news  spread  as  if  borne  on  the  wind. 
From  all  quarters  adventurers  came  flocking.  Other  explorations  led 
to  further  revelations  of  the  precious  metal.  For  a  while  there  seemed 
no  end  to  the  discoveries.  Straggling  gold-hunters  sometimes  picked 
up  in  a  few  hours  the  value  of  five  hundred  dollars.  The  intelligence 
went  flying  through  the  States  to  the  Atlantic,  and  then  to  the  ends 

*Such  was  the  indignation  of  the  opponents  of  this  treaty  —  especially  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Whig  party  —  that  the  political  battle-cry  of  “ Fifty-four  Forty  or  Fight!”  became 
almost  as  popular  a  motto  as  uFree  Trade  and  Sailors’  Rights”  had  been  in  the  War 
of  1812. 


32 


In  April  of  1846,  Congress  passed  an  act  organizing  the  Smith¬ 
sonian  Institution  at  Washington  City.  Twenty-two  years  previ¬ 
ously  an  eminent  English  chemist  and  philanthropist  named  James 
Smithson*  had  died  at  Genoa,  bequeathing  on  certain  conditions  a 
large  sum  of  money  to  the  United  States.  In  the  fall  of  1838,  by 
the  death  of  Smithson’s  nephew,  the  proceeds  of  the  estate,  amount¬ 
ing  to  five  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  were  secured  by  the 

*  Until  after  his  graduation  at  Oxford  in  1786,  this  remarkable  man  was  known  by 
the  name  of  James  Lewis  Made.  Afterward,  of  his  own  accord,  he  chose  the  name  of 
his  reputed  father,  Hugh  Smithson,  duke  of  Northumberland. 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION. 


460  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  the  world.  Men  thousands  of  miles  away  were  crazed  with  excite¬ 
ment.  Workshops  were  shut  up,  business  houses  abandoned,  fertile 
farms  left  tenantless,  offices  deserted.  Though  the  overland  routes  to 
California  were  scarcely  yet  discovered,  thousands  of  our  eager  adven¬ 
turers  started  on  the  long,  long  journey.  Before  the  end  of  1850  San 
Francisco  had  grown  from  a  miserable  village  of  huts  to  a  city  of 
fifteen  thousand  inhabitants.  By  the  close  of  1852  the  territory  had 
a  population  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million.  The  importance 
of  the  gold  mines  of  California,  whose  richness  is  not  yet  exhausted, 
can  hardly  be  overestimated. 


OVERLAND  TO  CALIFORNIA,  1849.  (Pass:  of  the  Sierras.) 


POLK'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


461 


agent  of  the  national  government  and  deposited  in  the  mint.  It  had 
been  provided  in  the  will  that  the  bequest  should  be  used  for  the 
establishment  at  Washington  of  an  institution  for  the  increase  and  dif¬ 
fusion  of  knowledge  among  men.  To  carry  out  the  great  design  of  the 
testator  a  plan  of  organization,  prepared  by  John  Quincy  Adams,  was 
laid  before  Congress  and  after  some  modifications  adopted. 

In  the  act  of  establishment  it  was  provided  that  the  institution 
contemplated  by  Mr.  Smithson  should  be  named  in  his  honor  “  The 
Smithsonian  Institution”;  that  the  same  should  be  under  the  imme¬ 
diate  control  of  a  Board  of  Regents  composed  of  the  President,  Vice- 
President,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  other  principal  officers 
of  the  government;  that  the  entire  Smithsonian  fund,  amounting  with 
accrued  interest  to  six  hundred  and  fifty-five  thousand  dollars,  should 
be  loaned  forever  to  the  United  States  at  six  per  cent.;  that  out  of  the 
proceeds,  together  with  congressional  appropriations  and  private  gifts, 
buildings  should  be  provided  suitable  to  contain  a  museum  of  nat¬ 
ural  history,  a  cabinet  of  minerals,  a  chemical  laboratory,  a  gallery 
of  art,  and  a  library.  Professor  Joseph  Henry  of  Princeton  College 
was  chosen  secretary  of  the  institution,  and  the  plan  of  organization 
was  speedily  and  successfully  carried  out.  The  result  has  been  the 
establishment  in  the  United  States  of  one  of  the  most  beneficent  in¬ 
stitutions  known  in  the  history  of  mankind.  The  Smithsonian  Con¬ 
tributions  to  Knoivledge  already  amount  to  eighteen  volumes  quarto ; 
and  the  future  is  destined  to  yield  still  richer  results  in  widening  the 
boundaries  of  human  thought  and  increasing  the  happiness  of  men. 

In  the  first  summer  of  President  Polk*’s  administration  the  coun¬ 
try  was  called  to  mourn  the  death  of  General  Jackson.  The  veteran 
warrior  and  statesman  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  and  died  at 
his  home,  called  the  Hermitage,  in  Tennessee.  On  the  23d  of  Feb¬ 
ruary,  1848,  ex-President  John  Quincy  Adams  died  at  the  city  of 
Washington.  At  the  time  of  his  decease  he  was  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  He  was  struck  with  paralysis  in  the  very 
seat  from  which  he  had  so  many  times  electrified  the  nation  with  his 
eloquence. 

In  1848  Wisconsin,  the  last  of  the  five  great  States  formed  from 
the  North-western  Territory,  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  The  new 
commonwealth  came  with  a  population  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou¬ 
sand  and  an  area  of  nearly  fifty-four  thousand  square  miles.  By  estab¬ 
lishing  the  St.  Croix  instead  of  the  Mississippi  as  the  western  boundary 
of  the  State,  Wisconsin  lost  a  considerable  district  rightfully  belonging 
to  her  territory. 


462 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Near  the  close  of  Polk’s  administration  an  important  addition 
was  made  to  the  President’s  cabinet  by  the  establishment  of  the  De¬ 
partment  of  the  Interior.  To  the  three  original  departments  of 
the  government,  as  organized  during  the  administration  of  Washing¬ 
ton,  had  already  been  added  the  offices  of  Postmaster-General  and 
Secretary  of  the  Navy.  The  Attorney-General  had  also  come  to  be 
recognized  as  a  regular  member  of  the  cabinet.  With  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  nation  it  was  found  that  the  duties  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  departments  of  state  and  the  treasury  had  become  so  man¬ 
ifold  as  to  require  the  establishment  of  a  separate  office.  A  certain 
part  of  these  duties  were  accordingly  detached,  and  the  new  “  Home 
Department” — afterwards  called  Department  of  the  Interior  —  was 
constituted  by  act  of  Congress.  In  the  beginning  of  the  next  admin¬ 
istration  the  new  secretaryship  was  assigned  to  General  Thomas  Ewing 
of  Ohio. 

Another  presidential  election  was  at  hand.  Three  well-known 
candidates  were  presented  for  the  suffrages  of  the  people.  General 
Lewis  Cass  of  Michigan  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats,  and  Gen¬ 
eral  Zachary  Taylor  by  the  Whigs.  As  the  candidate  of  the  new 
Free-Soil  party,  ex-President  Martin  Van  Buren  was  put  forward. 
The  rise  of  this  new  party  was  traceable  to  a  question  concerning  the 
territory  acquired  by  the  Mexican  War.  In  1846  David  Wilmot  of 
Pennsylvania  brought  before  Congress  a  bill  to  'prohibit  slavery  in  all 
the  territory  which  might  be  secured  by  treaty  with  Mexico.  The 
bill  was  defeated;  but  the  advocates  of  the  measure,  which  was  called 
the  Wilmot  Proviso,  formed  themselves  into  a  party,  and  in  June 
of  1848  nominated  Mr.  Van  Buren  for  the  presidency.  The  real 
contest,  however,  lay  between  Generals  Cass  and  Taylor.  The  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  two  leading  parties  on  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  new 
territories  was  as  yet  not  clearly  defined,  and  the  election  was  left  to 
turn  on  the  personal  popularity  of  the  candidates.  The  memory  of 
his  recent  victories  in  Mexico  made  General  Taylor  the  favorite  with 
the  people,  and  he  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  As  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent,  Millard  Fillmore  of  New  York  was  chosen.  So  closed  the  agi¬ 
tated  but  not  inglorious  administration  of  President  Polk. 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  TAYLOR  AND  FILLMORE. 


463 


CHAPTER  LV  III. 

AD  MINIS  TR  A  TIONS  OF  TAYLOR  AND  FILLMORE,  1849-1853. 


THE  new  President  was  a  Virginian  by  birth,  a  Kentuckian  by  breed¬ 
ing,  a  soldier  by  profession.  In  1808  he  left  the  farm  to  accept  a 
commission  in  the  army.  During  the  war  of  1812  he  distinguished  him¬ 
self  in  the  North-west,  especially  in  defending  Fort  Harrison  against  the 
Red  men.  In  the 
Seminole  War  he  bore 
a  conspicuous  part,  but 
earned  his  greatest  re¬ 
nown  in  Mexico.  His 
reputation,  though 
strictly  military,  was 
enviable,  and  his  cha¬ 
racter  above  reproach. 

His  administration  be¬ 
gan  with  a  violent  agi¬ 
tation  on  the  question 
of  slavery  in  the  terri¬ 
tories;  California,  the 
El  Dorado  of  the  West, 
was  the  origin  of  the 
dispute. 

In  his  first  mes¬ 
sage  President  Taylor 
expressed  his  sympa¬ 
thy  with  the  Califor¬ 
nians,  and  advised 
them  to  form  a  State  president  taylor. 

government  prepara¬ 
tory  to  admission  into  the  Union.  The  advice  was  promptly  accepted. 
A  convention  of  delegates  was  held  at  Monterey  in  September  of  1849. 
A  constitution  prohibiting  slavey  was  framed,  submitted  to  the  people, 
und  adopted  with  but  little  opposition.  Peter  H.  Burnet  was  elected 
governor  of  the  Territory ;  members  of  a  general  assembly  were  chosen ; 
and  on  the  20th  of  December,  1849,  the  new  government  was  organized 


464 


HISTORY  OF  THE  EXITED  STATES. 


at  San  Jose.  At  the  same  time  a  petition  in  the  usual  form  was  for¬ 
warded  to  Congress  asking  for  the  admission  of  California  as  a  State. 

The  presentation  of  the  petition  was  the  signal  for  a  bitter  contro¬ 
versy.  As  in  the  case  of  the  admission  of  Missouri,  the  members  of  Con¬ 
gress,  and  to  a  great  extent  the  people,  were  sectionally  divided.  But 
now  the  position  of  the  parties  was  reversed ;  the  proposition  to  admit  the 
new  State  was  favored  by  the  representatives  of  the  North  and  opposed 
by  those  of  the  South.  The  ground  of  the  opposition  was  that  with  the 
extension  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  line  to  the  Pacific  the  right  to  in¬ 
troduce  slavery  into  California  was  guaranteed  by  the  general  government, 
and  that  therefore  the  proposed  constitution  of  the  State  ought  to  be  re¬ 
jected.  The  reply  of  the  North  was  that  the  argument  could  apply  only 
to  a  part  of  the  new  State,  that  the  Missouri  Compromise  had  respect  only 
to  the  Louisiana  purchase,  and  that  the  people  of  California  had  framed 
their  constitution  in  their  own  way.  Such  was  the  issue;  and  the  debates 
grew  more  and  more  violent,  until  the  stability  of  the  Union  was  seriously 
endangered. 

Other  exciting  questions  added  fuel  to  the  controversy.  Texas 
claimed  New  Mexico  as  a  part  of  her  territory,  and  the  claim  was  resisted 
by  the  people  of  Santa  Fe,  who  desired  a  separate  government.  The  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  South  complained  bitterly  that  fugitive  slaves,  escaping  from 
their  masters,  were  aided  and  encouraged  in  the  North.  The  opponents 
of  slavery  demanded  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  Along  the  whole  line  of  controversy  there  was  a  spirit  of 
suspicion,  recrimination  and  anger. 

The  illustrious  Henry  Clay  appeared  as  a  peacemaker.  In  the 
spring  of  1850  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  a  committee  of  thirteen,  to 
whom  all  the  questions  under  discussion  were  referred.  On  the  9th  of 
May  he  brought  forward,  as  a  compromise  covering  all  the  points  in  dis¬ 
pute,  the  Omnibus  Bill,  of  which  the  provisions  were  as  follows:  First, 
the  admission  of  California  as  a  free  State ;  second ,  the  formation  of  new 
States,  not  exceeding  four  in  number,  out  of  the  territory  of  Texas,  said 
States  to  permit  or  exclude  slavery  as  the  people  should  determine;  third, 
the  organization  of  territorial  governments  for  New  Mexico  and  Utah, 
without  conditions  on  the  question  of  slavery;  fourth ,  the  establishment 
of  the  present  boundary  between  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  and  the  pay¬ 
ment  to  the  former  for  surrendering  the  latter  the  sum  of  ten  million  dol¬ 
lars  from  the  national  treasury ;  ffth,  the  enactment  of  a  more  rigorous 
law  for  the  recovery  of  fugitive  slaves ;  sixth,  the  abolition  of  the  slave- 
trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

When  the  Omnibus  Bill  was  laid  before  Congress,  the  debates  began 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  AJS'D  FILLMORE. 


465 


anew,  and  seemed  likely  to  be  interminable.  While  the  discussion  was  at 
its  height  and  the  issue  still  undecided,  President  Taylor  fell  sick,  and 
died  on  the  9th  of  July,  1850.  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
constitution,  Mr.  Fillmore  at  once  took  the  oath  of  office  and  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  the  presidency.  A  new  cabinet  was  formed,  with  Daniel 
Webster  at  the  head  as  secretary  of  state.  Notwithstanding  the  death  of 
the  chief  magistrate,  the  government  moved  on  without  disturbance. 

The  compromise  proposed  by  Mr.  Clay  and  sustained  by  his  elo¬ 
quence  was  at  length 
approved  by  Congress. 

On  the  18th  of  Sep¬ 
tember  the  last  clause 
was  adopted,  and  the 
whole  received  the  im¬ 
mediate  sanction  of  the 
President.  T  h  e  ex¬ 
citement  in  the  coun¬ 
try  rapidly  abated,  and 
the  distracting  contro¬ 
versy  seemed  at  an  end. 

Such  was  the  last,  and 
perhaps  the  greatest, 
of  those  pacific  mea¬ 
sures  originated  and 
carried  through  Con¬ 
gress  by  the  genius 
of  Henry  Clay.  He 
shortly  afterward  bade 
adieu  to  the  Senate, 
and  sought  at  his  be¬ 


loved  Ashland  a  brief  henry  clay. 

rest  from  the  arduous 
cares  of  public  life. 

The  passage  of  the  Omnibus  Bill  brought  a  political  quiet ;  but 
the  moral  convictions  of  very  few  men  were  altered  by  its  provisions. 
Public  opinion  remained  as  before :  in  the  North,  a  general,  indefinite, 
but  growing  hostility  to  slavery;  in  the  South,  a  fixed  and  resolute 
purpose  to  defend  and  extend  that  institution.  To  the  I  lesidentp 
whose  party  was  in  the  ascendency  in  most  of  the  Free  States,  the 
measure  was  fatal ;  for  although  his  cabinet  had  advised  him  to  sigq 
the  bill,  the  Whigs  were  at  heart  opposed  to  the  fugitive  slave  law. 

30 


466 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  when  he  gave  his  assent  they  turned  coldly  from  him.  In  the 
Whig  National  convention,  two  years  afterwards,  although  the  policy 
of  the  President  was  approved  and  the  compromise  measures  ratified 
by  a  vote  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  against  sixty,  not  twenty 
Northern  votes  could  be  obtained  for  his  renomination.  Thus  do 
political  parties  punish  their  leaders  for  hesitating  to  espouse  a  prin¬ 
ciple  which  the  parties  themselves  are  afraid  to  avow. 

The  year  1850  was  marked  by  a  lawless  attempt  on  the  part  of 
some  American  adventurers  to  gain  possession  of  Cuba.  It  was 
thought  that  the  people  of  that  island  were  anxious  to  throw  off  the 
Spanish  yoke  and  to  annex  themselves  to  the  United  States.  In  order 
to  encourage  such  a  movement,  General  Lopez  organized  an  expedi¬ 
tion  in  the  South,  and  on  the  19th  of  May,  1850,  effected  a  landing 
at  Cardenas,  a  port  of  Cuba.  But  there  was  no  uprising  in  his  -favor ; 
neither  Cubans  nor  Spanish  soldiers  joined  his  standard,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  seek  safety  by  returning  to  Florida.  Renewing  the  attempt 
in  the  following  year,  he  and  his  band  of  four  hundred  and  eighty 
men  were  attacked,  defeated  and  captured  by  an  overwhelming  force 
of  Spaniards.  Lopez  and  the  ringleaders  were  taken  to  Havana, 
tried,  condemned  and  executed. 

The  first  annual  message  of  the  President  was  a  document  of 
great  ability.  Among  the  many  important  measures  pressed  upon  the 
attention  of  Congress  were  the  following :  a  system  of  cheap  and  uni¬ 
form  postage ;  the  establishment,  in  connection  with  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  of  a  Bureau  of  Agriculture;  liberal  appropriations  for 
the  improvement  of  rivers  and  harbors;  the  building  of  a  national 
asylum  for  disabled  and  destitute  seamen ;  a  permanent  tariff  with 
specific  duties  on  imports  and  discrimination  in  favor  of  American 
manufactures ;  the  opening  of  communication  between  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Pacific  coast ;  a  settlement  of  the  land  difficulties  in  Califor¬ 
nia;  an  act  for  the  retirement  of  supernumerary  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy;  and  a  board  of  commissioners  to  adjust  the  claims  of  pri¬ 
vate  citizens  against  the  government  of  the  United  States.  Only  two 
of  these  important  recommendations — the  asylum  for  sailors  and  the 
settlement  of  the  land  claims  in  California — were  carried  into  effect. 
For  the  President’s  party  were  in  a  minority  in  Congress;  and  the 
majority  refused  or  neglected  to  approve  his  measures. 

In  1852  a  serious  trouble  arose  with  England.  By  the  terms 
of  former  treaties  the  coast-fisheries  of  Newfoundland  belonged  ex¬ 
clusively  to  Great  Britain.  But  outside  of  a  line  drawn  three  miles 
from  the  shore  American  fisherman  enjoyed  equal  rights  and  privi- 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  TAYLOR  AND  FILLMORE. 


467 


leges.  Now  the  dispute  arose  as  to  whether  the  line  should  be  drawn 
from  one  headland  to  another  so  as  to  give  all  the  bays  and  inlets  to 
England,  or  whether  it  should  be  made  to  conform  to  the  irregulari¬ 
ties  of  the  coast.  Under  the  latter  construction  American  fishing- 
vessels  would  have  equal  claims  in  the  bays  and  harbors;  but  this 
privilege  was  denied  by  Great  Britain,  and  the  quarrel  rose  to  such  a 
height  that  both  nations  sent  men-of-war  to  the  contested  waters.  But 
reason  triumphed  over  passion,  and  in  1804  the  difficulty  was  happily 
settled  by  negotiation;  the  right  to  take  fish  in  any  of  the  bays  of 
the  British  possessions  was  conceded  to  American  fishermen. 

During  the  summer  of  1852  the  celebrated  Hungarian  patriot 
Louis  Kossuth  made  the  tour  of  the  United  States.  Austria  and 
Russia  had  united  against  his  native  land  and  overthrown  her  liber¬ 
ties.  He  came  to  plead  the  cause  of  Hungary  before  the  American 
people,  and  to  obtain  such  aid  as  might  be  privately  furnished  to  his 
oppressed  countrymen.  Every-where  he  was  received  with  expres¬ 
sions  of  sympathy  and  good-will.  His  mission  was  successful,  though 
the  long-established  policy  of  the  United  States  forbade  the  govern¬ 
ment  to  interfere  on  behalf  of  the  Hungarian  patriots. 

About  this  time  the  attention  of  the  American  people  was  di¬ 
rected  in  a  special  manner  to  explorations  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.  In 
1845  Sir  John  Franklin,  one  of  the  bravest  of  English  seamen,  went 
on  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  extreme  North.  He  believed  in  the 
possibility  of  passing  through  an  open  polar  sea  into  the  Pacific. 
Years  went  by,  and  no  tidings  came  from  the  daring  sailor.  It  was 
only  known  that  he  had  passed  the  country  of  Esquimaux.  Other 
expeditions  were  despatched  in  search,  but  returned  without  success. 
Henry  Grinnell,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  New  York,  fitted  out  several 
vessels  at  his  own  expense,  put  them  under  command  of  Lieutenant 
De  Haven,  and  sent  them  to  the  North ;  but  in  vain.  The  govern¬ 
ment  came  to  Mr.  Grinnell’s  aid.  In  1853  a  new  Arctic  squadron 
was  equipped ;  the  command  of  which  was  given  to  Dr.  Elisha  Kent 
Kane ;  but  the  expedition,  though  rich  in  scientific  results,  returned 
without  the  discovery  of  Franklin. 

During  the  administrations  of  Taylor  and  Fillmore  the  country 
was  called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  many  distinguished  men.  On  the  31st 
of  March,  1850,  Senator  John  C.  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina  passed 
away.  His  death  was  much  lamented,  especially  in  his  own  State,  to 
whose  interests  he  had  devoted  the  energies  of  his  life.  His  earnest¬ 
ness  and  zeal  and  powers  of  debate  have  placed  him  in  the  front  rank 
©f  American  orators.  At  the  age  of  sixty-eight  he  fell  from  his  place 


468 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


like  a  scarred  oak  of  the  forest  never  to  rise  again.  Then  followed 
the  death  of  the  President;  and  then,  on  the  28th  of  June,  1852, 
Henry  Clay,  having  fought  his  last  battle,  sank  to  rest.  On  the  24th 
of  the  following  October  the  illustrious  Daniel  Webster  died  at  his 

home  at  Marshfield, 
Massachusetts.  The 
place  of  secretary  of 
State,  made  vacant 
by  his  death,  was 
conferred  on  Edward 
Everett. 

In  Europe  the 
news  of  Lopez’s  ri¬ 
diculous  invasion  of 
Cuba  created  great 
excitement.  Not¬ 
withstanding  a  dis¬ 
tinct  disavowal  of 
the  whole  proceeding 
on  the  part  of  the 
Federal  government, 
notwithstanding  the 
immediate  dismissal 
of  the  officer  at  New 
Orleans  who  had  al¬ 
lowed  the  expedition 
of  Lopez  to  escape 
from  that  port, — the  governments  of  Great  Britain  and  France  affec¬ 
ted  to  believe  that  the  covert  aim  and  purpose  of  the  United  States 
was  to  acquire  Cuba  by  conquest.  Acting  upon  this  presumption  the 
British  and  French  ministers  proposed  to  the  American  government 
to  enter  into  a  Tripartite  Treaty — so  called — in  which  each  of  the  con¬ 
tracting  nations  was  to  disclaim  then  and  forever  all  intention  of  pos¬ 
sessing  Cuba.  To  this  proposal  Mr.  Everett  replied  in  one  of  the 
most  masterly  State  papers  on  record.  Great  Britain  and  France  were 
informed  that  the  annexation  of  Cuba  was  regarded  by  the  United 
States  as  a  measure  hazardous  and  impolitic ;  that  entire  good  faith 
would  be  kept  with  Spain  and  with  all  nations;  but  that  the  Federal 
government  did  not  recognize  in  any  European  power  the  right  to 
meddle  with  affairs  purely  American,  and  that,  in  accordance  with 
the  doctrine  set  forth  by  President  Monroe,  any  such  interference 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 


PIERCE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


469 


would  be  resented  as  an  affront  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  United 
States. 

As  Fillmore’s  administration  drew  to  a  close  the  political  parties 
again  marshaled  their  forces.  Franklin  Pierce  of  New  Hampshire 
appeared  as  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  General  Win¬ 
field  Scott  as  the  choice  of  the  Whigs.  The  question  at  issue  before 
the  country  was  the  Compromise  Act  of  1850.  But  the  parties,  in¬ 
stead  of  being  divided,  were  for  once  agreed  as  to  the  wisdom  of  that 
measure.  Both  the  Whig  and  Democratic  platforms  stoutly  reaffirmed 
the  justice  of  the  Omnibus  Bill,  by  which  the  dissensions  of  the  coun¬ 
try  had  been  quieted.  A  third  party  arose,  however,  whose  members, 
both  Whigs  and  Democrats,  doubted  the  wisdom  of  the  compromise 
of  1850,  and  declared  that  all  the  Territories  of  the  United  States 
ought  to  be  free.  John  P.  Hale  of  New  Hampshire  was  put  forward 
as  the  candidate  of  this  Free  Soil  party.  Mr.  Pierce  was  elected  by  a 
large  majority,  and  William  R.  King  of  Alabama  was  chosen  Vice- 
President. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

PIERCE'S  ADMINISTRATION,  1853-1857. 

rnHE  new  chief  magistrate  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  a  graduate 
-L  of  Bowdoin  College,  a  lawyer,  a  politician,  a  general  in  the  Mexican 
War,  a  statesman  of  considerable  abilities.  Mr.  King,  the  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent,  had  for  a  long  time  represented  Alabama  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  On  account  of  failing  health  he  was  sojourning  in  the  island  of 
Cuba  at  the  time  of  the  inauguration,  and  there  he  received  the  oath  of 
office.  Growing  still  more  feeble,  he  returned  to  his  own  State,  where 
he  died  on  the  18th  of  April,  1853.  As  secretary  of  state  under  the  new 
administration  William  L.  Marcy  of  New  York  was  chosen. 

In  the  summer  of  1853  the  first  corps  of  engineers  was  sent  out  by 
the  government  to  explore  the  route  for  a  Pacific  Railroad.  The 
enterprise  was  at  first  regarded  as  visionary,  then  believed  in  as  possible, 
and  finally  undertaken  and  accomplished.  In  the  same  year  that  marked 
the  beginning  of  the  project  the  disputed  boundary  between  New  Mexico 
and  Chihuahua  was  satisfactorily  settled.  The  maps  on  which  the  former 
treaties  with  Mexico  had  been  based  were  found  to  be  erroneous.  Santa 


470 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Anna,  who  had  again  become  president  of  the  Mexican  republic,  at¬ 
tempted  to  take  advantage  of  the  error,  and  sent  an  army  to  occupy 
the  territory  between  the  true  and  the  false  boundary.  This  action 
was  resisted  by  the  authorities  of  New  Mexico  and  the  United  States, 
and  a  second  Mexican  war  seemed  imminent.  The  difficulty  was  ad¬ 
justed,  however,  by  the  purchase  of  the  doubtful  claim  of  Mexico. 
This  transaction,  known  as  the  Gadsden  Purchase,  led  to  the  erec¬ 
tion  of  the  new  Territory  of  Arizona. 

The  first  year  of  Pierce’s  administration  was  signalized  by  the 
opening  of  intercourse  between  the  United  States  and  the  great  em¬ 
pire  of  Japan.  Hitherto  the  Japanese  ports  had  been  closed  against 
the  vessels  of  Christian  nations.  In  order  to  remove  this  foolish  and 
injurious  restriction  Commodore  Perry,  a  son  of  Oliver  H.  Perry  of 
the  war  of  1812,  sailed  with  his  squadron  into  the  Bay  of  Yeddo. 
When  warned  to  depart,  he  explained  to  the  Japanese  officers  the  sin¬ 
cere  desire  of  the  United  States  to  enter  into  a  commercial  treaty  with 
the  emperor.  After  much  delay  and  hesitancy  consent  was  obtained  to 
hold  an  interview  with  that  august  personage.  Accordingly,  on  the 
14th  of  July,  the  commodore  with  his  officers  obtained  an  audience 
with  the  dusky  monarch  of  the  East,  and  presented  a  letter  from  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  Still  the  government  of  Japan  was 
wary  of  accepting  the  proposition,  and  it  was  not  until  the  spring  of 
1854  that  a  treaty  could  be  concluded.  The  privileges  of  commerce 
were  thus  conceded  to  American  merchant  vessels,  and  two  ports  of 
entry  were  designated  for  their  use. 

On  the  very  day  of  Commodore  Perry’s  introduction  to  the  em¬ 
peror  of  Japan  the  Crystal  Palace  was  opened  in  the  city  of  New  York 
for  the  second  World’s  Fair.  The  palace  itself  was  a  marvel  in  ar¬ 
chitecture,  being  built  exclusively  of  iron  and  glass.  Thousands  of 
specimens  of  the  arts  and  manufactures  of  all  civilized  nations  were 
put  on  exhibition  within  the  spacious  building.  The  enterprise  and 
inventive  genius  of  the  whole  country  were  quickened  into  a  new 
life  by  the  beautiful  and  instructive  display.  International  exhibitions 
are  among  the  happiest  fruits  of  an  enlightened  age. 

During  the  administration  of  Pierce  the  country  was  frequently 
disturbed  by  the  filibustering  expeditions  of  General  William  Walker 
into  Central  America.  This  audacious  and  unscrupulous  adventurer 
began  his  operations  in  1853  by  escaping  with  a  band  of  followers 
from  the  port  of  San  Francisco  and  making  a  descent  on  La  Paz  in 
Lower  California.  In  the  spring  of  1854  he  marched  overland  with  a 
hundred  men  and  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  in  the  state  of  Sonora, 


PIERCE'S  ADMINISTRATION 


471 


but  the  company  was  dispersed  and  himself  made  prisoner.  In  May 
of  the  same  year  he  was  tried  by  the  authorities  of  San  Francisco  and 
acquitted.  But  not  satisfied  with  his  previous  experience,  he  again 
raised  a  band  of  sixty -two  followers  and  proceeded  to  Central  America. 
Being  joined  by  a  regiment  of  natives  he  fought  and  gained  a  battle 
at  Rivas,  on  the  29th  of  June,  1855.  In  a  second  battle  at  Virgin 
Bay  he  was  also  successful.  Fighting  continued  until  the  following 
summer  when  his  influence  had  become  so  powerful  that  he  was 
elected  president  of  Nicaraugua.  Then  came  a  change  in  his  fortunes. 
A  great  insurrection  ensued ;  and  the  other  Central  American  states, 
assisted  by  the  Vanderbilt  steam-ship  company,  whose  rights  he  had 
violated,  combined  against  him  and  on  the  1st  of  May,  1857,  he  was 
again  made  prisoner.  But  in  a  short  time  he  was  foot-loose  at  New 
Orleans,  where  he  organized  a  third  company  of  adventurers  —  men 
who  had  everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose  —  and  on  the  25th  of 
November  succeeded  in  reaching  Punta  Arenas,  Nicaraugua. 

Within  less  than  a  month,  however,  he  was  again  obliged  to  sur¬ 
render  to  Commodore  Paulding  of  the  United  States  navy.  For  a 
while  the  great  filibuster  was  a  prisoner  at  New  York ;  but  getting  his 
liberty,  he  continued  his  scheming,  and  in  June  of  1860  a  third  time 
reached  Central  America  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force.  This 
time  the  descent  was  made  at  Truxillo,  Honduras.  But  the  president 
of  that  state,  assisted  by  a  British  man-of-war,  soon  overpowered  and 
captured  the  whole  band.  On  the  3d  of  September  Walker  was  tried 
by  a  court-martial  at  Truxillo,  condemned,  and  shot.  The  courage 
with  which  he  met  his  fate  has  half  redeemed  his  forfeited  fame  and 
left  after  times  in  doubt  whether  he  shall  be  called  fanatic  or  hero.* 

To  this  period  also  belongs  the  history  of  what  is  known  in 
American  diplomacy  as  the  Martin  Koszta  Affair.  Martin  Koszta 
was  a  leader  in  the  Hungarian  revolt  against  Austria,  in  1849.  After 
the  rebellion  was  suppressed  he  fled  to  Turkey  whence  he  was  demanded 
by  the  Austrian  government  as  a  refugee  and  traitor.  The  Turkish 
authorities,  however,  refused  to  give  him  up  but  agreed  that  he  should 
be  sent  into  exile  to  some  foreign  land  never  to  return.  Koszta  chose 
the  United  States  as  his  asylum,  came  hither,  and  took  out  partial  but 
not  complete  papers  of  naturalization.  In  1854  he  returned  to  Tur¬ 
key,  contrary  —  as  it  was  alleged  —  to  his  former  promise.  At  the  city 
of  Smyrna  he  received  a  passport  from  the  American  consul  residing 
there,  and  went  ashore.  But  the  Austrian  consul  at  Smyrna,  hearing 

*It  will  be  observed  that  the  narrative  of  Walker’s  exploits  and  end,  extends  nearlj 
to  the  conclusion  of  Buchanan’s  administration. 


472 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES . 


of  Koszta’s  arrival  and  having  no  power  to  arrest  him  on  shore,  induced 
some  bandits  to  seize  him  and  throw  him  into  the  water  of  the  bay 
where  a  boat  in  waiting  picked  him  up  and  carried  him  on  board  an 
Austrian  frigate.  The  American  officials  immediately  demanded  his 
release,  which  was  refused.  Thereupon  Captain  Duncan  Ingraham, 
commanding  the  American  sloop  of  war  St.  Louis,  loaded  his  guns, 
pointed  them  at  the  Austrian  vessel,  and  was  about  to  make  hot  work, 
when  it  was  agreed  by  all  parties  that  Koszta  should  be  put  in  charge 
of  the  French  government  until  his  nationality  should  be  decided.  In 
this  condition  of  affairs  the  question  was  given  over  for  discussion  to 
Baron  Hiilseman — the  Austrian  minister  at  Washington — and  William 
L.  Marcy,  the  American  secretary  of  state.  The  correspondence  was 
one  of  the  ablest  on  record  and  extended,  before  its  termination,  to 
almost  every  question  affecting  naturalization  and  citizenship,  and  in¬ 
deed  to  many  other  important  topics  of  international  law.  Mr.  Marcy 
was  completely  triumphant  in  his  argument  and  Koszta  was  remanded 
to  the  United  States.  Of  so  much  importance  is  the  life  of  one  man , 
when  it  involves  the  great  question  of  human  rights. 

In  the  years  1853-54,  the  peaceable  relations  of  the  United 
States  and  Spain  were  again  endangered  by  Cuban  difficulties.  Presi¬ 
dent  Pierce  believed  that  owing  to  the  financial  embarrassment  of  the 
Spanish  government,  Cuba  might  now  be  purchased  at  a  reasonable 
price  and  annexed  to  the  United  States.  The  delicate  business  of  ne¬ 
gotiating  was  intrusted  at  first  to  Mr.  Soule,  the  American  ministei 
at  Madrid.  But  afterwards  James  Buchanan  and  John  Y.  Mason  were 
added  to  the  mission.  A  convention  of  the  ambassadors  of  the  vari¬ 
ous  governments  concerned  was  held  at  Ostend,  and  an  important  in¬ 
strument  was  there  drawn  up  —  chiefly  by  Mr.  Buchanan  —  known  as 
the  Ostend  Manifesto.  The  document  was  chiefly  devoted  to  an 
elaborate  statement  of  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  purchase  and  an¬ 
nexation  of  Cuba  by  the  United  States,  as  a  measure  of  sound  wisdom 
to  both  the  Spanish  and  American  governments.  But  nothing  of  prac¬ 
tical  importance  resulted  from  the  embassy  or  the  manifesto. 

And  now  the  great  domain  lying  west  of  Minnesota,  Iowa  and 
Missouri  was  to  be  organized  i.  to  territorial  governments.  Already 
into  these  vast  regions  the  tide  of  immigration  was  pouring,  and  it  be¬ 
came  necessary  to  provide  for  the  future.  In  January  of  1854,  Sen¬ 
ator  Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois  brought  before  the  Senate  of  tha 
United  States  a  proposition  to  organize  the  territories  of  Kansas  and 
Nebraska.  In  the  bill  reported  for  this  purpose  a  clause  Avas  inserted 
providing  that  the  people  of  the  two  Territories,  in  forming  theii  con- 


PIERCE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


473 


etitutions,  should  decide  for  themselves  whether  the  new  States  snoula  be 
free  or  slaveholding.  This  was  a  virtual  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com¬ 
promise,  for  both  the  new  territories  lay  north  of  the  parallel  of 
thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes.  Thus  by  a  single  stroke  the 
old  settlement  of  the  slavery  question  was  to  be  undone.  From  Jan¬ 
uary  until  May,  Mr.  Douglas’s  report,  known  as  the  Kansas-Ne- 
BRASKA  Bill,  was  debated  in  Congress.  All  the  bitter  sectional 
antagonisms  of  the  past  were  aroused  in  full  force.  The  bill  was 
violently  opposed  by  a  majority  of  the  representatives  from  the  East 
and  North;  but  the  minority,  uniting  with  the  congressmen  of  the 
South,  enabled  Douglas  to  carry  his  measure  through  Congress,  and 
in  May  of  1854  the  bill  received  the  sanction  of  the  President. 

Kansas  itself  now  became  a  battle-field  for  the  contending  par¬ 
ties.  Whether  the  new  State  should  admit  slavery  now  depended  upon 
the  vote  of  the  people.  Wherefore  both  factions  made  a  rush  for  the 
territory  in  order  to  secure  a  majority.  Kansas  was  soon  filled  with 
an  agitated  mass  of  people,  thousands  of  whom  had  been  sent  thither 
to  vote.  An  election  held  in  November  of  1854  resulted  in  the  choice 
of  a  pro-slavery  delegate  to  Congress,  and  in  the  general  territorial 
election  of  the  following  year  the  same  party  was  triumphant.  The 
State  Legislature  thus  chosen  assembled  at  Lecompton,  organized  the 
government  and  framed  a  constitution  permitting  slavery.  The  Free 
Soil  party,  declaring  the  general  election  to  have  been  illegal  on  ac¬ 
count  of  fraudulent  voting,  assembled  in  convention  at  Topeka,  framed 
a  constitution  excluding  slavery,  and  organized  a  rival  government. 
Civil  war  broke  out  between  the  factions.  From  the  autumn  of  1855 
until  the  following  summer  the  Territory  was  the  scene  of  constant 
turmoil  and  violence.  On  the  3d  of  September  the  President  ap¬ 
pointed  John  W.  Geary  of  Pennsylvania  military  governor  of  Kansas, 
with  full  powers  to  restore  order  and  punish  lawlessness.  On  his  ar¬ 
rival  the  hostile  parties  were  quieted  and  peace  restored.  But  the 
agitation  in  the  Territory  had  already  extended  to  all  parts  of  the 
Union,  and  became  the  issue  on  which  the  people  divided  in  the  presi¬ 
dential  election  of  1856. 

The  parties  made  ready  for  the  contest.  James  Buchanan  of 
Pennsylvania  vras  nominated  as  the  Democratic  candidate.  By  plant¬ 
ing  himself  on  a  platform  of  principles  in  which  the  doctrines  of  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  were  distinctly  reaffirmed,  he  was  able  to  secure 
heavy  vote  both  North  and  South.  For  many  Northern  Democrats, 
/hough  opposed  to  slavery,  held  firmly  to  the  opinion  that  the  people 
of  every  Territory  ought  to  have  the  right  to  decide  the  question  for 


474 


BISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


themselves.  As  the  candidate  of  the  Free  Soil  or  People’s  party, 
John  C.  Fremont  of  California  was  brought  forward.  The  exclusion 
of  slavery  from  all  the  Territories  of  the  United  States  by  congres- 
sional  action  was  the  distinctive  principle  of  the  Free  Soil  platform. 
Meanwhile,  an  American  or  Know-Nothing  party  had  arisen  in  the 
country,  the  leaders  of  which,  anxious  to  ignore  the  slavery  question 
and  to  restrict  foreign  influences  in  the  nation,  nominated  Millard  Fill¬ 
more  for  the  presidency.  But  the  slavery  question  could  not  be  put 
aside;  on  that  issue  the  people  were  really  divided.  A  large  majority 
decided  in  favor  of  Mr.  Buchanan  for  the  presidency,  while  the  choice 
for  the  vice-presidency  fell  on  John  C.  Breckinridge  of  Kentucky. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

BUCHANAN'S  ADMINISTRATION,  1857-1861. 

JAMES  BUCHANAN  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  on  the 
13th  of  April,  1791,  educated  for  the  profession  of  law.  In  1831 
he  was  appointed  minister  to  Russia,  was  afterward  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  from  that  position  was  called  to  the 
office  of  secretary  of  state  under  President  Polk.  In  1853  he  received 
the  appointment  of  minister  to  Great  Britain,  and  resided  at  London 
until  his  nomination  for  the  presidency.  As  secretary  of  state  in  the 
new  cabinet,  General  Lewis  Cass  of  Michigan  was  chosen. 

A  few  days  after  the  inauguration  of  the  new  chief  magistrate, 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  delivered  the  celebrated  opin¬ 
ion  known  in  American  history  as  the  Dred  Scott  Decision.  Dred 
Scott,  a  negro,  had  been  held  as  a  slave  by  Dr.  Emerson  of  Missouri, 
a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  army.  On  the  removal  of  Emerson  to 
Rock  Island,  Illinois,  and  afterwards,  in  1836,  to  Fort  Snelling,  Min¬ 
nesota,  Scott  was  taken  along ;  and  at  the  latter  place  he  and  a  negro 
woman,  who  had  been  bought  by  the  surgeon,  were  married.  Two 
children  \yere  born  of  the  marriage,  and  then  the  whole  family  were 
taken  back  to  St.  Louis  and  sold.  Dred  thereupon  brought  suit  for 
his  freedom.  The  cause  was  heard  in  the  circuit  and  supreme  courts 
of  Missouri,  and,  in  May  of  1854,  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  After  a  delay  of  nearly  three  years  a  decision 
was  finally  reached  in  March  of  1857.  Chief-Justice  Taney,  speaking 


B  UCHANAN'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


475 


for  the  court,  decided  that  negroes,  whether  free  or  slave,  were  not  cit¬ 
izens  of  the  United  States,  and  that  they  could  not  become  such  by  any 
process  known  to  the  Constitution;  that  under  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  a  negro  could  neither  sue  nor  be  sued,  and  that  therefore  the 
court  had  no  jurisdiction  of  Dred  Scott’s  cause ;  that  a  slave  was  to 
be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  personal  chattel,  and  that  he  might  be 
removed  from  place  to  place  by  his  owner  as  any  other  piece  of  prop¬ 
erty;  that  the  Constitution  gave  to  every  slave-holder  the  right  of  re¬ 
moving  to  or  through  any  State  or  Territory  with  his  slaves,  and  of 
returning  at  his  will  with  them  to  a  State  where  slavery  was  recog¬ 
nized  by  law;  and  that  therefore  the  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820, 
as  well  as  the  compromise  measures  of  1850,  was  unconstitutional  and 
void.  In  these  opinions  six  of  the  associate  justices  of  the  supreme 
bench — Wayne,  Nelson,  Grier,  Daniel,  Campbell,  and  Catron — con¬ 
curred;  while  two  associates — Judges  McLean  and  Curtis — dissented. 
The  decision  of  the  majority,  which  was  accepted  as  the  opinion  of 
the  court,  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  ultra  slave-holding  sentiment 
of  the  South,  but  excited  in  the  North  thousands  of  indignant  com¬ 
ments  and  much  bitter  opposition. 

In  the  first  year  of  Buchanan’s  administration  there  was  a  Mor¬ 
mon  rebellion  in  Utah.  The  difficulty  arose  from  an  attempt  to  ex¬ 
tend  the  judicial  system  of  the  United  States  over  the  Territory.  Thus 
far  Brigham  Young,  the  Mormon  governor,  had  had  his  own  way  of 
administering  justice.  The  community  of  Mormons  was  organized  on 
a  plan  very  different  from  that  existing  in  other  Territories,  and  many 
usages  had  grown  up  in  Utah  which  were  repugnant  to  the  laws  of 
the  country.  When,  therefore,  a  Federal  judge  was  sent  to  preside 
in  the  Territory,  he  was  resisted,  insulted  and  driven  violently  from 
the  seat  of  justice.  The  other  officials  of  the  Federal  government 
were  also  expelled,  and  the  Territory  became  the  scene  of  a  reign 
of  terror.  The  Mormons,  however,  attempted  a  justification  of  their 
conduct  on  the  ground  that  the  character  of  the  United  States  offi¬ 
cers  had  been  so  low  and  vicious  as  to  command  no  respect.  But 
the  excuse  was  deemed  insufficient,  and  Brigham  Young  was  super¬ 
seded  in  the 'governorship  by  Alfred  Gumming,  superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs  on  the  Upper  Missouri.  Judge  Delana  Eckels  of  In¬ 
diana  was  appointed  chief-justice  of  the  Territory;  and  an  army  of 
two  thousand  five  hundred  men  was  organized  and  despatched  to 
Utah  to  put  down  lawlessness  by  force. 

But  Young  and  the  Mormon  elders  were  in  no  humor  to  give 
up  their  authority  without  a  struggle.  The  approaching  American 


476 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


army  was  denounced  as  a  horde  of  barbarians,  and  preparations  were 
made  for  resistance.  In  September  of  1857  the  national  forces  reached 
the  Territory;  and  on  the  6th  of  October  a  company  of  Mormon  ran¬ 
gers  made  good  the  threats  of  Young  by  attacking  and  destroying 
most  of  the  supply  trains  of  the  army.  Winter  came  on,  and  the 
Federal  forces,  under  command  of  Colonel  Albert  Sidney  Johnston, 
were  obliged  to  find  quarters  on  Black’s  Fork,  near  Fort  Bridges. 
Meanwhile,  however,  the  President  had  despatched  Thomas  L.  Kane 
of  Pennsylvania  with  conciliatory  letters  to  the  Mormons.  Going  by 
way  of  California,  he  reached  Utah  in  the  spring  of  1858,  and  in  a 
short  time  succeeded  in  bringing  about  a  good  understanding  between 
Governor  Cumming  and  the  insurgents.  In  the  latter  part  of  May, 
Governor  Powell  of  Kentucky  and  Major  McCulloch  of  Texas  ar¬ 
rived  at  the  quarters  of  the  army,  bearing  from  the  President  a  proc¬ 
lamation  of  pardon  to  all  who  would  submit  to  the  national  authority. 
The  passions  of  the  Mormons  had  by  this  time  somewhat  subsided 
and  they  accepted  the  overture.  In  the  fall  of  1858  the  army  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  Salt  Lake  City,  but  was  soon  afterwards  quartered  at  Camp 
Floyd,  forty  miles  distant.  The  Federal  forces  remained  at  this  place 
until  order  was  entirely  restored,  and  in  May  of  1860  were  withdrawn 
from  the  Territory. 

Early  in  1858  an  American  vessel,  while  innocently  exploring 
the  Paraguay  Biver,  in  South  America,  was  fired  on  by  a  jealous  gar¬ 
rison.  When  reparation  for  the  insult  was  demanded,  none  was  given, 
and  the  government  of  the  United  States  was  obliged  to  send  out  a 
fleet  to  obtain  satisfaction.  A  commissioner  was  sent  with  the  squad¬ 
ron  who  was  empowered  to  offer  liberal  terms  of  settlement  for  the 
injury.  The  authorities  of  Paraguay  quailed  before  the  American 
flag,  and  suitable  apologies  were  made  for  the  wrong  which  had  been 
committed. 

The  5th  of  August,  1858,  was  a  memorable  day  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  On  that  day  was  completed  the  laying  of  the  first 
telegraphic  cable  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  successful  ac¬ 
complishment  of -this  great  work  was  due  in  a  large  measure  to  the 
energy  and  genius  of  Cyrus  W.  Field,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  New 
York.  The  cable,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty  miles  in 
length,  was  stretched  from  Trinity  Bay,  Newfoundland,  to  Valentia 
Bay,  Ireland.  Telegraphic  communication  was  thus  established  be¬ 
tween  the  Old  World  and  the  New,  and  the  fraternal  greetings  of 
peaceful  nations  were  for  the  first  time  transmitted  through  the 
depths  of  the  sea. 


B  V  CHAN  AN  ’ S  ADMIN ISTllA  TION. 


477 


In  1858  Minnesota  was  added  to  the  Union.  The  area  of  the  new 
State  was  a  little  more  than  eighty-one  thousand  square  miles,  and  its 
population  at  the  date  of  admission  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  souls. 
In  the  next  year  Ore¬ 
gon,  the  thirty-third 
State,  was  admitted, 
with  a  population  of 
forty-eight  thousand, 
and  an  area  of  eighty 
thousand  square  miles. 

On  the  4th  of  the  pre¬ 
ceding  March  General 
Sam  Houston  of  Texas 
bade  adieu  to  the  Sen¬ 
ate  of  the  United 
States  and  retired  to 
private  life.  His  ca¬ 
reer  had  been  marked 
by  the  strangest  vicis¬ 
situdes.  He  was  a 
Virginian  by  birth, 
but  his  youth  was 
hardened  among  the 
mountains  of  Tennes¬ 
see.  He  gained  a  mil¬ 
itary  fame  in  the  Sem-  general  sam  Houston. 

in  ole  War,  then  rose 

to  political  distinction,  and  was  elected  governor  of  his  adopted  State. 
Overshadowed  with  a  domestic  calamity,  he  suddenly  resigned  his  office, 
left  his  home,  and  exiled  himself  among  the  Cherokees,  by  whom  he  was 
made  a  chief.  Afterward  he  went  to  Texas,  joined  the  patriots,  and  be¬ 
came  a  leading  spirit  in  the  struggle  for  independence.  It  was  he  who 
commanded  in  the  decisive  battle  of  San  Jacinto;  he  who  became  first 
president  of  Texas,  and  also  her  first  representative  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  Through  all  the  misfortunes,  dangers  and  trials  of  his 
life  his  character  stood  like  adamant. 

In  the  fall  of  1859  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  called 
to  mourn  the  death  of  Washington  Irving,  the  Prince  of  Amer¬ 
ican  Letters.  For  full  fifty  years  the  powers  of  his  sublime  genina 
had  been  unremittingly  devoted  to  the  great  work  of  creating  for  his 
native  land  a  literature  that  should  adorn  and  glorify  his  own  and 


478 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


after  ages.  On  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  in  every  civilized  country, 
his  name  had  become  familiar  as  a  household  word.  He  it  was,  first 
of  all,  who  wrung  from  the  reluctant  and  proscriptive  reviews  of 

England  and  Scot¬ 
land  an  acknowledg  ¬ 
ment  of  the  power 
and  originality  of 
Amercan  genius.  The 
literature  of  the  New 
World  was  no  longer 
a  scoff  and  a  by-word 
when  Murray,  the 
bookseller  of  London, 
was  obliged  to  pay 
for  the  manuscript  of 
“  Bracebridge  Hall  ” 
— which  he  had  not 
yet  seen — the  sum  of 
a  thousand  guineas. 
Except  Sir  Walter 
Scott  and  Lord  Byron 
no  other  author  of 
Irving’s  times  re¬ 
ceived  such  a  munifi¬ 
cent  reward  for  his  labor — no  other  was  so  much  praised  and  loved. 
Whether  as  humorist  or  writer  of  prose  fiction,  historian  or  biogra¬ 
pher,  his  name  ranks  among  the  noblest  and  brightest  of  the  world. 
When  the  petty  revolutions  of  society  and  the  bloody  conflicts  of  the 
battle  field  are  forgotten,  the  monument  which  the  affections  of  his 
countrymen  have  reared  to  the  memory  of  the  illustrious  Irving  shall 
stand  unshaken  and  untarnished,  transmitting  to  all  after  times  the 
record  of  his  virtues  and  achievements. 

From  the  beginning  the  new  administration  had  stormy  times. 
The  slavery  question  continued  to  vex  the  nation.  The  Ered  Scott 
Decision,  to  which  the  President  had  looked  as  a  measure  calculated 
to  allay  the  excitement,  had  only  added  fuel  to  the  flame.  In  some 
of  the  Free  States  the  opposition  rose  so  high  that  Personal  Lib¬ 
erty  Bills  were  passed,  the  object  of  which  was  to  defeat  the  exe¬ 
cution  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  law.  In  the  fall  of  1859  the  excitement 
was  still  further  increased  by  the  mad  attempt  of  John  Brown  of 
Kansas  to  excite  a  general  insurrection  among  the  slaves.  With  a 


WASHINGTON  IRVING. 


B  UCHANAN'S  ADMINISTRA  T10N. 


47<J 


party  of  twenty-one  men  as  daring  as  himself,  he  made  a  sudden  de¬ 
scent  on  the  United  States  arsenal  at  Harper’s  Ferry,  captured  the 
place,  and  held  his  ground  for  nearly  two  days.  The  national  troops 
and  the  militia  of  Virginia  were  called  out  in  order  to  suppress  the 
revolt.  Thirteen  of  Brown’s  men  were  killed,  two  made  their  escape, 
and  the  rest  were  captured.  The  leader  and  his  six  companions  were 
given  over  to  the  authorities  of  Virginia,  tried,  condemned  and 
hanged.  In  Kansas  the  old  controversy  still  continued,  but  the  Free 
Soil  party  gained  ground  so  rapidly  as  to  make  it  certain  that  slavery 
would  be  interdicted  from  the  State.  All  these  facts  and  events 
tended  to  widen  the  breach  between  the  people  of  the  North  and  the 
South.  Such  was  the  alarming  condition  of  affairs  when  the  time 
arrived  for  holding  the  nineteenth  presidential  election. 

The  canvass  was  one  of  intense  excitement.  Four  candidates 
were  presented.  The  choice  of  the  People’s  party — now  called  Re¬ 
publican — was  Abraham  Lincoln  of  Illinois.  The  platform  of  prin¬ 
ciples  adopted  by  this  party  again  declared  opposition  to  the  extension 
of  slavery  to  be  the  vital  issue.  In  the  month  of  April  the  Democratic 
convention  assembled  at  Charleston.  The  delegates  were  divided  on 
the  question  of  slavery,  and  after  much  debating  the  party  was  dis¬ 
rupted.  The  Southern  delegates,  unable  to  obtain  a  distinct  expres¬ 
sion  of  their  views  in  the  platform  of  principles,  and  seeing  that  the 
Northern  wing  was  determined  to  nominate  Mr.  Douglas — the  great 
defender  of  popular  sovereignty — withdrew  from  the  convention.  The 
rest  continued  in  session,  balloted  for  a  while  for  a  candidate,  and  on 
the  3d  of  May  adjourned  to  Baltimore,  where  the  delegates,  reassem¬ 
bling  on  the  18th  of  June,  chose  Douglas  as  their  standard-bearer  in 
the  approaching  canvass.  The  seceding  delegates  adjourned  first  to 
Richmond,  and  afterwards  to  Baltimore,  where  they  met  on  the  28th 
of  June  and  nominated  John  C.  Breckinridge  of  Kentucky.  The 
American  party  —  now  known  as  Constitutional  Unionists  —  chose 
John  Bell  of  Tennessee  as  their  candidate.  The  contest  resulted  in 
the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  received  the  electoral  votes  of  all 
the  Northern  States  except  those  of  New  Jersey,  which  were  divided 
between  himself  and  his  two  opponents.  The  support  of  tlie  South¬ 
ern  States  was  for  the  most  part  given  to  Breckinridge.  The  States 
of  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  cast  their  ballots,  thirty-nine 
in  number,  for  Mr.  Bell.  Mr.  Douglas  received  a  large  popular  but 
small  electoral  vote,  his  supporters  being  scattered  through  all  the 
States  without  the  concentration  necessary  to  carry  any.  Thus  after 
controlling  the  destinies  of  the  Republic  for  sixty  years,  with  only 


480 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  temporary  overthrow  of  1840,  the  Democratic  party  was  broken 
into  fragments  and  driven  from  the  field. 

The  result  of  the  election  had  been  anticipated.  The  leaders  of  the 
South  had  openly  declared  that  the  choice  of  Lincoln  would  be  regarded 
as  a  just  cause  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  The  Republicans  of  the 
populous  North  crowded  to  the  polls,  and  their  favorite  was  chosen.  As 
to  the  government,  it  was  under  the  control  of  the  Douglas  Democracy ; 
but  a  majority  of  the  cabinet  and  a  large  number  of  senators  and  repre¬ 
sentatives  in  Congress  were  supporters  of  Mr.  Breckinridge  and  the  advo¬ 
cates  of  disunion  as  a  justifiable  measure.  It  was  now  evident  that  with 
the  incoming  of  the  new  administration  all  the  departments  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  would  pass  under  the  control  of  the  Republican  party.  The  times 
were  full  of  passion,  animosity  and  rashness.  It  was  seen  that  disunion 
was  now  possible,  and  that  the  possibility  would  shortly  be  removed.  The 
attitude  of  the  President  favored  the  measure.  He  was  not  himself  a 
disunionist.  He  denied  the  right  of  a  State  to  secede ;  but  at  the  same 
time  he  declared  himself  not  armed  with  the  constitutional  power  neces¬ 
sary  to  prevent  secession  by  force.  The  interval,  therefore,  between  the 
presidential  election  in  November  of  1860  and  the  inauguration  of  the 
following  spring  was  seized  by  the  leaders  of  the  South  as  the  opportune 
moment  for  dissolving  the  Union. 

The  actual  work  of  secession  began  in  South  Carolina.  On  the 
17th  of  December,  1860,  a  convention  assembled  at  Charleston,  and  after 
three  days  of  deliberation  passed  a  resolution  that  the  union  hitherto 
existing  between  South  Carolina  and  the  other  States,  under  the  name  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  was  dissolved.  It  was  a  step  of  fearful 
importance.  The  action  was  contagious.  The  sentiment  of  disunion 
spread  with  great  rapidity.  The  cotton-growing  States  were  almost 
unanimous  in  support  of  the  measure.  By  the  1st  of  February,  1861, 
six  other  States — Mississippi,  Florida,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana  and 
Texas — had  passed  ordinances  of  secession  and  withdrawn  from  the 
Union.  Nearly  all  of  the  senators  and  representatives  of  those  States, 
following  the. action  of  their  constituents,  resigned  their  seats  in  Congress 
and  gave  themselves  to  the  disunion  cause. 

In  the  secession  conventions  there  was  but  little  opposition  to  the 
movement.  In  some  instances  a  considerable  minority  vote  was  cast.  A 
few  of  the  speakers  boldly  denounced  disunion  as  bad  in  principle  and 
ruinous  in  its  results.  The  course  of  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  afterward 
Vice-  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  was  peculiar.  In  the  con¬ 
vention  of  Georgia  he  undertook  the  task  of  preventing  the  secession  of 
his  State.  He  delivered  a  long  and  powerful  oration  in  which  he  de» 


B  UCHA  NAN’S  AD  MINIS  TEA  TION. 


481 


fended  the  theory  of  secession,  advocated  the  doctrine  of  State  sove¬ 
reignty,  declared  his  intention  of  abiding  by  the  decision  of  the  conven¬ 
tion,  but  at  the  same 
time  spoke  against  se¬ 
cession,  on  the  ground 
that  the  measure  was 
impolitic,  unwise,  dis¬ 
astrous.  Not  a  few 
prominent  men  at  the 
Sou  th  held  similar 
views;  but  the  oppo¬ 
site  opinion  prevailed, 
and  secession  was  ac¬ 
complished. 

On  the  4th  of 
February,  1861,  dele¬ 
gates  from  six  of  the 
seceded  States  assem¬ 
bled  at  Montgomery, 

Alabama,  and  formed 
a  n  e  w  government, 
under  the  name  of 
The  Confederate 
States  of  America. 

On  the  8tll  of  the  ALEXANDER  h.  Stephens. 

month  the  government 

was  organized  by  the  election  of  Jefferson  Davit  of  Mississippi  as  provis¬ 
ional  President,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens  as  Vice-President.  On  the 
same  day  of  the  meeting  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  at  Montgomery,  a 
peace  conference  assembled  at  Washington.  Delegates  from  twenty-one 
States  were  present;  certain  amendments  to  the  Constitution  were  pro¬ 
posed  and  laid  before  Congress  for  adoption,  but  that  body  gave  little  heed 
to  the  measures  suggested,  and  the  conference  adjourned  without  practical 
results. 

The  country  seemed  on  the  verge  of  ruin.  The  national  govern¬ 
ment  was  for  the  time  being  paralyzed.  The  army  was  stationed  in  de¬ 
tachments  on  remote  frontiers.  The  fleet  was  scattered  in  distant  seas. 
The  President  was  distracted  with  hesitancv  and  the  adverse  counsels  of 
his  friends.  With  the  exception  of  Forts  Sumter  and  Moultrie  in 
Charleston  Harbor,  Fort  Pickens  near  Pensacola,  and  Fortress  Monroe  in 
the  Chesapeake,  all  the  important  posts  in  the  seceded  States  had  been 

31 


482 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


seized  by  the  Confederate  authorities,  even  before  the  organization  of  their 
government.  All  this  while  the  local  warfare  in  Kansas  had  continued ; 
but  the  Free  State  party  had  at  last  gained  the  ascendency,  and  the  early 
admission  of  the  new  commonwealth,  with  two  additional  Republican 
senators,  was  foreseen.  Early  in  January  the  President  made  a  feeble 
attempt  to  reinforce  and  provision  the  garrison  of  Fort  Sumter.  The 
steamer  Star  of  the  West  was  sent  with  men  and  supplies,  but  in  approach¬ 
ing  the  harbor  of  Charleston  was  fired  on  by  a  Confederate  battery  and 
compelled  to  return.  Thus  in  gloom  and  grief,  and  the  upheavals  of 
revolution,  the  administration  of  Buchanan  drew  to  a  close.  Such  was 
the  dreadful  condition  of  affairs  that  it  was  deemed  prudent  for  the  new 
President  to  approach  the  capital  without  recognition.  For  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  the  nation  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  republic  slipped 
into  Washington  city  by  night. 


CHAPTER  LXI. 

LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION,  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1861-1865. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  sixteenth  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  born  in  the  county  of  Larue,  on  the 
12th  of  February,  1809.  His  ancestors  had  emigrated  thither  from 
Rockingham  County,  Virginia :  both  father  and  mother  were  Virgin¬ 
ians  by  birth.  The  childhood  of  the  future  President  was  passed  in 
utter  obscurity.  In  1816  his  father  removed  to  Spencer  County,  In¬ 
diana — just  then  admitted  into  the  Union — and  built  a  cabin  in  the 
woods  near  the  present  village  of  Gentryville.  Here  was  the  scene 
of  Lincoln’s  boyhood — a  constant  struggle  with  poverty,  hardship,  and 
toil.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  we  find  him  managing  a  ferry  across  tlie 
Ohio,  at  the  mouth  of  Anderson  Creek — a  service  for  which  he  was 
paid  six  dollars  per  month.  In  his  youth  he  received  in  the  aggregate 
about  one  year  of  schooling,  which  was  all  he  ever  had  in  the  way  of 
education.  In  the  year  of  his  majority  he  removed  with  his  father’s 
family  to  the  north  fork  of  the  Sangamon,  ten  miles  west  of  Decatur, 
Illinois.  Here  another  log-house  was  built  and  a  small  farm  cleared 


LINCOLN'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


483 


and  fenced  ;  and  here  Abraham  Lincoln  began  for  himself  the  hard 
battle  of  life. 


The  uncleared  forest,  the  unbroken  soil, 

The  iron  bark  that  turns  the  lumberer’s  axe, 

The  rapid  that  o’erbears  the  boatman’s  toil, 

The  prairie,  hiding  the  mazed  wanderer’s  tracks, 


The  ambushed  Indian,  and  the  prowling  bear  ; — 

Such  were  the  needs  that  helped  his  youth  to  train — 
Rough  culture  ! — but  such  trees  large  fruit  may  bear, 

If  but  their  stocks  be  of  right  girth  and  grain  1 


After  serving  as  a  flatboatman  on  the  Mississippi,  Lincoln  re¬ 
turned  to  New  Salem,  twenty  miles  from  Springfield,  and  became 
a  clerk  in  a  country 
store.  Then,  as  cap¬ 
tain  of  a  company  of 
volunteers,  he  served 
in  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  From  1833  to 
1836  he  was  engaged 
in  merchandising,  but 
a  dissolute  partner 
brought  him  to  bank¬ 
ruptcy.  Turning  his 
attention  to  the  prac¬ 
tice  of  the  law,  for 
which  profession 
he  had  always  had  a 
liking,  he  gradually 
gained  the  attention 
of  his  fellow-men  and 
soon  rose  to  distinc¬ 
tion.  His  peculiar 
power — manifested  at 
all  periods  of  his  life — 
of  seizing  the  most  difficult  thought  and  presenting  it  in  such  quaint 
and  homely  phrase  as  to  make  the  truth  appreciable  by  all  men,  made 
him  a  natural  leader  of  the  people.  As  candidate  for  the  office  of 
United  States  senator  from  Illinois  he  first  revealed  to  the  nation,  in 
his  great  debates  with  Senator  Douglas,  the  full  scope  and  originality 
of  his  genius.  Now,  at  the  age  of  fiftv-two,  he  found  laid  upon  him 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


484 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


such  a  burden  of  care  and  responsibility  as  had  not  been  borne  by 
any  ruler  of  modern  times.  On  the  occasion  of  his  inauguration  he 
delivered  a  long  and  thoughtful  address,  declaring  his  fixed  purpose 
to  uphold  the  Constitution,  enforce  the  laws,  and  preserve  the  integ¬ 
rity  of  the  Union. 

The  new  cabinet  was  organized  with  William  H.  Seward  of  New 
York  as  secretary  of  state.  Salmon  P.  Chase  of  Ohio  was  chosen  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  treasury,  and  Simon  Cameron  secretary  of  war ;  but  he, 
in  the  following  January,  was  succeeded  in  office  by  Edwin  M.  Stan¬ 
ton.  The  secretaryship  of  the  navy  was  conferred  on  Gideon  Welles. 
In  his  inaugural  address  and  first  official  papers  the  President  indi¬ 
cated  the  policy  of  the  new  administration  by  declaring  his  purpose 
to  repossess  the  forts,  arsenals  and  public  property  which  had  been 
seized  by  the  Confederate  authorities.  It  was  with  this  purpose  that 
the  first  military  preparations  were  made.  In  the  mean  time,  on  the 
12th  of  March,  an  effort  was  made  by  commissioners  of  the  seceded 
States  to  obtain  from  the  national  government  a  recognition  of  their 
independence ;  but  the  negotiations  were  unsuccessful.  Then  followed 
a  second  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  reinforce  the  gar¬ 
rison  of  Fort  Sumter;  and  with  that  came  the  beginning  of  actual 
hostilities. 

The  defences  of  Charleston  Harbor  were  held  by  Major  Robert 
Anderson.  His  entire  force  amounted  to  seventy-nine  men.  Owing 
to  the  weakness  of  his  garrison,  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  evacuate 
Fort  Moultrie  and  retire  to  Sumter.  Meanwhile,  Confederate  volun¬ 
teers  had  flocked  to  the  city,  and  powerful  batteries  had  been  built 
about  the  harbor.  When  it  became  known  that  the  Federal  gov¬ 
ernment  would  reinforce  the  forts,  the  authorities  of  the  Confederate 
States  determined  to  anticipate  the  movement  by  compelling  Ander¬ 
son  to  surrender.  Accordingly,  on  the  11th  of  April,  General  P.  T. 
Beauregard,  commandant  of  Charleston,  sent  a  flag  to  Fort  Sumter, 
demanding  an  evacuation.  Major  Anderson  replied  that  he  should 
hold  the  fortress  and  defend  his  flag.  On  the  following  morning, 
at  half-past  four  o’clock,  the  first  gun  was  fired  from  a  Confederate 
battery.  A  terrific  bombardment  of  thirty-four  hours’  duration  fol¬ 
lowed  ;  the  fort  was  reduced  to  ruins,  set  on  fire,  and  obliged  to  ca¬ 
pitulate.  The  honors  of  war  were  granted  to  Anderson  and  his  men, 
who  had  made  a  brave  and  obstinate  resistance.  Although  the  can¬ 
nonade  had  been  long  continued  and  severe,  no  lives  were  lost  either 
in  the  fort  or  on  the  shore.  Thus  the  defences  of  Charleston  Harbor 
were  secured  by  the  Confederates. 


LINCOLN'S  ADMINISTRATION 


485 


The  news  of  this  startling  event  went  through  the  country  like  a 
flame  of  fire.  There  had  been  some  expectation  of  violence,  but  the 
actual  shock  came  like  a  clap  of  thunder.  The  people  of  the  towns 
poured  into  the  streets  and  the  country  folk  flocked  to  the  villages 
to  gather  the  tidings  and  to  comment  on  the  coming  conflict.  Gray¬ 
haired  men  talked  gravely  of  the  deed  that  was  done,  and  prophesied 
of  its  consequences.  Public  opinion  in  both  the  North  and  the  South 
was  rapidly  consolidated.  Three  days  after  the  fall  of  Sumter  Presi¬ 
dent  Lincoln  issued  a  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers  to  serve 
three  months  in  the  overthrow  of  the  secession  movement.  Two  days 
later  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union.  On  May  6th  Arkansas  followed 
the  example,  and  then  North  Carolina  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month. 
In  Tennessee — especially  in  East  Tennessee — there  was  a  powerful  op¬ 
position  to  disunion,  and  it  was  not  until  the  8th  of  June  that  a  secession 
ordinance  could  be  passed.  In  Missouri,  as  will  presentlv  be  seen,  the 
movement  resulted  in  civil  war,  while  in  Kentucky  the  authorities  issued 
a  proclamation  of  neutrality.  The  people  of  Maryland  were  divided 
into  hostile  parties,  the  disunion  sentiment  being  largely  prevalent 

On  the  19th  of  April,  when  the  first  regiments  of  Massachusetts 
volunteers  were  passing  through  Baltimore  on  their  way  to  Washington, 
they  were  fired  upon  by  the  citizens,  and  three  men  killed.  This  was  the 
first  bloodshed  of  the  war.  On  the  day  before  this  event  a  body  of  Con¬ 
federate  soldiers  advanced  against  the  armory  of  the  United  States  at 
Harper’s  Ferry.  The  officer  in  command  hastily  destroyed  a  portion  of 
the  vast  magazine  collected  there,  and  then  escaped  into  Pennsylvania. 
On  the  20th  of  the  month  another  company  of  Virginians  assailed  the 
great  navy  yard  at  Norfolk.  The  officers  commanding  fired  the  build¬ 
ings  and  ships,  spiked  the  cannon  and  withdrew  their  forces.  Most  of 
the  guns  and  many  of  the  vessels  were  afterward  recovered  by  the  Con¬ 
federates,  the  property  thus  captured  amounting  to  fully  ten  millions  of 
dollars.  So  rapidly  was  Virginia  filled  with  volunteers  and  troops  from 
the  South  that,  for  a  while,  Washington  city  was  in  danger  of  being 
taken.  But  the  capital  was  soon  secured  from  mediate  danger;  and 
on  the  3d  of  May  the  President  issued  another  call  lor  soldiers.  This 
time  the  number  was  set  at  eighty-three  thousand,  and  the  term  of  service 
at  three  years  or  during  the  war.  Lieutenant-General  Winfield  Scott 
was  made  commander-in-chief.  As  many  war  ships  as  could  be  provided 
were  sent  to  blockade  the  Southern  ports.  On  every  side  were  heard  the 
notes  of  preparation.  In  the  seceded  States  there  was  boundless  and  in¬ 
cessant  activity.  Already  the  Southern  Congress  had  adjourned  from 
Montgomery,  to  meet  on  the  20th  of  July  at  Richmond,  which  was 


486 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


chosen  as  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy.  To  that  place  had  already 
come  Mr.  Davis  and  the  officers  of  his  cabinet,  for  the  purpose  of  direct¬ 
ing  the  affairs  of  the  government  and  the  army.  So  stood  the  antag¬ 
onistic  powers  in  the  beginning  of  June,  1861.  It  was  now  evident  to 
all  men  (how  slow  they  had  been  to  believe  it !)  that  a  great  war,  perhaps 
the  greatest  in  modern  times,  was  impending  over  the  nation.  It  is 
appropriate  to  look  briefly  into  the  Causes  of  the  approaching  conflict. 


CHAPTER  LXII. 

CA  USES. 

THE  first  and  most  general  cause  of  the  civil  war  in  the  United  States 
was  the  different  construction  -put  upon  the  national  Constitution  by  the 
people  of  the  North  and  the  South.  A  difference  of  opinion  had  always 
existed  as  to  how  that  instrument  was  to  be  understood.  The  question 
at  issue  was  as  to  the  relation  between  the  States  and  the  general  govern¬ 
ment.  One  party  held  that  under  the  Constitution  the  Union  of  the 
States  is  indissoluble ;  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  nation  is  lodged  in  the 
central  government;  that  the  States  are  subordinate;  that  the  acts  of 
Congress,  until  they  are  repealed  or  pronounced  unconstitutional  by  the 
supreme  court,  are  binding  on  the  States ;  that  the  highest  allegiance  of 
the  citizen  is  due  to  the  general  government,  and  not  to  his  own  State ; 
and  that  all  attempts  at  nullification  and  disunion  are  in  their  nature  dis¬ 
loyal  and  treasonable.  The  other  party  held  that  the  national  Constitu¬ 
tion  is  a  compact  between  sovereign  States ;  that  for  certain  reasons  the 
Union  may  be  dissolved ;  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  nation  is  lodged  in 
the  individual  States,  and  not  in  the  central  government;  that  Congress 
can  exercise  no  other  than  delegated  powers ;  that  a  State  feeling  ag¬ 
grieved  may  annul  an  act  of  Congress ;  that  the  highest  allegiance  of  the 
citizen  is  due  to  his  own  State,  and  afterward  to  the  general  government ; 
and  that  acts  of  nullification  and  disunion  are  justifiable,  revolutionary 
and  honorable. 

Here  was  an  issue  in  its  consequences  the  most  fearful  that  ever 
disturbed  a  nation.  It  struck  right  into  the  vitals  of  the  government. 


LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


487 


It  threatened  with  each  renewal  of  the  agitation  to  undo  the  whole  civil 
structure  of  the  United  States.  For  a  long  time  the  parties  who  disputed 
about  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  were  scattered  in  various  sections. 
In  the  earlier  history  of  the  country  the  doctrine  of  State  sovereignty  was 
most  advocated  in  New  England.  With  the  rise  of  the  tariff  question 
the  position  of  parties  changed.  Since  the  tariff — a  congressional  mea¬ 
sure — favored  the  Eastern  States  at  the  expense  of  the  South,  it  came  to 
pass  naturally  that  the  people  of  New  England  passed  over  to  the  advo¬ 
cacy  of  national  sovereignty,  while  the  people  of  the  South  took  up  the 
doctrine  of  State  rights.  Thus  it  happened  that  as  early  as  1831  the  right 
of  nullifying  an  act  of  Congress  was  openly  advocated  in  South  Carolina, 
and  thus  also  it  happened  that  the  belief  in  State  sovereignty  became  more 
prevalent  in  the  South  than  in  the  North.  These  facts  tended  powerfully 
to  produce  sectional  parties  and  to  bring  them  into  conflict. 

A  second  general  cause  of  the  civil  war  was  the  different  system  of 
labor  in  the  North  and  in  the  South.  In  the  former  section  the  laborers 
were  freemen,  citizens,  voters;  in  the  latter,  bondmen,  property,  slaves. 
In  the  South  the  theory  was  that  the  capital  of  a  country  should  own  the 
labor ;  in  the  North  that  both  labor  and  capital  are  free.  In  the  begin¬ 
ning  all  the  colonies  had  been  slaveholding.  In  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
States  the  system  of  slave-labor  was  gradually  abolished,  being  unprofit¬ 
able.  In  the  five  great  States  formed  out  of  the  North-western  Territory 
slavery  was  excluded  by  the  original  compact  under  which  that  Territory 
was  organized.  Thus  there  came  to  be  a  dividing  line  drawn  through 
the  Union  east  and  west.  It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  whenever  the 
question  of  slavery  was  agitated  a  sectional  division  would  arise  between 
the  parties,  and  that  disunion  and  war  would  be  threatened.  The  danger 
arising  from  this  source  was  increased  and  the  discord  between  the  sections 
aggravated  by  several  subordinate  causes. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  invention  of  the  Cotton  Gin.  In 
1793,  Eli  Whitney,  a  young  collegian  of  Massachusetts,  went  to  Georgia, 
and  resided  with  the  family  of  Mrs.  Greene,  widow  of  General  Greene, 
of  the  Revolution.  While  there  his  attention  was  directed  to  the  tedious 
and  difficult  process  of  picking  cotton  by  hand — that  is,  separating  the 
seed  from  the  fibre.  So  slow  was  the  process  that  the  production  of  up¬ 
land  cotton  was  nearly  profitless.  The  industry  of  the  cotton -growing 
States  was  paralyzed  by  the  tediousness  of  preparing  the  product  for  the 
market.  Mr.  Whitney  undertook  to  remove  the  difficulty,  and  succeeded 
in  inventing  a  gin  which  astonished  the  beholder  by  the  rapidity  and 
excellence  of  its  work.  From  being  profitless,  cotton  became  the  most 
profitable  of  all  the  staples.  The  industry  of  the  South  was  revolution- 


488 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ized.  Before  the  civil  war  it  was  estimated  that  Whitney’s  gin  had 
added  a  thousand  millions  of  dollars  to  the  revenues  of  the  Southern 
States.  The  American  crop  had  grown  to  be  seven-eighths  of  all  the 
cotton  produced  in  the  world.  Just  in  proportion  to  the  increased  profit¬ 
ableness  of  cotton  slave-labor  became  important,  slaves  valuable  and  the 
system  of  slavery  a  fixed  and  deep-rooted  institution. 

From  this  time  onward  there  was  constant  danger  that  the  slavery 
question  would  so  embitter  the  politics  and  legislation  of  the  country  as 
to  bring  about  disunion.  The  danger  of  such  a  result  was  fully  mani¬ 
fested  in  the  Missouri  Agitation  of  1820-21.  Threats  of  dissolving 
the  Union  were  freely  made  in  both  the  North  and  the  South — in  the 
North,  because  of  the  proposed  enlargement  of  the  domain  of  slavery;  in 
the  South,  because  of  the  proposed  rejection  of  Missouri  as  a  slave-holding 
State.  When  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  enacted,  it  was  the  hope  of 
Mr.  Clay  and  his  fellow-statesmen  to  save  the  Union  by  removing  for  ever 
the  slavery  question  from  the  politics  of  the  country.  In  that  they  suc¬ 
ceeded  for  a  while. 

Next  came  the  Nullification  Acts  of  South  Carolina.  And 
these,  too,  turned  upon  the  institution  of  slavery  and  the  profitableness  of 
cotton.  The  Southern  States  had  become  cotton-producing ;  the  Eastern 
States  had  given  themselves  to  manufacturing.  The  tariff  measures 
favored  manufactures  at  the  expense  of  producers.  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his 
friends  proposed  to  remedy  the  evil  complained  of  by  annulling  the  laws 
of  Congress.  His  measures  failed ;  but  another  compromise  was  found 
necessary  in  order  to  allay  the  animosities  which  had  been  awakened. 

The  Annexation  of  Texas,  with  the  consequent  enlargement  of 
the  domain  of  slavery,  led  to  a  renewal  of  the  agitation.  Those  who 
opposed  the  Mexican  War  did  so,  not  so  much  because  of  the  injustice  of 
the  conflict  as  because  of  the  fact  that  thereby  slavery  would  be  extended. 
Then,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  came  another  enormous  acquisition  of 
territory.  Whether  the  same  should  be  made  into  free  or  slave-holding 
States  was  the  question  next  agitated.  This  controversy  led  to  the  passage 
of  the  Omnibus  Bill,  by  which  again  for  a  brief  period  the  excitement 
was  allayed. 

In  1854  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  was  passed.  Thereby  the 
Missouri  Compromise  was  repealed  and  the  whole  question  opened  anew. 
Meanwhile,  the  character  and  the  civilization  of  the  Northern  and  the 
Southern  people  had  become  quite  different.  In  population  and  wealth 
the  North  had  far  outgrown  the  South.  In  the  struggle  for  territorial 
dominion  the  North  had  gained  a  considerable  advantage.  In  1860  the 
division  of  the  Democratic  party  made  certain  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln 


LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


489 


by  the  votes  of  the  Northern  States.  The  people  of  the  South  were 
exasperated  at  the  choice  of  a  chief-magistrate  whom  they  regarded  as 
indifferent  to  their  welfare  and  hostile  to  their  interests. 

v  j  The  third  general  cause  of  the  civil  war  was  the  want  of  intercourse 
between  the  people  of  the  North  and  the  South.  The  great  railroads  and 
thoroughfares  ran  east  and  west.  Emigration  flowed  from  the  East  to  the 
West.  Between  the  North  and  the  South  there  was  little  travel  or  inter¬ 
change  of  opinion.  From  want  of  acquaintance  the  people,  without  in¬ 
tending  it,  became  estranged,  jealous,  suspicious.  They  misjudged  each 
other’s  motives.  They  misrepresented  each  other’s  beliefs  and  purposes. 
They  suspected  each  other  of  dishonesty  and  ill-will.  Before  the  out¬ 
break  of  the  war  the  people  of  the  two  sections  looked  upon  each  other 
almost  in  the  light  of  different  nationalities. 

A  fourth  cause  was  found  in  the  publication  of  sectional  books.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  twenty  years  preceding  the  war  many  works  were  published,  both 
in  the  North  and  the  South,  whose  popularity  depended  wholly  on  the 
animosity  existing  between  the  two  sections.  Such  books  were  generally 
filled  with  ridicule  and  falsehood.  The  manners  and  customs,  language 
and  beliefs,  of  one  section  were  held  up  to  the  contempt  and  scorn  of  the 
people  of  the  other  section.  The  minds  of  all  classes,  especially  of  the 
young,  were  thus  prejudiced  and  poisoned.  In  the  North  the  belief  was 
fostered  that  the  South  was  given  up  to  inhumanity,  ignorance  and  bar¬ 
barism,  while  in  the  South  the  opinion  prevailed  that  the  Northern  people 
were  a  selfish  race  of  mean,  cold-blooded  Yankees. 

11.  The  evil  influence  of  demagogues  may  be  cited  as  the  fifth  general 
cause  of  the  war.  It  is  the  misfortune  of  republican  governments  that 
they  many  times  fill  under  the  leadership  of  bad  men.  In  the  United 
States  the  demagogue  has  enjoyed  special  opportunities  for  mischief,  and 
the  people  have  suffered  in  proportion.  From  1850  to  1860  American 
statesmanship  and  patriotism  were  at  a  low  ebb.  Many  ambitious  and 
scheming  men  had  come  to  the  front,  taken  control  of  the  political  parties 
and  proclaimed  themselves  the  leaders  of  public  opinion.  Their  purposes 
were  wholly  selfish.  The  welfare  and  peace  of  the  country  were  put  aside 
as  of  no  value.  In  order  to  gain  power  and  keep  it  many  unprincipled 
men  in  the  South  were  anxious  to  destroy  the  Union,  while  the  dema¬ 
gogues  of  the  North  were  willing  to  abuse  the  Union  in  order  to  accom¬ 
plish  their  own  bad  purposes.  Such,  in  brief,  were  the  causes  which  led 
to  the  civil  war,  one  of  the  most  terrible  conflicts  of  modern  times. 


84 


490 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  LX  III. 

FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

ON  the  24th  of  May  the  Union  army  crossed  the  Potomac  from  Wash¬ 
ington  city  to  Alexandria.  At  this  time  Fortress  Monroe,  at  the 
mouth  of  James  River,  was  held  by  twelve  thousand  men,  under  command 
of  General  B.  F.  Butler.  At  Bethel  Church,  in  the  immediate  vicin¬ 
ity, was  stationed  a  detachment  of  Con¬ 
federates  commanded  by  General  Ma- 
gruder.  On  the  10th  of  June  a  body 
of  Union  troops  was  sent  to  dislodge 
them,  but  was  repulsed  with  consider¬ 
able  loss.  Meanwhile  the  conquest  of 
West  Virginia  had  been  undertaken 
by  General  George  B.  M’Clellan. 

In  the  last  days  of  May  General  T. 
A.  Morris  moved  forward  from  Parkers¬ 
burg  to  Grafton  with  a  force  of  Ohio  and 
Indiana  troops,  and  on  the  3d  of  June 
came  upon  the  Confederates  stationed  at 
scene  OF  operations  in  west  Philippi.  After  a  brief  engagement  the 

I  ederals  were  successful ;  the  Confede¬ 
rates  retreated  toward  the  mountains.  General  McClellan  now  arrived, 
took  command  in  person,  and  on  the  11th  of  July  gained  a  victory  at  Rich 
Mountain.  General  Garnett,  the  Confederate  commander,  fell  back  with 
his  forces  to  Garrick’s  Ford,  on  Cheat  River,  made  a  stand,  was  again  de¬ 
feated  and  himself  killed  in  the  battle.  On  the  10th  of  August  General 
Floyd,  commanding  a  detachment  of  Confederates  at  Carnifex  Ferry,  on 
Gauley  River,  was  attacked  by  General  Rosecrans  and  obliged  to  retreat. 
On  the  14th  of  September  a  division  of  Confederates  under  General  Rob¬ 
ert  E.  Lee  was  beaten  in  an  engagement  at  Cheat  Mountain — an  action 
which  completed  the  restoration  of  Federal  authority  in  West  Virginia. 
In  the  mean  time,  other  movements  of  vast  importance  had  taken  place. 

In  the  beginning  of  June  General  Robert  Patterson  marched  from 
Chambersburg  with  the  intention  of  recapturing  Harper’s  Ferry.  On 
the  11th  of  the  month  a  division  of  the  army  commanded  by  Colonel 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


491 


Lewis  Wallace  made  a  sudden  and  successful  onset  upon  a  detachment 
of  Confederates  stationed  at  Romney.  Patterson  then  crossed  the  Poto¬ 
mac  with  the  main  body,  entered  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  pressed 
back  the  Confederate  forces  to  Winchester.  Thus  far  there  had  been 
only  petty  engagements,  skirmishes  and  marching.  The  time  had  now 
come  when  the  first  great  battle  of  the  war  was  to  be  fought. 

After  the  Union  successes  in  West  Virginia  the  main  body  of  the 
Confederates,  under  command  of  General  Beauregard,  was  concentrated 
at  Manassas  Junction,  on  the  Orange  Railroad,  twenty-seven  miles  west 
of  Alexandria.  Another  large  force,  commanded  by  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  was  within  supporting  distance  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  The 
Union  army  at  Alexandria  was  commanded  by  General  Irwin  McDowell, 
while  General  Patterson  was  stationed  in  front  of  Johnston  to  watch  his 
movements  and  prevent  his  forming 
a  junction  with  Beauregard.  On  the 
16th  of  July  the  national  army  moved 
forward.  Two  days  afterward  an 
unimportant  engagement  took  place 
between  Centreville  and  Bull  Run. 

The  Unionists  then  pressed  on,  and  on 
the  morning  of  the  21st  came  upon 
the  Confederate  army,  strongly  posted 
between  Bull  Run  and  Manassas 
Junction.  A  general  battle  ensued, 
continuing  with  great  severity  until 
noonday.  At  that  hour  the  advan¬ 
tage  was  with  McDowell,  and  it 
seemed  not  unlikely  that  the  Confed¬ 
erates  would  suffer  a  complete  defeat. 

But  in  the  crisis  of  the  battle  General  Johnston  arrived  with  nearly  six 
thousand  fresh  troops  from  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  The  tide  of  victory 
turned  immediately,  and  in  a  short  time  McDowell’s  whole  army  was 
hurled  back  in  utter  rout  and  confusion.  A  ruinous  panic  spread  through 
the  defeated  host.  Soldiers  and  citizens,  regulars  and  volunteers,  horsemen 
and  footmen,  rolled  back  in  a  disorganized  mass  into  the  defences  of 
Washington.  The  Union  loss  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners  amounted 
to  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-two ;  that  of  the  Confederates  to 
two  thousand  and  fifty. 

Great  was  the  humiliation  of  the  North,  and  greater  the  rejoicing  of 
the  South.  For  a  while  the  Federal  government  was  more  concerned  about 
its  own  safety  than  about  the  conquest  of  Richmond.  In  that  city,  on  the 


492 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


day  before  the  battle,  the  new  Confederate  government  was  organized.  In 
the  Southern  Congress  and  cabinet  were  many  men  of  distinguished  abil¬ 
ities.  Jefferson  Davis,  the  President,  was  a  far-sighted  man,  of  wide  expe¬ 
rience  in  the  affairs  of  state,  and  considerable  reputation  as  a  soldier.  He 
had  led  the  troops  of  Mississippi  in  the  Mexican  War,  had  served  in  both 
houses  of  the  national  Congress,  and  as  a  member  of  President  Pierce’s 
cabinet.  His  talents,  decision  of  character  and  ardent  advocacy  of  State 

rights  had  made  him  a 
natural  leader  of  the 
South. 

The  next  milita¬ 
ry  movements  were 
made  in  Missouri. 
That  commonwealth, 
though  slaveholding, 
still  retained  its  place 
in  the  Union..  A  con¬ 
vention,  called  by 
Governor  Jackson  in 
accordance  with  an  act 
of  the  legislature,  had 
in  the  previous  March 
refused  to  pass  an  or¬ 
dinance  of  secession. 
The  disunionists,  how¬ 
ever,  were  numerous 
and  powerful;  the 
governor  favored  their 
cause,  and  the  State 
Jefferson  davis.  became  a  battle-field 

for  the  contend  ing 

parties.  Both  Federal  and  Confederate  camps  were  organized,  and  hos¬ 
tilities  began  in  several  places.  By  capturing  the  United  States  arsenal 
at  Liberty,  in  Clay  county,  the  Confederates  obtained  a  considerable  sup¬ 
ply  of  arms  and  ammunition.  By  the  formation  of  Camp  Jackson,  near 
St.  Louis,  the  arsenal  in  that  city  was  also  endangered ;  but  by  the  vigi¬ 
lance  of  Captain  Nathaniel  Lyon  the  arms  and  stores  were  sent  up  the 
river  to  Alton,  and  thence  to  Springfield.  Camp  Jackson  was  soon  after¬ 
ward  broken  up  by  the  exertions  of  the  same  officer. 

The  lead-mines  in  the  south-west  part  of  the  State  became  an  object 
of  great  importance  to  the  Confederates,  who,  in  order  to  secure  them, 


493 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 

f 

hurried  up  large  bodies  of  troops  from  Arkansas  and  Texas.  On  the 
17th  of  June  Lyon  encountered  Governor  Jackson  with  a  Confeder¬ 
ate  force  at  Boone ville,  and  gained  a  decided  advantage.  On  the  5th 
of  July  the  Unionists,  led  by  Colonel  Franz  Sigel,  were  again  success¬ 
ful  in  a  severe  engagement  with  the  governor  at  Carthage.  On  the 
10th  of  August  the  hardest  battle  thus  far  fought  in  the  West  oc¬ 
curred  at  Wilson’s  Creek,  a  short  distance  south  of  Springfield.  Gen¬ 
eral  Lyon  made  a  daring  but  rash  attack  on  a  much  superior  force 
of  Confederates  under  command  of  Generals  McCullough  and  Price. 
The  Federals  at  first  gained  the  field  against  heavy  odds,  but  Gen¬ 
eral  Lyon  was  killed,  and  his  men  retreated  under  direction  of  Sigel. 

General  Price  now 
pressed  northward  across  the 
State  to  Lexington,  on  the 
Missouri  Liver.  This  place 
was  defended  by  a  force  of 
Federals  two  thousand  six 
hundred  strong,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Mulligan.  A 
stubborn  defence  was  made 
by  the  garrison,  but  Mulligan 
was  soon  obliged  to  capitulate. 

Price  then  turned  southward, 
and  on  the  16th  of  October 
Lexington  was  retaken  by 
the  Federals.  General  John 
C.  Fremont,  who  had  been 
appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  Union  forces  in  Missouri,  followed  the  Confederates  as  far  as  Spring- 
field,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  making  an  attack,  when  he  was  superseded 
by  General  Hunter.  The  latter,  after  retreating  to  St.  Louis,  was  in  turn 
superseded  by  General  Halleck  on  the  18th  of  November.  It  was  now 
Price’s  turn  to  fall  back  toward  Arkansas.  The  only  remaining  move¬ 
ment  of  importance  was  at  Belmont,  on  the  Mississippi. 

The  Confederate  general  Polk,  acting  under  orders  of  his  govern¬ 
ment,  had,  notwithstanding  that  State’s  neutrality,  entered  Kentucky  with 
an  army,  and  had  captured  the  town  of  Columbus.  Batteries  planted  here 
commanded  the  Mississippi.  The  Confederates  gathered  in  force  at  Bel¬ 
mont,  on  the  opposite  bank.  In  order  to  dislodge  them  Colonel  Ulys¬ 
ses  S.  Grant,  with  a  brigade  of  three  thousand  Illinois  troops,  was  sent  by 
way  of  Cairo  into  Missouri.  On  the  7th  of  November  he  made  a  vigor- 


494 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


©us  and  successful  attack  on  the  Confederate  camp;  but  General  Polk 
sent  reinforcements  across  the  river,  the  guns  of  Columbus  were  brought 
to  bear  on  the  Union  position,  and  Grant  was  obliged  to  retreat. 

The  rout  at  Bull  Run  had  the  effect  to  quicken  the  energies  of  the 
North,  and  troops  were  rapidly  hurried  to  Washington.  The  aged  Gen¬ 
eral  Scott,  unable  to  bear  the  burden  resting  upon  him,  retired  from  active 
duty,  and  General  McClellan  was  called  from  West  Virginia  to  take  com¬ 
mand  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  By  the  middle  of  October  his  forces 
had  increased  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  On  the  21st  of  that 
month  a  brigade,  numbering  nearly  two  thousand,  was  thrown  across  the 
Potomac  at  Ball’s  Bluff.  Without  proper  support  or  means  of  retreat, 
the  Federals  were  attacked  by  a  strong  force  of  Confederates  under  Gen¬ 
eral  Evans,  driven  to  the  river,  their  leader,  Colonel  Baker,  killed,  and 
the  whole  force  routed  with  terrible  loss.  Fully  eight  hundred  of  Baker’s 
men  were  killed,  wounded  or  taken  prisoners. 

During  the  summer  of  1861  the  Federal  government  sent  to  sea 
several  important  naval  expeditions.  One  of  these,  commanded  by  Com¬ 
modore  Stringham  and  General  Butler,  proceeded  to  the  North  Carolina 
coast,  and  on  the  29th  of  August  captured  the  forts  at.  Hatteras  Inlet. 
On  the  7th  of  November  a  second  armament,  under  command  of  Com¬ 
modore  Dupont  and  General  Thomas  W.  Sherman,  entered  the  harbor  of 
Port  Royal,  and  captured  Forts  Walker  and  Beauregard.  Hilton  Head, 
a  point  most  advantageous  for  military  operations  against  Charleston  and 
Savannah,  thus  fell  into  the  power  of  the  Federals.  Around  the  whole 
coast  the  blockade  became  so  rigorous  that  commerce  and  communication 
between  the  Confederate  States  and  foreign  nations  were  almost  wholly 
cut  off.  In  this  juncture  of  affairs  a  difficulty  arose  which  brought  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  to  the  very  verge  of  war. 

The  Confederate  government  had  appointed  James  M.  Mason  and 
John  Slidell,  formerly  senators  of  the  United  States,  to  go  abroad  as  am¬ 
bassadors  from  the  Confederate  States  to  F ranee  and  England.  The  envoys 
went  on  board  a  blockade  runner,  and  escaping  from  Charleston  Harbor, 
reached  Havana  in  safety.  At  that  port  they  took  passage  on  the  British 
mail  steamer  Trent ,  and  sailed  for  Europe.  On  the  8th  of  November 
the  vessel  was  overtaken  by  the  United  States  frigate  San  Jacinto,  com¬ 
manded  by  Captain  Wilkes.  The  Trent  was  hailed  and  boarded ;  the 
two  ambassadors  and  their  secretaries  were  seized,  transferred  to  the  San 
Jacinto,  carried  to  Boston,  and  imprisoned.  The  Trent  proceeded  on  her 
way  to  England  ;  the  story  of  the  insult  to  the  British  flag  was  told,  and 
the  whole  kingdom  burst  out  in  a  blaze  of  wrath. 

At  first  the  people  of  the  United  States  loudly  applauded  Captain 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’62. 


495 


Wilkes,  and  the  government  was  disposed  to  defend  his  action.  Had 
such  a  course  been  taken,  war  would  have  been  inevitable.  The  country 
was  saved  from  the 
peril  by  the  adroit  and 
far-reaching  diploma¬ 
cy  of  William  H.  Sew¬ 
ard,  the  secretary  of 
state.  When  Great 
Britain  demanded  rep¬ 
aration  for  the  insult 
and  the  immediate  lib¬ 
eration  of  the  prison¬ 
ers,  he  replied  in  a 
mild,  cautious  and  very 
able  paper.  It  was  con¬ 
ceded  that  the  seizure 
of  Mason  and  Slidell 
was  not  justifiable  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  law  of 
nations.  A  suitable 
apology  was  made  for 
the  wrong  done,  the 
Confederate  ambassa¬ 
dors  were  liberated, 
put  on  board  a  vessel  william  h.  seward. 

and  sent  to  their  des¬ 
tination.  This  action  of  the  secretary  was  both  just  and  politic.  The 
peril  of  war  went  by,  and  Great  Britain  was  committed  to  a  policy  in 
regard  to  the  rights  of  neutral  flags  which  she  had  hitherto  denied  and 
which  the  United  States  had  always  contended  for.  So  ended  the  first 
year  of  the  civil  war. 


CHAPTER  LX  IV. 

CAMPAIGNS  OF  '62. 

THE  Federal  forces  now  numbered  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  thou¬ 
sand  men.  Of  these  nearly  two  hundred  thousand,  under  command 
©f  General  McClellan,  were  encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington. 
Another  army,  commanded  by  General  Buell,  was  stationed  at  Louisville* 


496 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Kentucky,  and  it  was  in  this  department  that  the  first  military  move¬ 
ments  of  the  year  were  made.  On  the  9th  of  January  Colonel  Humphrey 
Marshall,  commanding  a  force  of  Confederates  on  Big  Sandy  River,  in 
Eastern  Kentucky,  was  attacked  and  defeated  by  a  body  of  Unionists,  led 
by  Colonel  Garfield.  Ten  days  later  another  and  more  important  battle 
was  fought  at  Mill  Spring,  in  the  same  section  of  the  State.  The  Con¬ 
federates  were  commanded  by  Generals  Crittenden  and  Zollicoffer,  and 
the  Federals  by  General  George  H.  Thomas.  After  a  hot  engagement, 
in  which  both  sides  lost  heavily,  the  Confederates  suffered  a  defeat  which 
was  rendered  more  severe  by  the  loss  of  Zollicoffer,  who  fell  in  the  battle. 

The  next  operations  were  on  the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland. 
The  former  river  was  commanded  at  the  southern  border  of  Kentucky  by 
Fort  Henry,  and  the  latter  by  the  more  important  Fort  Donelson,  ten 
miles  south  of  the  Tennessee  line.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  the  cap¬ 
ture  of  both  these  places  was  planned  by  General  Halleck.  Early  in 
February  Commodore  Foote  was  sent  up  the  Tennessee  with  a  flotilla  of 
gunboats,  and  at  the  same  time  General  Grant  was  ordered  to  move  for¬ 
ward  and  co-operate  in  an  attack  on  Fort  Henry.  Before  the  land-forces 
were  well  into  position  the  flotilla  compelled  the  evacuation  of  the  fort, 
the  Confederates  escaping  to  Donelson.  Eighty-three  prisoners  and  a 
large  amount  of  stores  were  captured. 

The  Federal  gunboats  now  dropped  down  the  Tennessee,  took  on 
supplies  at  Cairo,  and  then  ascended  the  Cumberland.  Grant  pressed  on 
from  Fort  Henry,  and  afe  soon  as  the  flotilla  arrived  began  the  siege  of 
Fort  Donelson.  The  defences  were  strong,  and  well  manned  by  more 
than  ten  thousand  Confederates,  under  General  Buckner.  Grant’s  entire 
force  numbered  nearly  thirty  thousand.  On  the  14th  of  February  the 
gunboats  were  driven  back  with  considerable  loss,  Commodore  Foote 
being  among  the  wounded.  On  the  next  day  the  garrison,  hoping  to 
break  through  Grant’s  lines,  made  a  sally,  but  met  a  severe  repulse.  On 
the  16th  Buckner  was  obliged  to  surrender.  His  army  of  ten  thousand 
men  became  prisoners  of  war,  and  all  the  magazines,  stores  and  guns  of 
the  fort  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Federals.  It  was  the  first  decided  vic¬ 
tory  which  had  been  won  bv  the  national  arms.  The  immediate  result 
of  the  capture  was  the  evacuation  of  Kentucky  and  the  capital  of  Tennes¬ 
see  by  the  Confederates. 

After  his  success  at  Fort  Donelson  General  Grant  ascended  the  Ten¬ 
nessee  as  far  as  Pittsburg  Landing.  In  the  beginning  of  April  a  camp 
was  established  at  Shiloh  Church,  a  short  distance  from  the  river;  and 
here,  on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  the  Union  army  was  suddenly  attacked 
by  the  Confederates,  led  by  Generals  Albert  S.  Johnston  and  Beauregard. 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’62. 


497 


The  onset  was  at  first  successful.  All  day  long  the  battle  raged  with  tre¬ 
mendous  slaughter  on  both  sides.  The  Federals  were  forced  back  to  the 
river,  and  but  for  the  protection  of  the  gunboats  would  have  been  driven 
to  destruction.  Night  fell  on  the  scene  with  the  conflict  undecided  :  but 
in  this  desperate  crisis  General  Buell  arrived  from  Nashville  with  strong 
reinforcements.  On  the  following  morning  General  Grant  assumed  the 
offensive.  General  Johnston  had  been  killed  in  the  battle,  and  Beaure¬ 
gard,  on  whom  the  command  devolved,  was  obliged  to  retreat  to  Corinth. 
The  losses  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  in  this  dreadful  conflict  were 
more  than  ten  thousand  on  each  side.  There  had  never  before  been  such 
a  harvest  of  death  in  the  New  World. 

Events  of  importance  were  also  taking  place  on  the  Mississippi. 
When  the  Confederates  evacuated  Columbus,  Kentucky,  they  proceeded 
to  Island  Number  Ten,  a  few  miles  below,  and  built  strong  fortifications 
commanding  the  river.  On  the  western  shore  was  the  town  of  New  Mad¬ 
rid,  which  was  held  by  a  Confederate  force  from  Missouri.  Against 
this  place  General  Pope  advanced  with  a  body  of  Western  troops,  while 
Commodore  Foote  descended  the  Mississippi  with  his  flotilla  to  attack 
the  forts  on  the  island.  Pope  was  entirely  successful  in  his  movement, 
and  gained  possession  of  New  Madrid.  The  land-forces  then  co-operated 
with  the  gunboats,  and  for  twenty-three  days  Island  Number  Ten  was 
vigorously  bombarded.  On  the  7th  of  April,  when  the  Confederates 
could  hold  out  no  longer,  they  attempted  to  escape ;  but  Pope  had  cut  off 
retreat,  and  the  entire  garrison,  numbering  about  five  thousand,  was  cap¬ 
tured.  The  Mississippi  Avas  thus  opened  as  far  down  as  Memphis,  and 
that  city  was  taken  by  the  fleet  of  Commodore  Davis  on  the  6th  of  the 
folloAving  June. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  General  Curtis  had  pushed  forward 
through  Missouri,  entered  Arkansas  and  taken  position  at  Pea  Ridge, 
among  the  mountains  in  the  north-western  angle  of  the  State.  Here  he 
was  attacked  on  the  6th  of  March  by  an  army  of  more  than  twenty  thou¬ 
sand  Confederates  and  Indians,  under  command  of  Generals  McCulloch, 
McIntosh  and  Pike.  After  a  hard-fought  battle,  which  lasted  for  two 
days,  the  Federals  Avere  victorious.  McCulloch  and  McIntosh  were  both 
killed  and  their  men  obliged  to  retreat  toAvard  Texas ;  but  the  Union 
losses  Avere  most  seA7ere,  and  the  battle  Avas  barren  of  results. 

On  the  next  day  after  the  conflict  at  Pea  Ridge  an  event  occurred 
at  Fortress  Monroe  Avhich  came  near  changing  the  character  of  naval 
warfare.  Captain  John  Ericsson  of  New  York  had  invented  and  built  a 
peculiar  Avar-\ressel  with  a  single  round  tower  of  iron  exposed  above  the 
■water-line.  Meamvhile,  the  Confederates  had  raised  the  United  States 


498 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


frigate  Merrimac,  one  of  the  sunken  ships  at  the  Norfolk  navy  yard,  and 
had  plated  the  sides  with  an  impenetrable  mail  of  iron.  This  done,  the 
vessel  was  sent  to  attack  the  Union  fleet  at  Fortress  Monroe.  Reaching 
that  place  on  the  8th  of  March,  the  Merrimac,  now  called  the  Virginia , 
began  the  work  of  destruction,  and  before  sunset  two  valuable  vessels,  the 
Cumberland  and  the  Congress,  were  sent  to  the  bottom.  During  the  night, 
however,  Ericsson’s  strange  ship,  called  the  Monitor,  arrived  from  New 
York,  and  on  the  following  morning  the  two  iron-clad  monsters  turned 
their  terrible  enginery  upon  each  other.  After  fighting  for  five  hours, 
the  Virginia  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  contest  and  to  return  badly  dam¬ 
aged  to  Norfolk.  Such  was  the  excitement  produced  by  this  novel  sea- 
fight  that  for  a  while  the  whole  energies  of  the  navy  department  were 
devoted  to  building  monitors. 

Early  in  1862  a  strong  land  and  naval  force,  commanded  by  Gen¬ 
eral  Ambrose  E.  Burnside  and  Commodore  Goldsborough,  was  sent 
against  the  Confederate  garrison  of  Roanoke  Island.  On  the  8th  of  Feb¬ 
ruary  the  squadron  reached  its  destination;  the  fortifications  on  the  island 
were  attacked  and  carried,  and  the  garrisons,  nearly  three  thousand  strong, 
taken  prisoners.  Burnside  next  proceeded  against  Newbern,  North  Car¬ 
olina,  and  on  the  14th  of  March  captured  the  city  after  four  hours  of 
severe  fighting.  Proceeding  southward,  he  reached  the  harbor  of  Beau¬ 
fort,  carried  Fort  Macon,  at  the  entrance,  and  on  the  25th  of  April  took 
possession  of  the  town. 

On  the  11th  of  the  same  month  Fort  Pulaski,  commanding  the 
mouth  of  the  Savannah  River,  surrendered  to  General  Gillmore.  By 
this  important  capture  the  chief  emporium  of  Georgia  was  effectually 
blockaded.  But  these  reverses  of  the  Confederates  were  trifling  in  com¬ 
parison  with  that  which  they  sustained  in  the  loss  of  the  city  of  New 
Orleans.  Early  in  April  a  powerful  squadron,  commanded  by  General 
Butler  and  Admiral  Farragut,  entered  the  Mississippi  and  proceeded  as 
•far  as  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  thirty  miles  above  the  gulf.  The 
guns  of  these  forts,  standing  on  opposite  shores,  completely  commanded 
the  river,  and  obstructions  had  been  placed  in  the  channel.  The  forty- 
five  vessels  comprising  the  Federal  fleet  were  brought  into  position, 
and  a  furious  bombardment  of  the  forts  was  begun.  From  the  18th  to 
the  24th  of  April  the  fight  continued  without  cessation.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  the  forts  were  but  little  injured,  and  Farragut  undertook  the 
hazardous  enterprise  of  running  past  the  batteries.  In  this  he  succeeded, 
breaking  the  chain  across  the  river  and  overpowering  the  Confederate 
fleet  above  the  obstructions.  On  the  next  day  he  reached  New  Orleans  * 
with  a  portion  of  his  fleet,  and  took  possession  of  the  city.  General  But- 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’62. 


499 


ler  became  commandant,  and  the  fortifications  were  manned  with  fifteen 
thousand  Federal  soldiers.  Three  days  afterward  Forts  Jackson  and  St. 
Philip  surrendered  to  Admiral  Porter,  who  had  remained  below  and 
prosecuted  the  siege.  The  control  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  and  the  me¬ 
tropolis  of  the  South  was  thus  recovered  by  the  Federal  government. 

The  Confederates  were  not  going  to  give  up  Kentucky  without  a 
struggle.  From  East  Tennessee  they  invaded  the  State  in  two  strong 
divisions,  the  one  led  by  General  Kirby  Smith  and  the  other  by  General 
Bragg.  On  the  30th  of  August  Smith’s  army  reached  Richmond,  at¬ 
tacked  a  force  of  Federals  stationed  there,  and  routed  them  with  heavy 
losses.  Lexington  was  taken,  and  then  Frankfort  ;  and  Cincinnati  was 
saved  from  capture  only  by  the  extraordinary  exertions  of  General  Wal¬ 
lace.  Meanwhile,  the  army  of  General  Bragg  had  advanced  from  Chatta¬ 
nooga  to  Mumfordsville,  where,  on  the  17th  of  September,  he  captured  a 
Federal  division  of  four  thousand  five  hundred  men.  From  this  point 
the  Confederate  general  pressed  on  toward  Louisville,  and  would  have 
taken  the  city  but  for  a  forced  march  of  General  Buell  from  Tennessee. 
The  latter  arrived  with  his  army  only  one  day  ahead  of  Bragg,  but  that 
one  day  gave  the  Unionists  the  advantage,  and  the  Confederates  were 
turned  back.  From  the  North  came  reinforcements  for  Buell’s  army, 
swelling  his  numbers  to  a  hundred  thousand.  In  the  beginning  of  Octo¬ 
ber  he  again  took  the  field,  the  Confederates  slowly  retiring  to  Perryville. 
At  this  place,  on  the  8th  of  October,  Bragg  was  overtaken,  and  a  severe 
but  indecisive  battle  was  fought.  The  retreat  was  then  continued  to  East 
Tennessee,  the  Confederates  sweeping  out  of  Kentucky  a  train  of  four 
thousand  wagons  laden  with  the  spoils  of  the  campaign. 

In  September  there  were  some  stirring  events  in  Mississippi.  On 
the  1 9th  of  the  month  a  hard  battle  was  fought  at  Iuka  between  a  Fed¬ 
eral  army,  commanded  by  Generals  Rosecrans  and  Grant,  and  a  Confed¬ 
erate  force,  under  General  Price.  The  latter  was  defeated,  losing,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  his  killed  and  wounded,  nearly  a  thousand  prisoners.  General 
Rosecrans  now  took  post  at  Corinth  with  twenty  thousand  men,  while 
General  Grant,  with  the  remainder  of  the  Federal  forces,  proceeded  to 
Jackson,  Tennessee.  Perceiving  this  division  of  the  army,  the  Confede¬ 
rate  generals  Van  Dorn  and  Price  turned  about  to  recapture  Corinth. 
Advancing  for  that  purpose,  they  came  on  the  3d  of  October  upon  the 
Federal  defences.  Another  obstinately  contested  battle  ensued,  which 
ended,  after  two  days’  fighting  and  heavy  losses  on  both  sides,  in  the  re¬ 
pulse  of  the  Confederates. 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Grant  had  removed  his  headquarters 
from  Jackson  to  La  Grange.  His  purpose  was  to  co-operate  with  Gen- 


500 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


eral  Sherman,  then  at  Memphis,  in  an  effort  to  capture  Vicksburg.  The 
movement  promised  to  be  successful,  but  on  the  20th  of  December  Gene¬ 
ral  Van  Dorn  succeeded  in  cutting  Grant’s  line  of  supplies  at  Holly 
Springs,  and  obliged  him  to  retreat.  On  the  same  day  General  Sherman, 
with  a  powerful  armament,  dropped  down  the  river  from  Memphis. 

Proceeding  as  far  as  the  Yazoo,  he 
effected  a  landing,  and  on  the  29th 
of  the  month  made  an  unsuccessful 
attack  on  the  Confederates  at  Chick¬ 
asaw  Bayou.  The  assault  was  ex¬ 
ceedingly  disastrous  to  the  Federals, 
who  lost  in  killed,  wounded  and  pris¬ 
oners  more  than  three  thousand  men. 
The  enterprise  was  at  once  aban¬ 
doned,  and  the  defeated  army  re¬ 
turned  to  the  fleet  of  gunboats  in 
the  Mississippi. 

The  closing  conflict  of  this 
year’s  operations  in  the  West  was 
the  great  battle  of  Murfreesborougli. 
After  his  successful  defence  of  Cor¬ 
inth  General  Rosecrans  was  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland.  Late  in  the  fall 
he  made  his  headquarters  at  Nash¬ 
ville,  and  there  collected  a  powerful 
army.  Meanwhile,  General  Brae's:, 

BATTLE  OF  MURFREESBOROUGH,  DEC.  31ST,  1862.  *  ,  7  ^  007 

on  his  retirement  from  Kentucky, 
had  thrown  his  forces  into  Murfreesborougli .  Thus  the  two  generals 
found  themselves  face  to  face,  and  but  thirty  miles  apart.  Late  in 
December  Rosecrans  moved  forward  to  attack  his  antagonist,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  30th  came  upon  the  Confederates  strongly  posted  on 
Stone’s  River,  a  short  distance  north-west  of  Murfreesborougli.  During 
the  night  preparations  were  made  on  both  sides  for  the  impending 
battle.  The  plan  of  attack  adopted  by  the  Federal  commander  contem¬ 
plated  the  massing  of  his  forces  on  the  left  in  such  numbers  as  to  crush 
the  Confederate  right  wing  under  Breckinridge  before  assistance  could 
be  brought  from  the  west  side  of  the  river.  Bragg’s  plan  of  battle  was 
the  exact  counterpart  of  that  adopted  by  Rosecrans.  Before  daylight 
the  Confederate#  were  heavily  massed  under  Hardee  on  the  left;  and 
in  the  early  morning  the  battle  began  by  a  furious  and  unexpected 


CAMPAIGN  OF  ’62. 


501 


charge  on  McCook  who  commanded  the  right  wing  of  the  Federals. 
McCook’s  outcry  for  help  was  at  first  unheeded  by  Rosecrans,  who  did 
not  realize  the  real  nature  of  the  Confederate  onset.  After  a  terrible 
struggle  which  lasted  until  noonday  the  Union  right  was  shattered  to 
fragments  and  driven  from  the  field.  The  brunt  of  the  battle  now  fell 
upon  General  Thomas,  who  commanded  the 
Federal  right  center;  and  he,  too,  after  des¬ 
perate  fighting,  was  obliged  to  fall  back  to 
a  new  position.  Here,  however,  he  rallied 
his  forces  and  held  his  ground  until  Gen¬ 
eral  Rosecrans  readjusted  his  whole  line  of 
battle.  While  this  work  was  going  on,  the 
Confederates  were  barely  prevented  from  a 
complete  and  overwhelming  triumph  by  the 
almost  unparalleled  heroism  of  the  division 
of  General  William  B.  Hazen.  With  only 
thirteen  hundred  men  he  stayed  the  oncom¬ 
ing  tide  of  victorious  assailants  until  the 
Federal  lines  were  completely  restored.  At 
nightfall  more  than  seven  thousand  Union 
soldiers  were  missing  from  the  ranks.  . 

But  General  Rosecrans,  though  de¬ 
feated,  was  by  no  means  disposed  to  abandon  battle  of  murfreesborough,  jan. 
the  contest.  During  the  night  after  the  bat¬ 
tle,  a  council  of  war  was  held  and  complete  preparations  were  made  for 
renewing  the  struggle  on  the  morrow.  On  New  Year’s  morning  Gen¬ 
eral  Bragg  found  his  antagonist  strongly  posted,  with  shortened  lines, 
and  manifest  disposition  for  battle.  The  Confederate  commander 
grew  cautious;  and  the  day  was  spent  in  indecisive  skirmishing  and 
artillery  firing  at  long  range.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2d,  the 
conflict  broke  out  afresh  on  the  east  side  of  Stone’s  River,  and  for 
some  hours  there  was  terrific  cannonading  in  that  quarter.  At  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Confederates  were  massed  against  the 
Union  left,  and  the  Nationals  were  driven  across  the  river  by  the 
shock.  But  at  this  juncture  the  Federal  artillery,  advantageously 
posted  on  the  hills  west  of  the  stream,  opened  a  murderous  fire 
on  the  assailing  columns.  At  the  same  time,  the  discomfited 
Federals,  rallying  to  the  charge,  turned  upon  their  pursuers  and 
in  one  tremendous  onset  drove  them  from  the  field  with  the  slaugh¬ 
ter  of  thousands.  General  Bragg  had  lost  the  prize.  During  the 
night  he  withdrew  his  broken  and  exhausted  columns  through 


502 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Murfreesborough  and  retreated  in  the  direction  of  Tullahoma.  The 

Union  loss  in  the  two  battles  was  a  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty- 

•/ 

three  killed,  seven  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-five  wounded,  and 
nearly  three  thousand  prisoners;  that  of  the  Confederates  amounted 
in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  to  between  ten  and  eleven  thou¬ 
sand  men. 

In  Virginia  the  campaigns  of  1862  were  even  more  grand  and 
destructive  than  those  in  the  West.  The  first  stirring  scenes  of  the 
year  were  enacted  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  Desiring  to  occupy 
this  important  district,  the  Federal  government  sent  forward  a  strong 
division  under  General  Banks,  who  pressed  his  way  southward,  and  in 
the  last  days  of  March  occupied  the  town  of  Harrisonburg.  In  order 
to  counteract  this  movement,  the  gallant  Stonewall  Jackson  was  sent 
with  a  force  of  twenty  thousand  men  to  pass  the  Blue  Ridge  and  cut 
off  Banks’s  retreat.  At  Front  Royal,  on  the  Shenandoah,  just  before 
the  gap  in  the  Mountains,  the  Confederates  fell  upon  a  body  of 
Federals,  routed  them,  captured  their  guns  and  all  the  military  stores 
in  the  town.  Banks  succeeded,  however,  in  passing  with  his  main 
division  to  Strasburg.  There  he  learned  of  the  disaster  at  Front 
Royal,  and  immediately  began  his  retreat  down  the  valley.  Jackson 
pursued  him  hotly,  and  it  was  only  by  the  utmost  exertions  that  the 
Federals  gained  the  northern  bank  of  the  Potomac. 

The  Confederate  leader,  though  completely  victorious,  now  found 
himself  in  great  peril.  For  General  Fremont,  at  the  head  of  a  strong 
force  of  fresh  troops,  had  been  sent  into  the  valley  to  intercept  the  re¬ 
treat  of  the  Confederates.  It  was  now  Jackson’s  time  to  save  his 
army.  With  the  utmost  celerity  he  sped  up  the  valley,  and  succeeded 
in  reaching  Cross  Keys  before  Fremont  could  attack  him.  Even 
then  the  battle  was  so  little  decisive  that  Jackson  pressed  on  to  Port 
Republic,  attacked  the  division  of  General  Shields,  defeated  it,  and 
then  retired  from  the  scene  of  his  brilliant  campaign  to  join  in  the 
defense  of  Richmond. 

On  the  10th  of  March  the  grand  army  of  the  Potomac,  num¬ 
bering  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  men,  under  command  of  General 
McClellan,  set  out  from  the  camps  about  Washington  to  capture  the 
Confederate  capital.  The  advance  proceeded  as  far  as  Manassas  Junc¬ 
tion,  the  Confederates  falling  back  and  forming  a  new  line  of  defences 
on  the  Rappahannock.  At  this  stage  of  the  campaign  McClellan, 
changing  his  plan,  embarked  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  of  his 
men  for  Fortress  Monroe,  intending  from  that  point  to  march  up  the 
peninsula  between  the  James  and  the  York.  By  the  4th  of  April  the 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’62. 


503 


transfer  of  troops  was  completed,  and  the  Union  army  left  Fortress 
Monroe  for  Yorktown.  This  place  was  garrisoned  by  ten  thousand 
Confederates  under  General  Magruder;  and  yet  with  so  small  a  force 
McClellan’s  advance  was  delayed  for  a  whole  month.  When  at  last, 
on  the  4th  of  May,  Yorktown  was  taken  by  siege,  the  Federal  army 
pressed  forward  to  Williamsburg, 
where  the  Confederates  made  a 
stand,  but  were  defeated  with  se¬ 
vere  losses.  Four  days  afterward, 
in  an  engagement  at  West  Point, 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Matta- 
pony  and  Pamunkey,  the  Confed¬ 
erates  were  again  overpowered  and 
driven  back.  The  way  to  Rich¬ 
mond  was  now  open  as  far  as  the 
Chickahominy,  ten  miles  north 
of  the  city.  The  Union  army 
reached  that  stream  without  fur¬ 
ther  resistance,  and  crossed  at 
Bottom’s  Bridge. 

Meanwhile,  General  Wool, 
the  commandant  of  Fortress  Mon¬ 
roe,  had  not  been  idle.  On  the 
10th  of  May  he  led  an  expedition 
against  Norfolk  and  captured  the 
town ;  for  the  Confederate  garri¬ 
son  had  been  withdrawn  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  Richmond.  On  the 
next  day  the  celebrated  iron-clad  Virginia  was  blown  up  to  save  her 
from  capture  by  the  Federals.  The  James  River  was  thus  opened  for 
the  ingress  of  national  transports  laden  with  supplies  for  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  That  army,  now  advanced  toward  Richmond,  and 
when  but  seven  miles  from  the  city  was  attacked  on  the  31st  of  May  by 
the  Confederates  at  a  place  called  Fair  Oaks  or  Seven  Pines.  Here 
for  a  part  of  two  days  the  battle  raged  with  great  fury.  At  last  the 
Confederates  were  driven  back;  but  McClellan’s  victory  was  by  no 
means  decisive.  The  Confederate  loss  was  largest,  amounting  to 
nearly  eight  thousand  in  killed  and  wounded;  that  of  the  Feder¬ 
als  was  more  than  five  thousand.  Among  the  severely  wounded  was 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Con¬ 
federates.  Two  days  after  the  battle  his  place  was  filled  by  the 
appointment  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  a  man  of  military  genius, 


SCENE  OF  CAMPAIGN  IN  VIRGINIA,  MARYLAND 
AND  PENNSYLVANIA,  1862. 


504 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


who,  until  its  final  downfall,  remained  the  chief  stay  of  the  Confed¬ 
eracy. 


In  the  lull  that  followed  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  McClellan 
formed  the  design  of  changing  his  base  of  supplies  from  the  White 
House,  on  the  Pamunkev,  to, some  suitable  point  on  the  James.  The 

movement  was  one 
of  the  utmost  haz¬ 
ard,  and  before  it 
was  fairly  begun 
General  Lee,  on 
the  25th  of  June, 
swooped  down  on 
the  right  wing  of 
the  Union  army  at 
Oak  Grove,  and  a 
hard  -  fought  battle 
ensued  without  de¬ 
cisive  results.  On 
the  next  day  an¬ 
other  dreadful  en¬ 
gagement  occurred 
a  t  Mechanicsville, 
and  this  time  the 
F ederals  won  the 
field.  But  on  the 
following  morning 

GENERAL  ROBERT  E.  LEE.  °  0 

Lee  renewed  the 

struggle  at  Gaines’s  Mill,  and  came  out  victorious.  On  the  28th  there 
was  but  little  fighting.  On  the  29th  McClellan’s  retreating  army  was 
twice  attacked — in  the  morning  at  Savage’s  Station  and  in  the  afternoon 
in  the  White  Oak  Swamp — but  the  divisions  defending  the  rearguard 
kept  the  Confederates  at  bay.  On  the  30th  was  fought  the  desperate 
but  indecisive  battle  of  Glendale  or  Frazier’s  Farm.  On  that  night 
the  Federal  army  reached  Malvern  Hill,  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
James,  twelve  miles  below  Richmond.  Although  this  position  was 
protected  by  the  Federal  gunboats  in  the  river,  General  Lee  deter¬ 
mined  to  carry  the  place  by  storm.  Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of 
the  1st  of  July  the  whole  Confederate  army  rushed  forward  to  the  as¬ 
sault.  All  day  long  the  furious  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  high 
grounds  continued.  Not  until  nine  o’clock  at  night  did  Lee’s  shat¬ 
tered  columns  fall  back  exhausted.  For  seven  days  the  terrific  roar 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’62-. 


505 


VICINITY  OF  RICHMOND,  1862. 


of  battle  had  been  heard  almost  without  cessation.  No  such  dreadful 
scenes  had  ever  before  been  enacted  on  the  American  continent. 

Although  victorious  on  Malvern  Hill,  General  McClellan,  instead 
of  advancing  at  once  on  Richmond,  chose  a  less  hazardous  movement, 
and  on  the  2d  of  July  retired  with  his  army  to  Harrison’s  Landing, 
a  few  miles  down  the  river.  The 
great  campaign  was  really  at  an 
end.  The  Federal  army  had  lost 
more  than  fifteen  thousand  men, 
and  the  capture  of  Richmond,  the 
great  object  for  which  the  expedi¬ 
tion  had  been  undertaken,  seemed 
further  off  than  ever.  The  losses 
of  the  Confederates  had  been  heav¬ 
ier  than  those  of  the  Union  army, 
but  all  the  moral  effect  of  a  great 
victory  remained  with  the  exultant 
South. 

General  Lee,  perceiving  that 
Richmond  was  no  longer  endan¬ 
gered,  immediately  formed  the  de¬ 
sign  of  invading  Maryland  and  capturing  the  Federal  capital.  The 
Union  troops  between  Richmond  and  Washington,  numbering  in  the 
aggregate  about  fifty  thousand,  were  under  command  of  General  John 
Pope.  They  were  scattered  in  detachments  from  Fredericksburg  to 
Winchester  and  Harper’s  Ferry.  Lee  moved  northward  about  the 
middle  of  August,  and  on  the  20th  of  the  month  Pope,  concentrating 
his  forces  as  rapidly  as  possible,  put  the  Rappahannock  between  his 
army  and  the  advancing  Confederates.  Meanwhile  General  Banks, 
while  attempting  to  form  a  junction  with  Pope,  was  attacked  by  Stone¬ 
wall  Jackson  at  Cedar  Mountain,  where  nothing  but  desperate  fighting 
saved  the  Federals  from  complete  rout. 

No  sooner  had  Pope  gotten  his  forces  well  in  hand  than  Jackson 
shot  by  with  his  division  on  a  flank  movement,  reached  Manassas 
Junction,  and  made  large  captures  of  men  and  stores.  Pope  with  great 
audacity  threw  his  army  between  the  two  divisions  of  the  Confederates, 
hoping  to  crush  Jackson  before  Lee  could  come  to  the  rescue.  On 
August  28th  and  29th  there  was  terrible  but  undecisive  fighting  at 
Manassas  Junction,  the  old  Bull  Run  battle-ground,  and  Centre ville. 
At  one  time  it  seemed  that  Lee’s  army  would  be  completely  defeated ; 

but  Pope’s  reinforcements  were  purposely  delayed  by  General  Porter, 
85 


506 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


4 

and  on  the  31st  of  the  month  the  Confederates  bore  down  on  the 
Union  army  at  Chantilly,  fought  all  day,  and  won  a  victory.  Gen¬ 
erals  Stevens  and  Kearney  were  among  the  thousands  of  brave  men 
who  fell  in  this  battle.  On  that  night  Pope  withdrew  his  shattered 
columns  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  found  safety  within  the  defences 
of  Washington.  His  wish  to  be  relieved  of  his  command  was  imme¬ 
diately  complied  with;  his  forces,  known  as  the  Army  of  Virginia, 
were  consolidated  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  which  had  now 
been  recalled  from  the  peninsula  below  Richmond;  and  General  Mc¬ 
Clellan  was  placed  in  supreme  command  of  all  the  divisions  about 
Washington. 

General  Leo  prosecuted  his  invasion  of  Maryland.  Passing  up 
the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac,  he  crossed  to  Point  of  Rocks,  and  on 
the  6th  of  September  captured  Frederick.  On  the  10th  Hagerstown 
was  taken,  and  on  the  15th  a  division  of  the  Confederate  army,  led 
by  Stonewall  Jackson  came  upon  Harper’s  Ferry  and  frightened  Colo¬ 
nel  Miles  into  surrender  by  which  the  garrison,  nearly  twelve  thou¬ 
sand  strong,  became  prisoners  of  war.  On  the  previous  day  there  was 
a  hard-fought  engagement  at  South  Mountain,  in  which  the  Federals, 
led  by  Hatch  and  Doubleday,  were  victorious.  McClellan’s  whole 
army  was  now  in  the  immediate  rear  of  Lee,  who,  on  the  night  of  the 
14th,  fell  back  to  Antietam  Creek,  and  took  a  strong  position  in  the 
vicinity  of  Sharpsburg.  On  the  morning  of  the  15th  there  was  some 
sharp  but  desultory  fighting  between  the  Union  and  Confederate  cav¬ 
alry.  During  the  afternoon  the  Federal  advance,  coming  in  on  the 
Sharpsburg  road  from  Keedysville,  received  the  opening  salutes  of  the 
Confederate  guns  on  the  Antietam.  But  nightfall  came  without  a  se¬ 
rious  conflict.  On  the  following  morning  there  was  great  activity  of 
preparation  in  both  armies.  Later  in  the  day  the  corps  of  General 
Hooker,  who  commanded  on  the  Federal  right,  was  thrown  across  the 
stream  which  separated  the  combatants  and  brought  into  a  favorable 
position  for  action.  In  this  quarter  of  the  field  the  Confederate  left 
under  General  Hood  was  assaulted  and  driven  back  a  half  mile  in  the 
direction  of  Sharpsburg.  The  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  an  irregu¬ 
lar  cannonade.  During  the  night  General  Mansfield’s  corps  crossed 
the  Antietam  on  the  north  bridge  and  joined  Hooker. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  both  commanders  had  their  armies 
well  into  position,  the  Federals  being  strongest  in  numbers  and  the 
Confederates  having  the  advantage  of  an  unfordable  stream  in  their 
front.  It  was  of  the  first  importance  that  General  McClellan  should 
gain  and  hold  the  four  stone  bridges  by  which  only  his  forces  could 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’t>2. 


507 


be  thrown  to  the  other  side.  General  Burnside,  who  was  ordered  to 
take  the  lower  bridge,  cross  over,  and  attack  the  division  of  A.  P. 
Hill,  encountered  unexpected  delays  and  was  greatly  retarded  in  his 
movements.  On  the  right,  Hooker  renewed  the  battle  at  sunrise,  and 
until  late  in  the  afternoon  the  conflict  raged  with  almost  unabated 
fury.  Here  fell  the 
veteran  General  Mans¬ 
field  and  thousands  of 
his  comrades.  Mean¬ 
while,  Burnside  had 
forced  the  lower  cross- 
i  n  g  and  carried  the 
battle  far  up  in  the  di¬ 
rection  of  Sharpsburg. 

But  the  Confederates 
being  reinforced  from 
other  parts  of  the  field 
made  a  rally,  and  the 
Federals  were  driven 
back  nearly  to  the  An- 
tietam.  It  was  only  by 
terrible  fighting  that 
General  Burnside  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  holding  his 
position  on  the  Avest 
bank  of  the  stream. 

But  on  the  approach 
of  darkness  the  great¬ 
er  part  of  the  Union 
army  had  gained  a  safe 
lodgment  between  the 
creek  and  Sharpsburg. 

Xe\Tertheless,  the  Confederate  forces  occupied  nearly  the  same  ground 
as  in  the  morning ;  and  it  seemed  that  the  final  struggle  was  reserved 
for  the  morrow.  On  that  day,  however,  General  McClellan  acted  on 
the  defensive.  Two  strong  divisions  of  reinforcements,  under  Generals 
Humphreys  and  Couch,  arrived,  and  it  was  resolved  to  renew  the  at¬ 
tack  on  the  following  morning.  But  in  the  mean  time,  General  Lee 
had  taken  advantage  of  the  delay,  withdrawn  his  shattered  legions  from 
their  position,  and  recrossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia.  The  great 
conflict  which  had  cost  each  army  more  than  ten  thousand  men  had 


608 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ended  in  a  drawn  battle  in  which  there  is  little  to  be  praised  except 
the  heroism  of  the  soldiery.  To  the  Confederates,  however,  the  result 
was  almost  as  disastrous  as  defeat.  The  promised  uprising  of  the 
people  of  Maryland  in  behalf  of  the  Confederate  cause  did  not  occur 
and  General  Lee  was  obliged  to  give  up  a  fruitless  and  hopeiess  in¬ 
vasion  which,  in  the  short  space  of  a  month,  had  cost  him  nearly 

thirty  thousand  men.  On  the 
other  side,  the  expectations 
which  had  been  inspired  by 
the  movements  and  despatch¬ 
es  of  the  LTnion  commander 
previous  to  the  battle  had  been 
sorely  disappointed. 

On  the  26th  of  October, 
General  McClellan,  following 
the  retreating  Confederates, 
again  entered  Virginia,  and 
reached  Recto  rtown.  It  was 
the  purpose  of  the  Federal 
government  that  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  should,  be¬ 
fore  the  approach  of  winter, 
be  thrown  forward  in  a  sec¬ 
ond  attempt  against  Rich- 

mu.es  10  20  .‘10  40  SO  60  70  75  i  mi  tt  T 

- - -  - — —  -  '  - - -  mond.  Ihe  Union  command- 

THE  PROPOSKD  BOUT^FROM  WASHINGTON  TO  RICH-  ^  preferred  fa  advanCe 

by  the  route  which  he  had 
taken  the  previous  spring,  making  his  base  of  supplies  at  West  Point 
on  the  Pamunkey.  But  this  plan  was  open  to  the  objection  that  Wash¬ 
ington  city  would  thereby  be  again  uncovered  and  exposed  to  a  coun¬ 
ter  movement  on  the  part  of  the  Confederates.  Yielding  to  the  pro¬ 
test  of  the  President  and  his  cabinet,  McClellan  altered  his  plans  and 
chose  Alexandria  on  the  Potomac  as  his  base  of  operations.  From 
this  point  it  was  proposed  to  advance  on  the  Confederate  capital  bv 
way  of  the  Orange  Railroad  through  Culpepper  to  Gordonsville,  and 
thence  by  the  Virginia  Central  to  its  junction  with  the  line  reaching 
from  Fredericksburg  to  Richmond.  The  month  of  October  was 
wasted  with  delays,  and  November  was  well  begun  before  the  Federal 
general  with  his  army  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men,  an¬ 
nounced  himself  ready  for  the  forward  movement.  On  the  7th  of 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  ’62. 


509 


the  month,  just  as  the  Union  commander  was  about  to  begin  the  cam¬ 
paign,  he  was  superseded  and  his  command  transferred  to  General 
Burnside.  Bight  or  wrong,  the  President  at  last  reached  the  decision 
that  General  McClellan  was  a  man  over-cautious  and  slow — too  pru¬ 
dent  and  too  much  absorbed  in  preliminaries  to  lead  the  armies  of 
the  Kepublic  to  victory. 

General  Burnside  immediately  changed  the  plan  of  the  proposed 
campaign.  It  was  decided  to  form  a  new  base  of  supplies  at  the 
mouth  of  Acquia  Creek,  fifty-five  miles  below  Washington  and  from 
that  point  to  force  a  way  by  battle  southward  through  Fredericks¬ 
burg.  But  again  movements  were  much  delayed,  and  that,  too,  when 
everything  depended  on  celerity.  The  pontoons,  which  were  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  crossing  of  the  Rappahannock,  were  not  forthcoming, 
and  a  fortnight  was  lost  in  preparations.  General  Lee  found  abun¬ 
dant  time  to  gather  his  legions  and  occupy  the  heights  in  the  vicinity 
of  Fredericksburg.  It  was  not  a  part  of  his  plan  to  dispute  the  pas¬ 
sage  of  the  river  but  to  allow  the  Federals  to  cross  over  and  then 
beat  them  back  from  his  entrenchments.  On  the  11th  of  December 
the  Union  army  was  brought  into  position  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Rappahannock.  The  divisions  lay  from  the  village  of  Falmouth  to 
a  point  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Massaponax,  about  three  miles  be¬ 
low.  In  front  of  the  corps  of  General  Franklin,  who  commanded 
the  Federal  left  wing,  the  pontoons  were  successfully  laid  and  the 
crossing  of  the  river  was  effected  without  serious  opposition.  But 
opposite  Fredericksburg,  where  the  divisions  of  Generals  Sumner  and 
Hooker,  who  held  the  Union  center  and  right,  were  to  cross,  the  work 
of  laying  the  bridges  was  hindered  by  the  Confederate  sharpshooters 
lying  concealed  in  the  town.  General  Burnside  ordered  the  Federal 
guns  to  be  turned  in  that  direction,  and  in  a  short  time  Fredericks¬ 
burg  was  battered  and  burned  into  ruins.  Some  Union  regiments 
were  next  ferried  over  in  boats,  and  the  Confederate  picket  lines  were 
driven  back  to  the  heights.  The  bridges  were  completed,  and  by 
nightfall  of  the  12th  the  army  had  been  transferred  to  the  western 
eide  of  the  river. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13th  the  battle  began  on  the  left  where 
Franklin’s  division  encountered  the  corps  of  Stonewall  Jackson.  A 
gallant  charge  was  made  by  General  Meade  and  a  gap  was  made  in 
the  Confederate  lines;  but  no  reinforcements  were  sent  forward;  the 
Confederates  rallied,  and  the  Federals  were  driven  back  with  a  loss 
of  three  thousand  seven  hundred  men.  Jackson’s  loss  was  almost  as 


510 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


great,  and  in  this  part  of  the  field  neither  side  might  claim  a  decisive 
victory.  Not  so  in  the  center  and  on  the  right.  Here  a  portion  cf 
General  Sumner’s  men  were  ordered  forward  against  the  Confederates 
securely  and  impregnably  posted  on  Marye’s  Hill.  They  were  mowed 
down  by  thousands  and  hurled  back  in  disdain,  while  the  defenders 
of  the  heights  hardly  lost  a  man.  Time  and  again  the  assault  was 
recklessly  renewed.  A  part  of  Hooker’s  gallant  troops,  led  by  Gen¬ 
eral  Humphreys,  came  forward ;  charged  with  unloaded  guns ;  and  iu 
fifteen  minutes  one-half  of  the  four  thousand  brave  fellows  went  dowi 
in  death.  Night  came  and  ended  the  useless  carnage.  General  Burn¬ 
side  would  have  renewed  the  battle ;  but  his  division  commanders 
finally  dissuaded  him  and  on  the  night  of  the  15th  the  Federal  arm\ 
was  silently  withdrawn  across  the  Rappahannock.  The  Union  losse.- 
in  this  terrible  conflict  amounted  to  a  thousand  five  hundred  killed 
nine  thousand  one  hundred  wounded,  and  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty 
prisoners  and  missing.  The  Confederates  lost  in  killed  five  hundred 
and  ninety-five,  four  thousand  and  sixty-one  wounded,  and  six  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty-three  missing  and  prisoners.  Of  all  the  important 
movements  of  the  war  only  that  of  Fredericksburg  was  undertaken 
with  no  probability  of  success.  Under  the  plan  of  the  battle — if 
plan  it  might  be  called,  nothing  could  be  reasonably  expected  but 
repulse,  rout,  and  ruin.  Thus  in  gloom  and  disaster  to  the  Federal 
cause  ended  the  great  campaign  of  1862. 


CHAPTER  LXY. 

THE  WORK  OF  ’63. 

THE  war  had  now  grown  to  enormous  proportions.  The  Con  federal' 
States  were  draining  every  resource  of  men  and  means  in  order  to 
support  their  armies.  The  superior  energies  of  the  North,  though  by  no 
means  exhausted,  were  greatly  taxed.  In  the  previous  year,  on  the  day 
after  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill,  President  Lincoln  had  issued  a  call  for 
three  hundred  thousand  additional  troops.  During  the  exciting  days  of 
Pope’s  retreat  from  the  Rappahannock  he  sent  forth  another  call  for  three 


THE  WORK  OF  ’63. 


oil 


hundred  thousand,  and  to  that  was  added  a  requisition  for  a  draft  of  three 
hundred  thousand  more.  Most  of  these  enormous  demands  were  promptly 
met,  and  it  became  evident  that  in  respect  to  resources  the  Federal  gov¬ 
ernment  was  vastly  superior  to  the  Confederacy. 

On  the  1st  day  of  January,  1863,  the  President  issued  one  of  the 
most  important  documents  of  modern  times:  The  Emancipation 
Proclamation.*  The  war  had  been  begun  with  no  well-defined  inten¬ 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  free  the  slaves  of  the  South.  But 
the  President  and  the  Republican  party  looked  with  disfavor  on  the  in¬ 
stitution  of  slavery;  during  the  progress  of  the  war  the  sentiment  of 
abolition  had  grown  with  great  rapidity  in  the  North ;  and  when  at  last 
it  became  a  military  necessity  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  labor-system  of  the 
Southern  States,  the  step  was  taken  with  but  little  hesitancy  or  oppo¬ 
sition.  Thus,  after  an  existence  of  two  hundred  and  forty-four  years,  the 
institution  of  African  slavery  in  the  United  States  was  swept  away. 

The  military  movements  of  the  new  year  began  on  the  Mississippi 
After  his  defeat  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  General  Sherman  laid  a  plan  for 
the  capture  of  Arkansas  Post,  on  the  Arkansas  River.  In  the  first  days 
of  January  an  expedition  set  out  for  that  purpose,  the  land-forces  being 
commanded  by  General  McClernand,  and  the  flotilla  by  Admiral  Porter. 
Entering  the  Arkansas,  the  Union  forces  reached  their  destination  on  the 
10th  of  the  month,  fought  a  hard  battle  with  the  Confederates,  gained  a 
victory,  and  on  the  next  day  received  the  surrender  of  the  post  with 
nearly  five  thousand  prisoners.  After  this  success  the  expedition  returned 
to  the  vicinity  of  Vicksburg,  in  order  to  co-operate  with  General  Grant 
in  a  second  effort  to  capture  that  stronghold  of  the  Confederacy. 

Again  the  Union  forces  were  collected  at  Memphis,  and  embarked 
on  the  Mississippi.  A  landing  was  effected  at  the  Yazoo;  but  the  cap¬ 
ture  of  the  city  from  that  direction  was  decided  to  be  impracticable.  The 
first  three  months  of  the  year  were  spent  by  General  Grant  in  beating 
about  the  bayous,  swamps  and  hills  around  Vicksburg,  in  the  hope  of 
getting  a  position  in  the  rear  of  the  town.  A  canal  was  cut  across  a 
bend  in  the  river  with  a  view  to  turning  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi 
and  opening  a  passage  for  the  gunboats.  But  a  flood  in  the  river  washed 
the  works  away,  and  the  enterprise  ended  in  failure.  Then  another 
canal  was  begun,  only  to  be  abandoned.  Finally,  in  the  first  days  of 
April,  it  was  determined  at  all  hazards  to  run  the  fleet  past  the  Vicksburg 
batteries.  Accordingly,  on  the  night  of  the  16th,  the  boats  were  made 
ready  and  silently  dropped  down  the  river.  All  of  a  sudden  the  guns 
burst  forth  with  terrible  discharges  of  shot  and  shell,  pelting  the  passing 

*See  Appendix  H. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


<312 

steamers ;  but  they  went  by  with  comparatively  little  damage,  and  found 
a  safe  position  below  the  city. 

.  Elated  with  the  successful  pas¬ 
sage  of  his  fleet,  General  Grant 
now  marched  his  land-forces  down 
the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
and  formed  a  junction  with  the 
squadron.  On  the  30th  of  April 
he  crossed  the  river  at  Bruinsburg, 
and  on  the  following  day  fought 
and  defeated  the  Confederates  at 
Port  Gibson.  The  evacuation  of 
Grand  Gulf,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Big  Black  River,  followed  imme- 
vicksburg  and  vicinity,  1863.  diately  after  wfwd.  The  Union  army 

now  swept  around  to  the  rear  of  Vicksburg.  On  the  morning  of 
the  12  th  a  strong  Confederate  force  was  encountered  at  Raymond,  and 
after  a  severe  engagement  was  repulsed.  Pressing  on  toward  Jackson, 
the  capital  of  Mississippi,  General  Grant’s  right  wing,  under  Sherman  and 
McPherson,  met  the  advance  of  General  Johnston’s  division  coming  to 
reinforce  the  garrison  of  Vicksburg.  Here,  on  the  14th  of  the  month, 
a  decisive  battle  was  fought ;  the  Confederates  were  beaten,  and  the  city 
of  Jackson  captured.  The  communications  of  Vicksburg  were  now  cut 
off,  and  General  Pemberton  was  obliged  to  repel  the  Federals  or  suffer  a 
siege.  Sallying  forth  with  the  greater  part  of  his  forces,  he  met  the  Union 
army  on  the  16th  at  Champion  Hills,  on  Baker’s  Creek.  In  the  battle 
that  followed,  as  well  as  in  a  conflict  at  the  Black  River  Bridge  on  the 
17th,  Grant  was  again  victorious,  and  Pemberton  retired  with  his  dis¬ 
heartened  troops  within  the  defences  of  Vicksburg. 

The  investment  of  the  city  was  rapidly  completed.  Believing  that 
the  Confederate  works  could  be  carried  by  storm,  General  Grant,  on  the 
19th  of  May,  ordered  an  assault,  which  resulted  in  a  repulse  with  terrible 
losses.  Three  days  afterward  the  attempt  was  renewed,  but  the  assailants 
were  again  hurled  back  with  a  still  greater  destruction  of  life.  The 
Union  loss  in  these  two  unsuccessful  assaults  amounted  to  nearly  three 
thousand  men.  Finding  that  Vicksburg  could  not  be  taken  by  storm, 
General  Grant  began  a  regular  siege,  and  pressed  it  with  ever-increasing 
severity.  Admiral  Porter  got  his  gunboats  into  position  and  bombarded 
the  unfortunate  town  incessantly.  Reinforcements  swelled  the  Union 
ranks.  On  the  other  hand,  the  garrison  of  the  city  was  in  a  starving  con¬ 
dition.  Still,  Pemberton  held  out  for  more  than  a  month  ;  and  it  was 


THE  WORK  OF  ’63. 


513 


not  until  the  4th  of  July  that  he  was  driven  to  surrender.  By  the  act 
of  capitulation  the  defenders  of  Vicksburg,  numbering  nearly  thirty 
thousand,  became  prisoners  of  war.  Thousands  of  small-arms,  hundreds 
of  cannon,  vast  quantities  of  ammunition  and  warlike  stores  were  the 
fruits  of  this  great  Union  victory,  by  which  the  national  government 
gained  more  and  the  Confederacy  lost  more  than  in  any  previous  struggle 
of  the  war. 

Meanwhile,  General  Banks,  who  had  superseded  General  Butler  in 
eommand  of  the  department  of  the  gulf,  had  been  conducting  a  vigor¬ 
ous  campaign  on  the  Lower  Mississippi.  Early  in  January,  from  his 
headquarters  at  Baton  Rouge,  he  advanced  into  Louisiana,  reached  Brash- 
ear  City,  and  shortly  afterward  gained  a  victory  over  a  Confederate  force 
at  a  place  called  Bayou  Teche.  Returning  to  the  Mississippi,  he  moved 
northward  to  Port  Hudson,  invested  the  place  and  began  a  siege.  The 
beleaguered  garrison,  under  General  Gardner,  made  a  brave  defence ;  and 
it  was  not  until  the  8th  of  July,  when  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg 
was  borne  to  Port  Hudson,  that  the  commandant,  with  his  force  of  more 
than  six  thousand  men,  was  obliged  to  capitulate.  By  this  important 
surrender  the  control  of  the  Mississippi  throughout  its  whole  length  was 
recovered  by  the  National  government. 

During  the  progress  of  the  war  cavalry  raids  became  more  and  more 
frequent.  Of  this  nature  was  Stonewall  Jackson’s  campaign  down  the 
Shenandoah  valley  in  the  summer  of  1862.  Later  in  the  same  year,  just 
after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  the  Confederate  General  Stuart,  with  a  troop 
of  eighteen  hundred  cavalrymen,  made  a  dash  into  Pennsylvania,  reached 
Chambersburg,  captured  the  town,  made  a  complete  circuit  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  and  returned  in  safety  to  Virginia.  Just  before  the  in¬ 
vestment  of  Vicksburg,  Colonel  Benjamin  Grierson,  of  the  Sixth  Illinois 
Cavalry,  struck  out  with  his  command  from  La  Grange,  Tennessee,  en¬ 
tered  Mississippi,  traversed  the  State  to  the  east  of  Jackson,  cut  the  rail¬ 
roads,  destroyed  property,  and  after  a  rapid  course  of  more  than  eight 
hundred  miles  gained  the  river  at  Baton  Rouge.  By  these  raids  the 
border  country  of  both  sections  was  kept  in  perpetual  agitation  and  alarm. 

For  a  while  after  the  battle  of  Murfreesborough  Rosecrans  re¬ 
mained  inactive.  Late  in  the  spring  Colonel  Streight’s  command  went 
on  a  raid  into  Georgia,  met  the  division  of  the  Confederate  general 
Forrest,  was  surrounded  and  captured.  In  the  latter  part  of  June,  Rose¬ 
crans  bv  a  series  of  flank  movements  succeeded  in  crowding  General  Bragg 
out  of  Tennessee  into  Georgia.  The  union  general  followed  his  antago¬ 
nist  and  took  post  at  Chattanooga,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tennessee. 
During  the  summer  months  General  Bragg  was  heavily  reinforced  by 

S3 


514 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Johnston  from  Mississippi,  and  Longstreet  from  Virginia.  On  the  1 9th 
of  September  he  turned  upon  the  Federal  army  at  Chickamauga  Creek, 
in  the  north-west  angle  of  Georgia.  During  this  day  a  hard  battle 
was  fought,  but  night  fell  on  the  scene  with  the  victory  undecided. 
During  the  night  the  Confederates  were  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of 
General  Longstreet,  who  was  stationed  with  his  division  on  the  left 

wing  of  Bragg’s  army.  The 
right  was  given  to  General 
Polk,  while  the  center  was 
held  by  Ewell  and  Johnston. 
The  Federal  left  wing  was 
c  o  m  m  ande  d  b  y  General 
Thomas,  the  center  by  Crit- 
tenden,  and  the  right  by  Mc¬ 
Cook.  The  plan  of  the  Con¬ 
federate  commander  was  t$ 
crush  the  Union  line,  force 
his  way  through  a  gap  in 
Missionary  Eidge,  capture 
Eossville  and  Chattanooga, 
and  annihilate  Rosecrans’s 
army.  The  battle  began  at 
half  past  eight  o’clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  20th, 
the  Confederates  moving  on 
in  powerful  masses,  and 
the  Federals  holding  their 
ground  with  unflinching  courage.  After  the  conflict  had  continued 
for  some  hours,  the  national  battle-line  was  opened  by  General  Wood, 
acting  under  mistaken  orders.  The  Confederate  general,  seeing  his 
advantage,  thrust  forward  a  heavy  column  into  the  gap,  cut  the  Union 
army  in  two,  and  drove  the  shattered  right  wing  in  utter  rout  from 
the  field.  General  Thomas,  with  a  desperate  firmness  hardly  equaled 
in  the  annals  of  war,  held  the  left  until  nightfall,  and  then,  under 
cover  of  darkness,  withdrew  into  Chattanooga,  where  the  defeated 
army  of  Rosecrans  had  already  found  shelter.  The  LTiion  losses  in 
this  dreadful  battle  amounted  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  to 
nearly  nineteen  thousand,  and  the  Confederate  loss  was  even  more 
appalling. 

General  Bragg  at  once  pressed  forward  to  besiege  Chattanooga. 
The  Federal  lines  of  communication  were  cut  off,  and  for  a  while  the 
army  of  Rosecrans  was  in  danger  of  being  annihilated.  But  General 


BATTLE  OF  CHICKAMAUGA,  SEPT.  19,  20,  1863. 


TEE  WORK  OF  63. 


515 


Hooker  arrived  with  two  corps  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  opened 
the  Tennessee  River,  and  brought  relief  to  the  besieged.  At  the  same 
time  General  Grant,  being  promoted  to  the  chief  command  of  the 
Western  armies,  assumed  the  direction  of  affairs  at  Chattanooga.  Gen¬ 
eral  Sherman  also  arrived  with  his  division,  so  strengthening  the  Army 
of  the  Cumber¬ 
land  that  offen¬ 
sive  operations 
were  at  once 
renewed.  The 
left  wing  of 
the  Confederate 
army  now  rest¬ 
ed  on  Look¬ 
out  Mountain, 
and  the  right 
o  n  Missionary 
Ridge.  A  po¬ 
sition  seemingly 
more  impregna¬ 
ble  could  hard¬ 
ly  be  conceived 

of.  General 

/ 

Bragg  was  not 
only  confident 
of  his  ability  to 
hold  his  1  ines 
against  any  ad¬ 
vance  of  the  Federals  but  even  contemplated  the  storming  of  Chatta¬ 
nooga.  On  the  20th  of  November  he  gave  notice  to  General  Grant  to 
remove  all  non-combatants  as  the  town  was  about  to  be  bombarded; 
but  no  attention  was  paid  to  the  despatch.  On  the  23d  General  Hooker 
threw  his  corps  across  the  river  below  Chattanooga  and  gained  a  foot¬ 
ing  at  the  mouth  of  Lookout  Creek  facing  the  mountain.  From  this 
position  the  assault  was  made  on  the  following  morning.  Hooker  was 
supported  by  the  divisions  of  Generals  Geary  and  Osterhaus,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  Union  army  was  kept  in  a  state  of  activity  in  order 
to  prevent  the  reinforcement  of  Lookout  from  Missionary  Ridge.  A 
dense  fog  hung  like  a  hood  over  the  mountain,  effectually  concealing 
the  movements  of  the  Federals.  The  charge  began  between  eight  and 
nine  o’clock,  and  in  the  space  of  two  hours  the  ranges  of  Confederate 
rifle-pits  among  the  foot-hills  had  been  successfully  carried.  It  had 


LOOKOUT  MOUNTAIN  AND  MISSIONARY  RIDGE,  NOY.  23-25,  1863. 


516 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


been  General  Hooker’s  purpose  to  pause  when  this  work  should  be 
accomplished,  but  the  enthusiasm  of  his  army  rose  to  such  a  pitch  as 
to  suggest  the  still  greater  achievement  of  carrying  the  whole  Confed¬ 
erate  position.  Taking  advantage  of  the  fog  and  the  spirit  of  his 
soldiers  Hooker  again  gave  the  command  to  charge ;  and  up  the  almost 
inaccessible  slopes  of  the  mountain  the  troops  sprang  forward  with  re¬ 
sistless  energy.  It  was  such  a  scene  of  dauntless  heroism  as  has  rarely 
been  portrayed  in  the  records  of  battle.  The  charging  columns,  strug¬ 
gling  against  the  obstacles  of  nature  and  facing  the  murderous  fire  of 
the  Confederate  guns,  could  not  be  checked.  The  Union  flag  was 
carried  to  the  top;  and  before  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  Lookout 
Mountain,  with  its  cloud-capped  summit  overlooking  the  town  and 
river,  was  swarming  with  Federal  soldiers.  The  routed  Confederates 
retreated  down  the  eastern  slope  and  across  the  intervening  hills  and 
valleys  in  the  direction  of  Missionary  Ridge. 

The  second  great  conflict  was  reserved  for  the  morrow.  During 
the  night  of  the  24th  General  Bragg  concentrated  his  forces  and  made 
preparations  to  defend  his  position  to  the  last.  On  the  following 
morning  Hooker’s  victorious  troops  poured  down  from  Lookout, 
crossed  the  Chattanooga,  and  renewed  the  battle  at  the  southwestern 
extremity  of  Missionary  Ridge.  General  Sherman  had  already  built 
pontoon  bridges  over  the  Tennessee  and  Chickamauga,  thrown  his 
corps  across  those  streams,  and  gained  a  lodgment  on  the  northeastern 
declivity  of  the  Ridge.  General  Thomas,  commanding  the  Union 
center,  lay  with  his  impatient  soldiers,  on  the  southern  and  eastern 
slopes  of  Orchard  Knob,  awaiting  the  result  of  Sherman’s  and  Hooker’s 
onsets.  At  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  orders  were  given  by  Gen¬ 
eral  Grant  for  an  assault  along  the  whole  line.  And  the  command 
was  instantly  obeyed.  The  thrilling  scene  of  Lookout  Mountain  was 
again  enacted.  The  Federal  soldiers  charged  to  the  summit  of  Mis¬ 
sionary  Ridge  and  the  Confederates  were  driven  into  a  disastrous  rout. 
During  the  night  General  Bragg  withdrew  his  shattered  columns  and 
retreated  in  the  direction  of  Ringgold,  Georgia.  The  Federal  losses 
in  the  two  great  battles  amounted  to  seven  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
killed,  four  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-nine  wounded,  and  three 
hundred  and  thirty  missing;  the  loss  of  the  Confederates  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners  reached  considerably  beyond  ten  thousand. 
The  results  of  the  conflict  were  so  decisive  as  to  put  an  end  to  the 
war  in  Tennessee  until  it  was  renewed  by  Hood  at  Franklin  and 
Nashville  in  the  winter  of  1864. 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Burnside  was  making  an  effort  to  hold 
East  Tennessee.  On  the  1st  of  September  he  arrived  with  his  command 


THE  WORK  OF  ’63. 


517 


at  Knoxville,  where  he  was  received  by  the  people  with  lively  satisfac¬ 
tion.  After  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  General  Longstreet  was  sent  into 
East  Tennessee  to  counteract  the  movements  of  the  Unionists.  On  his 
march  to  Knoxville  he  overtook  and  captured  several  small  detachments 
of  Federal  troops,  then  invested  the  town  and  began  a  siege.  On  the 
29th  of  November  the  Confederates  made  an  attempt  to  carry  Knoxville 
by  storm,  but  were  repulsed  with  heavy  losses.  After  the  retreat  of  Bragg 
from  Chattanooga,  General  Sherman  marched  to  the  relief  of  Burnside; 
but  before  he  could  reach  Knoxville,  Longstreet  raised  the  siege  and  re¬ 
treated  into  Virginia. 

In  the  early  part  of  1863  the  Confederates,  led  by  Generals  Mar- 
maduke  and  Price,  resumed  activity  in  Arkansas  and  Southern  Missouri. 
On  the  8th  of  January  they  made  an  attack  on  Springfield,  but  were  re¬ 
pulsed  with  considerable  losses.  Three  days  afterward,  at  the  town  of 
Hartsville,  a  battle  was  fought  with  a  similar  result.  On  the  26th  of 
April,  General  Marmaduke  attacked  the  post  at  Cape  Girardeau,  on  the 
Mississippi,  but  the  garrison  succeeded  in  driving  the  Confederates  away. 
On  the  day  of  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg  the  Confederate  general 
Holmes,  with  a  force  of  nearly  eight  thousand  men,  made  an  attack 
on  Helena,  Arkansas,  but  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  one-fifth  of  his 
men.  On  the  13th  of  August  the  town  of  Lawrence,  Kansas,  was 
sacked  and  burned,  and  a  hundred  and  forty  persons  killed  by  a  band 
of  desperate  fellows  led  by  a  chieftain  called  Quantrell.  On  the  10th 
of  September  the  Federal  general  Steele  reached  Little  Rock,  the 
capital  of  Arkansas,  captured  the  city  and  restored  the  national  authority 
in  the  State. 

To  the  summer  of  this  year  belongs  the  story  of  General  John 
Morgan’s  great  raid  through  Kentucky  into  Indiana  and  Ohio.  His 
starting-point  was  Sparta,  Tennessee;  the  number  of  his  forces  three 
thousand.  Pushing  northward  through  Kentucky,  he  gathered  strength, 
reached  the  Ohio  at  Brandenburg,  crossed  into  Indiana,  and  began  his 
march  to  the  north  and  east.  He  was  resisted  at  Corydon  and  other 
points  by  bodies  of  home-guards,  and  hotly  pursued  by  a  force  under 
General  Hobson.  Morgan  crossed  into  Ohio  at  Harrison,  made  a  circuit 
to  the  north  of  Cincinnati,  and  attempted  to  recross  the  river.  But  the 
Ohio  was  now  guarded  by  gunboats,  and  the  raiders  were  driven  back. 
With  numbers  constantly  diminishing  the  Confederate  leader  pressed  on, 
fighting  and  flying,  until  he  came  near  the  town  of  New  Lisbon,  where 
he  was  surrounded  and  captured  by  the  brigade  of  General  Shackelford. 
For  nearly  four  months  Morgan  was  held  as  a  prisoner;  then  mak¬ 
ing  his  escape,  he  fled  to  Kentucky,  and  finally  reached  Richmond. 

The  year  1863  was  marked  by  some  movements  of  importance  on 


518 


HISTORY  OF  THE  U FIT  ED  STATES. 


the  sea-coast.  On  the  1st  of  January  General  Marmaduke,  by  a  brilliant 
exploit,  captured  Galveston,  Texas.  By  this  means  the  Confederates  se¬ 
cured  a  port  of  entry,  of  which  they  were  greatly  in  need  in  the  South¬ 
west.  On  the  7th  of  April  Admiral  Dupont,  with  a  powerful  fleet  of  iron¬ 
clads,  made  an  attempt  to  capture  Charleston,  but  the  squadron  was  driven 
back  much  damaged,  in  the  last  days  of  June  the  siege  of  the  city  was 
begun  anew  by  a  strong  land-force,  under  command  of  General  Q.  A. 
Gillmore,  assisted  by  the  fleet  under  Admiral  Dahlgren.  The  Federal 
army  first  effected  a  lodgment  on  Folly  Island,  and  soon  afterward  on 
the  south  end  of  Morris  Island,  where  batteries  were  planted  bearing  upon 
Fort  Sumter  in  the  channel  and  Fort  Wagner  and  Battery  Gregg  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  island.  After  the  bombardment  had  continued 
for  some  time,  General  Gillmore,  on  the  18th  of  July,  made  an  attempt 
to  carry  Fort  Wagner  by  assault,  but  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  men.  The  siege  then  progressed  until  the  night  of 
the  6  th  of  September,  when  the  Confederates  evacuated  the  fort  and  Bat¬ 
tery  Gregg,  and  retired  to  Charleston.  Gillmore  thus  obtained  a  position 
within  four  miles  of  the  city,  and  brought  his  guns  to  bear  on  the  wharves 
and  buildings  of  the  lower  town.  Meanwhile,  the  walls  of  Fort  Sumter 
on  the  side  next  to  Morris  Island  had  been  pounded  into  powder  by  the 
land-batteries  and  guns  of  the  monitors.  The  harbor  and  city,  however, 
still  remained  under  control  of  the  Confederates,  the  only  gain  of  the 
Federals  being  the  establishment  of  a  blockade  so  complete  as  to  seal  up 
the  port  of  Charleston. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1863  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
was  engaged  in  several  desperate  conflicts.  After  his  fatal  repulse  at 
Fredericksburg  General  Burnside  was  superseded  by  General  Joseph 
Hooker,  who,  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  moved  forward  with  his  army  in 
full  force,  crossed  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Rapidan,  and  reached 
Chancellorsville.  Here,  on  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  May,  he  was  at¬ 
tacked  by  the  veteran  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  led  by  Lee  and  Jack- 
son.  The  latter  general,  with  extraordinary  daring,  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  division  of  twenty-five  thousand  men,  filed  off  from  the  battle¬ 
field,  outflanked  the  Union  army,  burst  like  a  thunder-cloud  upon  the 
right  wing,  and  swept  everything  to  destruction.  But  it  was  the  last  of 
Stonewall’s  battles.  As  night  came  on,  with  ruin  impending  over  the 
Federal  army,  the  brave  Confederate  leader,  riding  through  the  gather¬ 
ing  darkness,  received  a  volley  from  his  own  lines,  and  fell  mortally 
wounded.  He  lingered  a  week,  and  died  at  Guinea  Station,  leaving  a 
gap  in  the  Confederate  ranks  which  no  other  man  could  fill. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d  the  battle  was  furiously  renewed.  Gen¬ 
eral  Sedgwick,  attempting  to  reinforce  Hooker  from  Fredericksburg,  was 


THE  WORK  OF  ’63. 


519 


defeated  and  driven  across  the  Rappahannock.  The  main  army  was 
crowded  between  Chancellorsville  and  the  river,  where  it  remained  in  the 
utmost  peril  until  the  evening  of  the  5th,  when  General  Hooker  succeeded 
in  withdrawing  his  forces  to  the  northern  bank.  The  Union  losses  in 
these  terrible  battles  amounted  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners  to  about 
seventeen  thousand ;  that  of  the  Confederates  was  less  by  five  thousand. 
Taken  altogether,  the  campaign  was  the  most  disastrous  of  any  in  which 
the  Federal  army  had  yet  been  engaged. 

The  defeat  of  General  Hooker  was  to  some  extent  mitigated  by  the 
successful  cavalry  raid  of  General  Stoneman.  On  the  29th  of  April  he 
■rossed  the  Rappahannock  with  a  body  of  ten  thousand  men,  tore  up  the 
Virginia  Central  Railroad,  dashed  on  to  the  Chickahominy,  cut  General 
Lee’s  communications, 
swept  around  within 
a  few  miles  of  Rich¬ 
mond,  and  on  the  8th 
of  May  recrossed  the 
Rappahannock  in 
safety.  At  the  same 
time,  General  Peck, 
the  Federal  command¬ 
ant  of  Suffolk,  on  the 
Nansemond,  was  suc¬ 
cessfully  resisting  a 
siege  conducted  by 
General  Longstreet. 

The  Confederates  re¬ 
treated  from  before  the 
town  on  the  very  day 
of  the  Union  disaster 
at  Chancellorsville. 

Elated  with  his 
success  on  the  Rappa¬ 
hannock,  General  Lee 
determined  to  carry  stonewall,  jackson.* 

the  war  into  Mary¬ 
land  and  Pennsylvania.  In  the  first  week  of  June  he  moved  forward 

‘‘■'The  true  name  of  this  remarkable  man  was  Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson.  In  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  when  the  Confederates  in  one  part  of  the  field  were 
routed  and  flying,  General  Bee,  pointing  to  an  immovable  column  of  men,  cried  out, 
“ Here  is  Jackson,  standing  like  a  stone  wall! ”  From  that  day  the  man  at  the  head  of 
.Rat  column  was  called  Stonewall  Jackson. 


520 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


with  his  whole  army,  crossed  the  Potomac,  and  captured  Hagerstown. 
On  the  22d  of  June  the  invaders  entered  Chambersburg,  and  then 
pressed  on  through  Carlisle  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Harrisburg. 
The  militia  of  Pennsylvania  was  called  out,  and  volunteers  came 
pouring  in  from  other  States.  General  Hooker,  at  the  head  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  pushed  forward  to  strike  his  antagonist.  It 

was  evident  that 
a  great  and  deci¬ 
sive  battle  was  at 
hand.  General 
Lee,  abandoning 
his  purpose  of 
invasion,  rapidly 
concentrated  his 
forces  near  Get¬ 
tysburg,  the  cap¬ 
ital  of  Adams 
County,  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  On  the 
very  eve  of  bat¬ 
tle  the  command 
of  the  Union  ar¬ 
my  was  transfer¬ 
red  from  General 
Hooker  to  Gen¬ 
eral  George  G. 
Meade,  who  has¬ 
tily  advanced  his 
forces  through 
the  hill  -  country 
in  the  direction 
of  Gettysburg. 
After  more  than 

two  years  of  indecisive  warfare  it  seemed  that  the  fate  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Republic  was  to  be  staked  on  the  issue  of  a  single  battle.  On 
the  morning  of  the  1st  of  July  the  Union  advance,  led  by  Generals 
Reynolds  and  Buford,  while  moving  westward  from  Gettysburg,  en¬ 
countered  the  Confederate  division  of  General  Hill,  coming  up  on  the 
road  from  Hagerstown ;  and  the  struggle  began.  In  the  afternoon 
6trong  reinforcements  were  received  and  a  severe  battle  was  fought 
for  the  possession  of  Seminary  Ridge.  In  this  initial  conflict  the 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG,  JULY  1,  2,  3,  1863. 


THE  WORK  OF  ’63. 


521 


Confederates  were  victorious,  driving  the  Union  line  from  its  posi¬ 
tion,  through  the  village,  and  back  to  the  high  grounds  southward. 
Here  at  nightfall  a  stand  was  made,  and  a  new  battle-line  was  formed 
reaching  from  an  eminence  called  Round  Top,  where  the  left  wing 
rested,  around  the  crest  of  the  ridges  to  Cemetery  Hill,  where  the 
center  was  posted,  and  thence  to  Wolf  Hill  on  Rook  Creek.  To 
this  position,  well-chosen  and  strong,  the  whole  Union  army,  ex¬ 
cept  Sedgwick’s  corps,  was  hurried  forward  during  the  night.  The 
Confederate  forces  were  all  brought  into  position  on  Seminary  Ridge 
and  the  high  grounds  to  the  left  of  Rock  Creek,  forming  a  semi¬ 
circle  about  five  miles  long.  The  cavalry  of  both  armies  hung  upon 
the  flanks,  doing  effective  service  but  hardly  participating  in  the 
main  conflict  of  the  center. 

On  the  morning  of  July  2d,  the  corps  of  General  Longstreet  on 
the  Confederate  right  moved  forward  impetuously  and  attacked  the 
Union  left  under  Sickles.  The  struggle  in  this  part  of  the  field  was 
for  the  possession  of  Great  and  Little  Round  Top ;  and  after  terrible 
fighting,  which  lasted  until  six  o’clock  in  the  evening,  these  strong 
positions  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Federals.  In  the  center  a 
similar  conflict,  lasting  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  ensued  for  the 
possession  of  Cemetery  Hill.  Here,  too,  notwithstanding  the  desper¬ 
ate  assaults  of  the  Confederates,  the  integrity  of  the  National  line  waB 
preserved  till  nightfall.  On  the  right  the  Confederate  onset  was  more 
successful,  and  the  Union  right  under  General  Slocum  was  somewhat 
shattered.  But  at  ten  o’clock  at  night,  when  the  fighting  ceased,  it 
was  found  that  the  position  of  the  two  armies  had  not  been  materially 
changed  by  a  conflict  which  had  left  forty  thousand  dead  and  wounded 
men  on  the  field  of  battle. 

Under  cover  of  the  darkness  both  generals  made  arrangements 
to  renew  the  struggle  on  the  morrow,  but  when  morning  came  both 
were  loath  to  begin.  For  each  felt  that  this  day’s  action  must  be  de¬ 
cisive.  General  Meade  had  some  advantage  in  the  fact  that  Lee,  in 
in  order  to  continue  his  invasion,  must  carry  the  Union  position  or 
retreat.  The  whole  forenoon  of  the  3d  was  spent  in  preparations. 
At  midday  there  was  a  lull.  Then  burst  forth  the  fiercest  cannonade 
ever  known  on  the  American  continent.  Until  after  two  o’clock  the 
hills  were  shaken  with  the  thunders  of  more  than  two  hundred  heavy 
guns.  The  Confederate  artillerymen  concentrated  their  fire  on  the 
Union  center  at  Cemetery  Hill  which  became  a  scene  of  indescribable 
uproar  and  death.  Then  came  the  crisis.  The  cannonade  ceased. 
A  Confederate  column,  nearly  three  miles  long,  headed  by  the  Vir- 


£22 


HISTORY  OR  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ginians  under  General  Pickett,  made  a  final  and  desperate  charge  on 
the  Union  centre.  But  the  onset  was  in  vain,  and  the  brave  men  who 
made  it  were  mowed  down  with  terrible  slaughter.  The  victory  remained 
with  the  national  army,  and  Lee  was  obliged  to  turn  back  with  his  shat¬ 
tered  legions  to  the  Potomac.  The  entire  Confederate  loss  in  this  the 
greatest  battle  of  the  war  was  nearly  thirty  thousand;  that  of  the  Fede- 
rals  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing,  twenty-three  thousand  a  hundred 
and  eighty-six.  General  Lee  withdrew  his  forces  into  Virginia,  and  the 
Union  army  resumed  its  old  position  on  the  Potomac  and  the  Rappahan¬ 
nock.  Such  were  the  more  important  military  movements  of  1863. 

During  this  year  the  administration  of  President  Lincoln  was  beset 
with  many  difficulties.  The  war-debt  of  the  nation  was  piling  up  moun¬ 
tains  high.  The  last  calls  for  volunteers  had  not  been  fully  met.  The 
anti-war  party  of  the  North  had  grown  more  bold,  and  openly  denounced 
the  measures  of  the  government.  On  the  3d  of  March  the  Consckip- 
tion  Act  was  passed  by  Congress,  and  two  months  afterward  the  Presi¬ 
dent  ordered  a  general  draft  of  three  hundred  thousand  men.  All  able- 
bodied  citizens  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  forty-five  years  were 
subject  to  the  requisition.  The  measure  was  bitterly  denounced  by  the 
opponents  of  the  war,  and  in  many  places  the  draft-officers  were  forcibly 
resisted.  On  the  13th  of  July,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  a  vast  mob  rose 
in  arms,  demolished  the  buildings  which  were  occupied  by  the  provost 
marshals,  burned  the  colored  orphan  asylum,  attacked  the  police,  and 
killed  about  a  hundred  people,  most  of  whom  were  negroes.  For  three 
days  the  authorities  of  the  city  were  set  at  defiance.  On  the  second 
day  of  the  reign  of  terror  Governor  Seymour  arrived  and  addressed 
the  mob  in  a  mild-mannered  way,  promising  that  the  draft  should  be 
suspended,  and  advising  the  rioters  to  disperse;  but  they  gave  little 
heed  to  his  mellow  admonition,  and  went  on  with  the  work  of  de¬ 
struction.  General  Wool,  commander  of  the  military  district  of  New 
York,  then  took  the  matter  in  hand ;  but  the  troops  at  his  disposal 
were  at  first  unable  to  overawe  the  insurgents.  Some  volunteer  regi¬ 
ments,  however,  came  trooping  home  from  Gettysburg ;  the  Metropol¬ 
itan  police  companies  were  compactly  organized ;  and  the  combined 
forces  soon  crushed  the  insurrection  with  a  strong  hand.  After  the 
fall  of  Vicksburg  and  the  retreat  of  Lee  from  Pennsylvania,  there 
were  fewer  acts  of  domestic  violence.  Nevertheless,  the  anti-war 
spirit  in  some  parts  of  the  North  ran  so  high  that  on  the  19th  of 
August  President  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  suspending  the  priv¬ 
ileges  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  throughout  the  Union. 

As  a  means  of  procuring  soldiers  the  draft  amounted  to  nothing; 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


523 


only  about  fifty  thousand  men  were  thus  directly  obtained.  But  volun¬ 
teering  was  greatly  quickened  by  the  measure,  and  the  employment  of 
substitutes  soon  filled  the  ranks  of  the  army.  Such,  however,  were  the 
terrible  losses  by  battle  and  disease  and  the  expiration  of  enlistments 
that  in  October  the  President  issued  another  call  for  three  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  men.  At  the  same  time  it  was  provided  that  any  delinquency  in 
meeting  the  demand  would  be  supplied  by  a  draft  in  the  following  Janu¬ 
ary.  By  these  active  measures  the  columns  of  the  Union  army  were  made 
more  powerful  than  ever.  In  the  armies  of  the  South,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  were  already  symptoms  of  exhaustion,  and  the  most  rigorous  con¬ 
scription  was  necessary  to  fill  the  thinned  but  still  courageous  ranks  of 
the  Confederacy.  It  was  on  the  20th  of  June  in  this  year  that  West  Vir¬ 
ginia,  separated  from  the  Old  Dominion,  was  organized  and  admitted  as 
the  thirty -fifth  State  of  the  Union.  • 


CHAPTER  LX  VI. 

THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 

AS  in  the  previous  year,  the  military  movements  of  1864  began  in  the 
West.  In  the  beginning  of  February  General  Sherman  left  Vicks¬ 
burg  with  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  railroad  connections  of  Eastern 
Mississippi.  Marching  toward  Alabama,  he  reached  Meridian  on  the 
15th  of  the  month.  Here,  where  the  railroad  from  Mobile  to  Corinth 
intersects  the  line  from  Vicksburg  to  Montgomery,  the  tracks  were  torn 
up  for  a  distance  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Bridges  were  burned, 
locomotives  and  cars  destroyed,  vast  quantities  of  cotton  and  corn  given 
to  the  flames.  At  Meridian  General  Sherman  expected  the  arrival  of  a 
strong  force  of  Federal  cavalry  which  had  been  sent  out  from  Memphis, 
under  command  of  General  Smith.  The  latter  advanced  into  Mississippi, 
but  was  met,  a  hundred  miles  north  of  Meridian,  by  the  cavalry  of  For¬ 
rest,  and  driven  back  to  Memphis.  Disappointed  of  the  expected  junc¬ 
tion  of  his  forces,  General  Sherman  retraced  his  course  to  Vicksburg. 
Forrest  continued  his  raid  northward,  entered  Tennessee,  and  on  the  24th 
of  March  captured  Union  City.  Pressing  on,  he  reached  Paducah,  Ken¬ 
tucky,  made  an  assault  on  Fort  Anderson,  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town,  but 
was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  three  hundred  men.  Turning  back  into  Ten¬ 
nessee,  he  came  upon  Fort  Pillow,  on  the  Mississippi,  seventy  miles 
above  Memphis.  The  place  was  defended  by  five  hundred  and  sixty 


524 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


soldiers,  about  half  of  whom  were  negroes.  Forrest,  having  gained 
the  outer  defences,  demanded  a  surrender,  but  was  refused.  He 
then  ordered  an  assault,  and  carried  the  fort  by  storm. 

To  the  spring  of  1864  belongs  the  story  of  ^he  Red  River  Expe¬ 
dition,  conducted  by  General  Banks.  The  object  had  in  view  was  the 
capture  of  Shreveport,  the  seat  of  the  Confederate  government  of  Louisi¬ 
ana.  A  strong  land-force  was  to  march  up  Red  River,  supported  by  a 
fleet  of  gunboats,  under  command  of  Admiral  Porter.  The  army  was 
composed  of  three  divisions :  the  first,  from  Vicksburg,  numbering  ten 
thousand,  commanded  by  General  Smith ;  the  second,  from  New  Orleans, 
led  by  General  Banks  in  person;  the  third,  from  Little  Rock,  under  com¬ 
mand  of  General  Steele.  In  the  beginning  of  March  Smith’s  division 
moved  forward  to  Red  River,  and  was  joined  by  Porter  with  the  fleet. 
On  the  14th  of  the  same  month  the  advance  reached  Fort  de  Russy, 
which  was  taken  by  assault.  The  Confederates  retreated  up  the  river  to 
Alexandria,  and  on  the  16th  that  city  was  occupied  by  the  Federals. 
Three  days  afterward  Natchitoches  was  captured;  but  here  the  road 
turned  from  the  river,  and  further  co-operation  between  the  gunboats 
and  the  army  was  impossible.  The  flotilla  proceeded  up  stream  toward 
Shreveport,  and  the  land-forces  whirled  off  in  a  circuit  to  the  left. 

On  the  8th  of  April,  when  the  advanced  brigades  were  approach¬ 
ing  the  town  of  Mansfield,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by  the  Confede¬ 
rates  in  full  force  and  advantageously  posted.  After  a  short  and  bloody 
engagement,  the  Federals  were  completely  routed.  The  victors  made  a 
vigorous  pursuit  as  far  as  Pleasant  Hill,  where  they  were  met  on  the 
next  day  by  the  main  body  of  the  Union  army.  The  battle  was  renewed 
with  great  spirit,  and  the  Federals  were  barely  saved  from  ruin  by  the 
hard  fighting  of  the  division  of  General  Smith,  who  covered  the  retreat 
to  the  river.  Nearly  three  thousand  men,  twenty  pieces  of  artillery  and 
the  supply-trains  of  the  Federal  army  were  lost  in  these  disastrous  bat¬ 
tles.  With  great  difficulty  the  flotilla  descended  the  river  from  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Shreveport;  for  the  Confederates  had  now  planted  batteries  on  the 
banks.  When  the  Federals  had  retreated  as  far  as  Alexandria,  they  were 
again  brought  to  a  standstill ;  the  river  had  fallen  to  so  low  a  stage  that 
the  gunboats  could  not  pass  the  rapids.  The  squadron  was  finally  saved 
from  its  peril  by  the  skill  of  Colonel  Bailey  of  Wisconsin,  who  constructed 
a  dam  across  the  river,  raising  the  vrater  so  that  the  vessels  could  be 
floated  over.  The  whole  expedition  returned  as  rapidly  as  possible  to 
the  Mississippi.  General  Steele  had,  in  the  mean  time,  made  an  advance 
from  Little  Rock  to  aid  in  the  reduction  of  Shreveport ;  but  learning  of 
the  Federal  defeats,  he  withdrew  after  several  severe  engagements.  To  the 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


525 


national  government  the  Red  River  expedition  was  a  source  of  much 
shame  and  mortification.  General  Banks  was  relieved  of  his  command, 
and  General  Canby  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1864,  General  Grant  was  appointed  com¬ 
mander-in-chief  of  all  the  armies  of  the  United  States.  The  high  grade 
of  lieutenant-general  was  revived  by  act  of  Congress,  and  conferred  upon 
him.  No  less  than  seven  hundred  thousand  Union  soldiers  were  now  to 
move  at  his  command.  The  first  month  after  his  appointment  was  spent 
in  planning  the  great  campaigns  of  the  year.  These  were  two  in  num¬ 
ber.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  command  of  Meade  and  the  gen¬ 
eral-in-chief,  was  to  ad¬ 
vance  upon  Richmond, 
still  defended  by  the 
Army  of  Northern  Vir¬ 
ginia,  under  Lee.  Gen¬ 
eral  Sherman,  command¬ 
ing  the  army  at  Chatta¬ 
nooga,  now  numbering 
a  hundred  thousand  men, 
was  to  march  against 
Atlanta,  which  Avas  de¬ 
fended  by  the  Confed¬ 
erates,  under  General 

-  SHEltMAN'S  CAMPAIGN,  1864. 

Johnston,  lo  these  two 

great  movements  all  other  military  operations  were  to  be  subordinate. 

On  the  7th  of  May  General  Sherman  moved  forward  from  Chatta¬ 
nooga.  At  Dalton  he  Avas  confronted  by  the  Confederate  army,  sixty  thou¬ 
sand  strong.  After  some  manoeuvri  ng  and  fighting,  he  succeeded  in  turning 
Johnston’s  flank,  and  obliged  him  to  fall  back  to  Resaca.  After  tAvo  hard 
battles  on  the  14th  and  15th  of  May,  this  place  was  also  carried,  and  the 
Confederates  retreated  by  Avay  of  Calhoun  and  Kingston  to  Dallas. 
Here,  on  the  28th,  Johnston  made  a  second  stand,  entrenched  himself 
and  fought,  but  Avas  again  outnumbered,  outflanked,  and  compelled  to 
fall  back  to  Lost  Mountain.  From  this  position  he  Avas  forced  on  the 
17th  of  June,  after  three  days  of  desultory  fighting.  The  next  stand  of 
the  Confederates  A\ras  made  on  the  Great  and  Little  Kenesaw  Mountains. 
From  this  line  on  the  22d  of  June  the  division  of  General  Hood  made  a 
fierce  attack  upon  the  Union  centre,  but  Avas  repulsed  Avith  heavy  losses. 
Five  days  afterward  General  Sherman  attempted  to  carry  the  Great  Ken- 
esaAv  by  storm.  The  assault  Avas  made  Avith  great  audacity,  but  ended  in 
a  dreadful  repulse  and  a  loss  of  three  thousand  men.  Sherman,  undis- 


526 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


mayed  by  his  reverse,  resumed  his  former  tactics,  outflanked  his  antago¬ 
nist,  and  on  the  3d  of  July  compelled  him  to  retreat  across  the  Chatta¬ 
hoochee.  By  the  10th  of  the  month  the  whole  Confederate  army  had 
retired  within  the  defences  of  Atlanta. 

This  stronghold  of  the  Confederacy  was  at  once  besieged.  Here 
were  the  great  machine-shops,  foundries,  car- works  and  depots  of  supplies 
upon  the  possession  of  which  so  much  depended.  At  the  very  beginning 
of  the  siege  the  cautious  and  skillful  General  Johnston  was  superseded  by 
the  rash  but  daring  General  J.  B.  Hood.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  latter 
to  fight  at  whatever  hazard.  On  the  20th,  22d  and  28th  of  July  he  made 
three  desperate  assaults  on  the  Union  lines  around  Atlanta,  but  was  re¬ 
pulsed  with  dreadful  losses  in  each  engagement.  It  was  in  the  beginning 
of  the  second  of  these  battles  that  the  brave  General  James  B.  McPherson, 
the  pride  of  the  Union  army,  was  killed  while  reconnoitring  the  Con¬ 
federate  lines.  In  the  three  conflicts  the  Confederates  lost  more  men 
than  Johnston  had  lost  in  all  his  masterlyretreating  and  fighting  between 
Chattanooga  and  Atlanta.  For  more  than  a  month  the  siege  was  pressed 
with  great  vigor.  At  last,  by  an  incautious  movement,  Hood  separated 
his  army ;  Sherman  thrust  a  column  between  the  two  divisions ;  and  the 
immediate  evacuation  of  Atlanta  followed.  On  the  2d  of  September  the 
Union  army  marched  into  the  captured  city.  Since  leaving  Chattanooga 
General  Sherman  had  lost  fully  thirty  thousand  men  ;  and  the  Confederate 
losses  were  even  greater. 

By  retiring  from  Atlanta  Hood  saved  his  army.  It  was  now  his 
policy  to  strike  northward  into  Tennessee,  and  thus  compel  Sherman  to 
evacuate  Georgia.  But  the  latter  had  no  notion  of  losing  his  vantage- 
ground  ;  and  after  following  Hood  north  of  the  Chattahoochee,  he  turned 
back  to  Atlanta.  The  Confederate  general  now  swept  up  through  Northern 
Alabama,  crossed  the  Tennessee  at  Florence  and  advanced  on  Nashville. 
Meanwhile,  General  Thomas,  with  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  had 
'been  detached  from  Sherman’s  army  at  Atlanta  and  sent  northward  to 
confront  Hood  in  Tennessee.  General  Schofield,  who  commanded  the 
Federal  forces  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  fell  back  before  the  Con¬ 
federates  and  took  post  at  Franklin,  eighteen  miles  south  of  Nashville. 
Here,  on  the  30th  of  November,  he  was  attacked  by  Hood’s  legions,  and 
after  a  hard-fought  battle  held  them  in  check  till  nightfall,  when  he 
escaped  across  the  river  and  retreated  within  the  defences  of  Nashville. 
At  this  place  all  of  General  Thomas’s  forces  were  rapidly  concentrated. 
A  line  of  entrenchments  was  drawn  around  the  city  on  the  south.  Hood 
came  on,  confident  of  victory,  and  prepared  to  begin  the  siege  bv  block¬ 
ading  the  Cumberland ;  but  before  the  work  was  fairly  begun",  General 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


527 


Thomas,  on  the  loth  of  December,  moved  from  his  works,  fell  upon  the 
Confederate  army,  and  routed  it  with  a  loss,  in  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners,  of  more  than 
twenty-five  thousand 
men.  For  many  days 
of  freezing  weather 
Hood’s  shattered  col¬ 
umns  were  pursued, 
until  at  last  they  found 
refuge  in  Alabama. 

The  Confederate  army 
was  ruined,  and  the 
rash  general  who  had 
led  it  to  destruction 
was  relieved  of  his 
command. 

On  the  14th  of 
November  General 
Sherman  burned  At¬ 
lanta  and  began  his 
famous  March  to 
the  Sea.  His  army 
of  veterans  numbered 
sixtv  thousand 


men. 

Believing  that  Hood’s 


GENERAL  THOMAS. 


army  would  be  de¬ 
stroyed  in  Tennessee,  and  knowing  that  no  Confederate  force  could  with¬ 
stand  him  in  front,  he  cut  his  communications  with  the  North,  abandoned 
his  base  of  supplies,  and  struck  out  boldly  for  the  sea-coast,  more  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  away.  *  As  had  been  foreseen,  the  Confed¬ 
erates  could  offer  no  successful  resistance.  The  Union  army  swept  on 
through  Macon  and  Milledgeville ;  reached  the  Ogcechee  and  crossed  in 
safety ;  captured  Gibson  and  Waynesborough ;  and  on  the  10th  of  De¬ 
cember  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Savannah.  On  the  13th  Fort  McAllister, 
below  the  city,  was  carried  by  storm  by  the  division  of  General  Hazen. 
On  the  night  of  the  20th  General  Hardee,  the  Confederate  commandant, 
escaped  from  Savannah  with  fifteen  thousand  men  and  retreated  to 
Charleston.  On  the  following  morning  the  national  advance  entered, 
and  on  the  22d  General  Sherman  made  his  headquarters  in  the  city.  On 
his  march  from  Atlanta  he  had  lost  only  five  hundred  and  sixty-seven  men. 

The  month  of  January,  1865,  was  spent  by  the  Union  army  at 


628 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Savannah.  On  the  1st  of  February  General  Sherman,  having  garri¬ 
soned  the  city,  began  his  march  against  Columbia,  the  capital  of  South 
Carolina.  To  the  Confederates  the  further  progress  of  the  invasion 
through  the  swamps  and  morasses  of  the  State  had  seemed  impossible. 

Now  that  the  veteran 
legions  were  again 
in  motion,  alarm 
and  terror  pervaded 
the  country.  Gov¬ 
ernor  Magarth  had 
already  summoned 
to  the  field  every 
white  man  in  the 
State  between  the 
ages  of  sixteen  and 
sixty ;  but  the  requi¬ 
sition  was  compar¬ 
atively  ineffectual. 
Nevertheless,  the 
Confederates  formed 
a  line  of  defence 
along  the  Salkhatch- 
ie  and  prepared  to 
dispute  Sherman’s 
marc  h  northward. 
It  was  all  in  vain. 
general  sherman.  The  passages  of  the 

river  were  forced, 

and  on  the  11th  of  the  month  the  Confederate  lines  of  communica¬ 
tion  between  Charleston  and  Augusta  were  cut  off.  On  the  next  day 
Orangeburg  was  taken  by  the  Seventeenth  Corps.  On  the  14th  the 
fords  and  bridges  of  the  Congaree  were  carried  and  the  State  road 
opened  in  the  direction  of  Columbia.  The  several  divisions  pressed 
rapidly  forward;  bridges  were  thrown  across  the  Broad  and  Saluda 
Rivers,  and  the  capital  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  conquerors.  On  the 
morning  of  the  17th  Mayor  Goodwyn  and  a  committee  of  the  com¬ 
mon  council  came  out  in  carriages  and  the  city  was  formally  sur¬ 
rendered. 

As  soon  as  it  became  certain  that  Columbia  must  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Federals,  General  Hardee,  the  commandant  of  Charles¬ 
ton,  determined  to  abandon  that  city  also,  and  to  join  Generals  Beau- 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


529 


regard  and  Johnston  in  North  Carolina.  Accordingly,  on  the  day  of 
the  capture  of  the  capital,  guards  were  detailed  to  destroy  all  the  ware¬ 
houses,  stores  of  cotton,  and  depots  of  supplies  in  Charleston.  The 
torch  was  applied,  the  flames  raged,  and  consternation  spread  through¬ 
out  the  city.  The  great  depot  of  the  Northwestern  Railway,  where  a 
large  quantity  of  powder  was  stored,  caught  fire,  blew  up  with  terrific 
violence,  and  buried  two  hundred  people  in  the  ruins.  Not  until  four 
squares  in  the  best  part  of  the  city  were  laid  in  ashes  was  the  confla¬ 
gration  checked.  During  the  same  night  General  Hardee  with  his 
fourteen  thousand  troops  escaped  from  desolate  Charleston  and  made 
his  way  northward.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th  the  news  was  borne 
to  the  National  forces  on  James’s  and  Morris  Islands.  During  the 
forenoon  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were  again  raised  over  Forts  Sumter, 
Ripley,  and  Pinckney.  Mayor  Macbeth  surrendered  the  city  to  a 
company  which  was  sent  up  from  Morris  Island.  The  work  of  saving 
whatever  might  be  rescued  from  the  flames  was  at  once  begun,  the 
citizens  and  the  Federal  soldiers  working  together.  By  strenuous  ex¬ 
ertions  the  principal  arsenal  was  saved;  a  depot  of  rice  was  also  pre¬ 
served  and  its  contents  distributed  to  the  poor.  Colonel  Stewart  L. 
Woodford  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty -seventh  New  York  was 
appointed  military  governor;  and  relations,  more  friendly  than  might 
have  been  expected,  were  soon  established  between  the  soldiery  and 
the  citizens. 

After  destroying  the  arsenals,  machine  shops,  and  founderies  of 
Columbia  General  Sherman  immediately  renewed  his  march  north¬ 
ward  in  the  direction  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  The  army  swept 
on  without  opposition  as  far  as  Winnsboro,  where  a  junction  was  ef¬ 
fected  with  the  Twentieth  Corps  under  Slocum.  Crossing  the  Great  Pe- 
dee  at  Cheraw,  the  Union  commander  pressed  on  towards  Fayetteville 
where  he  arrived  without  serious  hindrance,  and  on  the  11th  of  March 
took  possession  of  the  town.  Three  days  before  the  campaign  had 
been  rendered  exciting  by  a  dashing  fight  between  Hampton’s  and 
Kilpatrick’s  cavalry.  The  former  officer  was  defending  the  rear  of 
Hardee’s  column  on  the  retreat  from  Charleston  when  the  latter,  re¬ 
solving  to  intercept  him,  cut  through  the  Confederate  lines.  But 
-  early  the  next  morning  Kilpatrick  was  surprised  in  his  quarters,  at¬ 
tacked,  and  routed,  himself  barely  escaping  on  foot  into  a  swamp. 
Here,  however,  he  suddenly  rallied  his  forces,  turned  on  the  Confed¬ 
erates  and  scattered  them  in  a  brilliant  charge.  Hampton,  not  less 
resolute  than  his  antagonist,  now  made  a  rally  and  returned  to  the 

bnset.  But  Kilpatrick  held  his  ground  until  he  was  reinforced  by  s. 

34 


530 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


division  of  the  Twentieth  Corps  under  General  Mitchell,  when  the 
Confederates  were  finally  driven  back.  The  Union  cavalry  then  pro¬ 
ceeded  without  further  molestation  to  Fayetteville  where  Sherman’s 
forces  were  concentrated  on  the  11th  of  March. 

General  Johnston  had  now  been  recalled  to  the  command  of  the 
Confederate  forces,  and  the  advance  of  the  Union  forces  began  to  be 
seriously  opposed.  At  Averasborough,  on  Cape  Fear  River,  a  short 
distance  north  of  Fayetteville,  General  Hardee  made  a  stand,  but  was 
repulsed  with  considerable  loss.  When,  on  the  19th  of  March,  Gen¬ 
eral  Sherman  was  incautiously  approaching  Bentonsville,  he  was  sud¬ 
denly  attacked  by  the  ever-vigilant  Johnston,  and  for  a  while  the 
Union  army,  after  all  its  marches  and  victories,  was  in  danger  of  des¬ 
truction.  But  the  tremendous  fighting  of  General  Jefferson  C.  Davis’s 
division  saved  the  day,  and  on  the  21st  Sherman  entered  Goldsborough 
unopposed.  Here  he  was  reinforced  by  a  strong  column  from  New- 
bern  under  General  Schofield,  and  another  from  Wilmington  com¬ 
manded  by  General  Terry.  The  Federal  army  now  turned  to  the 
north-west,  and  on  the  13th  of  April  entered  Raleigh.  This  was  the 
end  of  the  great  march ;  and  here,  thirteen  days  after  his  arrival,  Gen¬ 
eral  Sherman  received  the  surrender  of  Johnston’s  army. 

While  these  great  and  decisive  events  were  taking  place  in  the 
Carolinas,  the  famous  cavalry  raid  of  General  Stoneman  was  in  pro¬ 
gress.  About  the  middle  of  March  he  set  out  from  Knoxville  with  a 
force  of  six  thousand  men,  crossed  the  mountains,  captured  Wilkes- 
boro,  and  forced  his  way  across  the  Yadkin  at  Jonesville.  It  had 
been  the  original  purpose  of  the  raid  that  Stoneman  should  make  a 
diversion  in  favor  of  Sherman  by  striking  into  the  western  districts 
of  South  Carolina ;  but  that  commander,  by  the  celerity  of  his  move¬ 
ments,  had  already  reached  Goldsboro  in  the  North  State,  and  was  in 
no  need  of  help.  Stoneman’s  movement  therefore  became  an  inde¬ 
pendent  expedition,  the  general  object  being  the  destruction  of  public 
property,  the  capture  of  Confederate  stores,  and  the  tearing  up  of 
railroads.  Turning  to  the  north,  the  troopers  traversed  the  western 
end  of  North  Carolina  and  entered  Carroll  county,  Virginia.  At 
Wytheville  the  railroad  was  torn  up,  and  then  the  whole  line  was  de¬ 
stroyed  from  the  bridge  over  New  River  to  within  four  miles  of  Lynch¬ 
burg.  Christiansburg  was  captured  and  the  track  of  the  railway  ob¬ 
literated  for  ninety  miles.  Turning  first  to  Jacksonville  and  then 
southward,  the  expedition  next  struck  and  destroyed  the  North  Caro¬ 
lina  Railroad  between  Danville  and  Greensboro.  The  track  in  the 
direction  of  Salisbury  was  also  torn  up,  and  the  factories  at  Salem 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


531 


burned.  The  Union  prisoners  at  Salisbury  were  removed  by  the 
■Confederates  in  time  to  prevent  their  liberation ;  but  the  town  was 
•captured  and  a  vast  store  of  ammunition,  arms,  provision,  clothing,  and 
-cotton  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  raiders.  Finally,  on  the  19th  of  April, 
-a.  division  under  Major  Moderwell  reached  the  great  bridge  where  the 
South  Carolina  Rail¬ 
road  crosses  the  Ca¬ 
tawba  River.  This 
magnificent  struct¬ 
ure,  eleven  hundred 
;and  fifty  feet  in 
length,  was  set  on 
fire  and  completely 
destroyed.  After  a 
fight  with  F  e  r  g  u  - 
■son’s  Confederate 
•cavalry,  the  Feder- 
als  turned  back  to 
Dallas,  where  all  the 
-divisions  were  con¬ 
centrated,  —  and  the 
raid  was  at  an  end. 

During  the  progress 
-of  the  expedition 
six  thousand  prison¬ 
ers,  forty-si  x  pieces 
of  artillery,  and  im-  admiral  farragut. 

mense  quantities  of 

small  arms  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Stoneman’s  men  :  the  amount 
of  property  destroyed  and  the  damage  otherwise  done  to  the  tottering 
Confederacy  could  not  be  estimated. 

Meanwhile,  events  of  even  greater  importance  had  occurred  on 
the  gulf  and  the  Atlantic  coast.  In  the  beginning  ol  August,  1864, 
Admiral  Farragut  bore  down  with  a  powerful  squadron  upon  the  de¬ 
fences  of  Mobile.  The  entrance  to  the  harbor  of  this  city  was  com¬ 
manded  on  the  left  by  Fort  Gaines,  and  on  the  right  by  bort  Morgan. 
The  harbor  itself  was  defended  by  a  Confederate  fleet  and  the  monster 
iron-clad  ram  Tennessee.  On  the  5th  of  August  Farragut  prepared 
for  battle  and  ran  past  the  forts  into  the  harbor.  In  order  to  direct 
the  movements  of  his  vessels,  the  brave  old  admiral  mounted  to  the 
maintop  of  his  flag-ship,  the  Hartford,  lashed  himself  to  the  rigging, 


532 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  from  that  high  perch  gave  his  commands  during  the  battle.  One 
of  the  Union  ships  struck  a  torpedo  and  went  to  the  bottom.  The 
rest  attacked  and  dispersed  the  Confederate  squadron ;  but  just  as  the 
bay  seemed  won  the  terrible  Tennessee  came  down  at  full  speed  to 
strike  and  sink  the  Hartford.  The  latter  avoided  the  blow ;  and  then 
followed  one  of  the  fiercest  conflicts  of  the  war.  The  Union  iron-clads 
closed  around  their  black  antagonist  and  battered  her  with  their  beaks 
and  fifteen-inch  bolts  of  iron  until  she  surrendered.  Two  days  after¬ 
ward  Fort  Gaines  was  taken ;  and  on  the  23d  of  'the  month  Fort 
Morgan  was  obliged  to  capitulate.  The  port  of  Mobile  was  effectually 
sealed  up. 

Not  less  important  to  the  Union  cause  was  the  capture  of  Fort 
Fisher.  This  powerful  fortress  commanded  the  entrance  to  Cape  Fear 
River  and  Wilmington — the  last  sea-port  held  by  the  Confederates.  In 

December  Admiral  Porter  was  sent  with  the  most  powerful  American 
squadron  ever  afloat  to  besiege  and  take  the  fort.  General  Butler,  with 
a  land-force  of  six  thousand  five  hundred  men,  accompanied  the  expedi¬ 
tion.  On  the  24th  of  the  month  the  bombardment  began,  and  the  troops- 
were  sent  ashore  with  orders  to  carry  the  works  by  storm.  When  Gen¬ 
eral  Weitzel,  who  led  the  column,  came  near  enough  to  the  fort  to  recon¬ 
noitre,  he  decided  that  an  assault  could  only  end  with  the  destruction  of 
his  army.  General  Butler  held  the  same  opinion,  and  the  enterprise  was- 
abandoned.  Admiral  Porter  remained  before  Fort  Fisher  with  his  fleet,, 
and  General  Butler  returned  with  the  land-forces  to  Fortress  Monroe- 
Early  in  January  the  same  troops  were  sent  back  to  Wilmington,  under 
command  of  General  Terry.  The  siege  was  at  once  renewed  by  the  army 
and  the  fleet,  and  on  the  15th  of  the  month  Fort  Fisher  was  taken  by 
storm. 

In  the  previous  October  the  control  of  Albemarle  Sound  had  been 
secured  by  a  daring  exploit  of  Lieutenant  Cushing  of  the  Federal  navy. 
These  waters  were  commanded  by  a  tremendous  iron  ram  called  the  Albe¬ 
marle.  In  order  to  destroy  the  dreaded  vessel  a  number  of  daring  volun¬ 
teers,  led  by  Cushing,  embarked  in  a  small  steamer,  and  on  the  night  of 
the  27th  of  October  entered  the  Roanoke.  The  ram  was  discovered  lying- 
at  the  harbor  of  Plymouth.  Cautiously  approaching,  the  lieutenant  with 
his  own  hands  sank  a  terrible  torpedo  under  the  Confederate  ship,  ex¬ 
ploded  it,  and  left  the  ram  a  ruin.  The  adventure  cost  the  lives  or  cap¬ 
ture  of  all  of  Cushing’s  party  except  himself  and  one  other,  who  escaped.. 
A  few  days  afterward  the  town  of  Plymouth  was  taken  by  the  Federal*. 

During  the  progress  of  the  war  the  commerce  of  the  United  States 
had  suffered  dreadfully  from  the  attacks  of  Confederate  cruisers.  As- 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


53a 


«arly  as  1861  the  Southern  Congress  had  granted  commissions  to  priva¬ 
teers  ;  but  neutral  nations  would  not  allow  such  vessels  to  bring  prizes 
into  their  ports,  and  the  Privateering  Act  was  of  little  direct  benefit  to 
the  Confederacy.  But  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  was  greatly 
injured.  The  first  Confederate  ship  sent  out  was  the  Savannah ,  which 
was  captured  on  the  same  day  that  she  escaped  from  Charleston.  In  June 
-of  1861  the  Sumter,  commanded  by  Captain  Semmes,  ran  the  blockade  at 
New  Orleans,  and  for  seven  months  did  fearful  work  with  the  Union 
merchantmen.  But  in  February  of  1862  Semmes  was  chased  into  the 
harbor  of  Gibraltar,  where  he  was  obliged  to  sell  his  vessel  and  discharge 
his  crew.  In  the  previous  October  the  Nashville  ran  out  from  Charles¬ 
ton,  went  to  England,  and  returned  with  a  cargo  worth  three  millions  of 
dollars.  In  March  of  1863  she  was  sunk  by  a  Union  iron-clad  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Savannah  River. 

The  ports  of  the  Southern  States  were  now  so  closely  blockaded 
that  war-vessels  could  no  longer  be  sent  abroad.  In  this  emergency  the 
'Confederates  turned  to  the  ship-yards  of  Great  Britain,  and  from  that 
vantage-ground  began  to  build  and  equip  their  cruisers.  In  spite  of  the 
remonstrances  of  the  United  States,  the  British  government  connived  at 
this  proceeding ;  and  here  was  laid  the  foundation  of  a  difficulty  which 
afterward  cost  the  treasury  of  England  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  In  the 
harbor  of  Liverpool  the  Florida  was  fitted  out ;  and  going  to  sea  in  the 
summer  of  1862,  she  succeeded  in  running  into  Mobile  Bay.  Escaping 
in  the  following  January,  she  destroyed  fifteen  merchantmen,  was  cap¬ 
tured  in  the  harbor  of  Bahia,  Brazil,  and  brought  into  Hampton  Roads, 
where  an  accidental  collision  sent  her  to  the  bottom.  The  Georgia,  the 
Olustee,  the  Shenandoah  and  the  Chickamauga,  all  built  at  the  ship-yards 
of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  escaped  to  sea  and  made  great  havoc  with  the  mer¬ 
chant-ships  of  the  United  States.  At  the  capture  of  Fort  Fisher  the 
Chickamauga  and  another  cruiser  called  the  Tallahassee  were  blown  up 
by  the  Confederates.  The  Georgia  was  captured  in  1863,  and  the  Shen¬ 
andoah  continued  abroad  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Most  destructive  of  all  the  Confederate  vessels  was  the  famous 
Alabama,  built  at  Liverpool.  Her  commander  was  Captain  Raphael 
Semmes,  the  same  who  had  cruised  in  the  Sumter.  A  majority  of  the 
crew  of  the  Alabama  were  British  subjects ;  her  armament  was  entirely 
British;  and  whenever  occasion  required,  the  British  flag  was  carried. 
In  her  whole  career,  involving  the  destruction  of  sixty-six  vessels  and  a 
loss  of  ten  million  dollars  to  the  merchant  service  of  the  United  States, 
she  never  entered  a  Confederate  port,  but  continued  abroad,  capturing 
and  burning.  Early  in  the  summer  of  1864  Semmes  entered  the  harbor 


534 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  Cherbourg,  France,  and  was  there  discovered  by  Captain  Winslow7 
commander  of  the  steamer  Kearsarge.  The  French  government  gave 
the  Confederate  captain  orders  to  leave  the  port,  and  on  the  19th  of 
June  he  went  out  to  give  his  antagonist  battle.  Seven  miles  from, 
the  shore  the  two  ships  closed  for  the  death-struggle;  and  after  a 
desperate  battle  of  an  hour’s  duration,  the  Alabama  was  shattered 
and  sunk.  Semmes  and  a  part  of  his  officers  and  crew  were  picked 
up  by  the  English  yacht  Deerhound  and  carried  to  Southampton. 

After  the  great  battle  of  Gettysburg,  the  Confederate  army  under 
General  Lee  was  withdrawn  into  the  Shenandoah  valley.  The  Union 
cavalry,  led  by  General  Gregg,  pressed  after  him  and  at  Shepherds- 
town  gained  some  advantage  over  the  division  of  Fitzhugh  Lee. 
Meade  himself,  at  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  entered  Vir¬ 
ginia  near  Berlin  and  moved  southward  through  Lovettsville  to  War- 
renton.  The  Blue  Ridge  was  again  interposed  between  the  two  armies.. 
It  was  the  policy  of  the  Union  commander  to  preoccupy  and  hold  the 
passes  of  the  mountains  and  to  strike  his  antagonist  a  fatal  blow  when 
he  should  attempt  to  return  to  Richmond.  But  Lee’s  movements 
were  marked  with  his  usual  caution  and  sagacity.  Making  a  feint  of 
crowding  his  army  through  Manassas  Gap,  he  succeeded  in  drawing 
thither  the  bulk  of  the  Federal  forces,  and  then  by  a  rapid  march 
southward  gained  Front  Royal  and  Chester  Gap,  swept  through  the 
pass,  and  reached  Culpepper  in  safety.  General  Meade,  disappointed 
in  his  expectations  of  a  battle,  advanced  his  army  and  took  up  a  po¬ 
sition  on  the  Rappahannock. 

In  the  lull  that  ensued  from  July  till  September  of  1863,  both 
generals  were  much  weakened  by  the  withdrawal  of  large  numbers  of 
their  troops  to  take  part  in  the  struggles  of  the  Southwest.  From 
Lee’s  army  Longstreet’s  whole  corps  had  been  detached  for  the  aid  of 
Bragg  who  was  hard  pressed  by  Rosecrans,  in  Tennessee.  General 
Meade,  learning  of  the  weakened  condition  of  his  foe,  crossed  the 
Rappahannock,  pressed  him  back  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Rapidan 
and  himself  occupied  Culpepper.  Soon,  however,  Howard’s  and  Slo¬ 
cum’s  corps  were  withdrawn  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and 
Meade  was  in  turn  obliged  to .  act  on  the  defensive.  But  his  ranks 
were  soon  filled  with  reinforcements  and  the  middle  of  October  found 
him  planning  a  forward  movement.  Lee,  however,  had  already  as¬ 
sumed  the  offensive  and  by  skillful  manoeuvers  had  again  thrown  his 
army  on  the  Union  flank.  Then  began  the  old  race  for  the  Potomac, 
and  in  that  the  Federals  were  successful,  reaching  Bristow  Station  and 
taking  up  a  strong  position  on  the  Heights  of  Centreville.  Lee  in 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


535 


turn  fell  back  and  the  two  great  armies  at  last  came  to  rest  for  the 
winter,  the  one  at  Culpepper  and  the  other  on  the  Upper  Rappahan¬ 
nock. 

In  the  following  spring  no  movements  of  importance  occurred 
until  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
now  commanded  by  Generals 
Grant  and  Meade ;  and  this, 
which  may  well  be  consider¬ 
ed  as  one  of  the  great  cam¬ 
paigns  of  history,  has  been 
reserved  for  the  closing  nar¬ 


rative  of  the  war.  .On  the 
night  of  the  3d  of  May,  1864, 
the  national  camp  at  Culpep¬ 
per  was  broken  up,  and  the 
march  on  Richmond  was 
begun.  In  three  successive 
summers  the  Union  army 
had  been  beaten  back  from 
that  metropolis  of  the  Confed¬ 
eracy.  Now  a  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  men,  led  by 
the  lieutenant-general,  were 
to  begin  the  final  struggle 
with  the  veterans  of  Lee. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  ad¬ 
vance  Grant  crossed  the  Rap- 
idan  and  entered  the  Wilder¬ 
ness,  a  country  of  oak  woods  and  thickets  west  of  Chancellorsville. 
He  was  immediately  confronted  and  attacked  by  the  Confederate 
army.  During  the  5th,  6th  and  7th  of  the  month  the  fighting  con¬ 
tinued  incessantly  with  terrible  losses  on  both  sides;  but  the  results 
were  indecisive.  Lee  retired  within  his  intrenchments,  and  Grant 
made  a  flank  movement  on  the  left  in  the  direction  of  Spottsylvania 
Court-house.  Here  followed,  from  the  morning  of  the  9th  till  the 
night  of  the  12th,  one  of  the  bloodiest  struggles  of  the  war.  The 
Federals  gained  some  ground  and  captured  the  division  of  General 
Stewart  ;  but  the  losses  of  Lee,  who  fought  on  the  defensive,  were  less 
dreadful  than  those  of  his  antagonist. 

After  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania,  Grant  again  moved  to  the  left, 
crossed  the  Pamunkey  to  Hanovertown,  and  came  to  a  place  called 


536 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Cold  Harbor,  twelve  miles  north-east  of  Richmond.  Here,  on  the  1st 
of  June,  he  attacked  the  Confederates,  strongly  posted,  but  was  re¬ 
pulsed  with  heavy  losses.  On  the  morning  of  the  3d  the  assault  was 
renewed,  and  in  the  brief  space  of  half  an  hour  nearly  ten  thousand 
Union  soldiers  fell  dead  or  wounded  before  the  Confederate  entrench¬ 
ments.  The  repulse  of  the  Federals  was  complete,  but  they  held  their 
lines  as  firmly  as  ever.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  the 
losses  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  including  the-  corps  of  Burnside, 
had  reached  the  enormous  aggregate  of  sixty  thousand.  During  the 
same  period  the  Confederates  had  lost  in  killed,  wounded  and  pris¬ 
oners  about  thirty-five  thousand  men. 

General  Grant  now  changed  his  base  to  James  River  with  a  view 
to  the  capture  of  Petersburg  and  the  conquest  of  Richmond  from  the 
south-east.  General  Butler  had  already  moved  with  a  strong  division 
from  Fortress  Monroe,  and  on  the  5th  of  May  had  taken  Bermuda  Hun¬ 
dred  and  City  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox.  Advancing 
against  Petersburg,  he  was  met  on  the  16th  by  the  corps  of  General 
Beauregard  and  driven  back  to  his  position  at  Bermuda  Hundred,  where 
he  was  obliged  to  entrench  himself  and  act  on  the  defensive.  Here,  on 
the  15th  of  June,  he  was  joined  by  General  Grant’s  whole  army,  and  the 
combined  forces  moved  against  Petersburg.  On  the  17th  and  18th  sev¬ 
eral  assaults  were  made  on  the  Confederate  entrenchments,  but  the  works 
_  could  not  be  carried.  Lee’s  army  was  hurried  within  the  defences,  and 
in  the  latter  part  of  June  Petersburg  was  regularly  besieged. 

Meanwhile,  movements  of  great  importance  were  taking  place  in 
the  Shenandoah  valley.  When  General  Grant  moved  forward  from  the 
Rapidan,  he  sent  General  Sigel  up  the  valley  with  a  force  of  eight  thou¬ 
sand  men.  While  the  latter  was  advancing  southward  he  was  met  at 
New  Market,  fifty  miles  above  Winchester,  by  an  army  of  Confederate 
cavalry,  under  General  Breckinridge.  On  the  15th  of  May  Sigel  was 
attacked  and  routed,  and  the  command  of  his  flying  forces  was  transferred 
to  General  Hunter.  Deeming  the  valley  cleared,  Breckinridge  returned 
to  Richmond,  whereupon  Hunter  faced  about,  marched  toward  Lynchburg, 
came  upon  the  Confederates  at  Piedmont,  and  gained  a  signal  victory. 
From  this  place  he  advanced  with  his  own  forces  and  the  cavalry  troops 
of  General  Averill  against  Lynchburg ;  but  finding  that  he  had  run  into 
peril,  he  was  obliged  to  retreat  across  the  mountains  into  West  Virginia. 
By  this  movement  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  again  exposed  to  an 
invasion  by  the  Confederates. 

In  the  hope  of  compelling  Grant  to  raise  the  siege  of  Petersburg, 
Lee  immediately  despatched  General  Early  with  orders  to  cross  the  Blue 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


537 


Ridge,  sweep  down  the  valley,  invade  Maryland  and  threaten  Washing¬ 
ton  city.  With  a  force  of  twenty  thousand  men  Early  began  his  move¬ 
ment  northward,  and  on  the  5th  of  July  crossed  the  Potomac.  On  the 
9th  he  met  the  division  of  General  Wallace  on  the  Monocacy,  and  de¬ 
feated  him  with  serious  losses.  But  the  check  given  to  the  Confederates 
by  the  battle  saved  Washington  and  Baltimore  from  capture.  After 
dashing  up  within  gunshot  of  these  cities,  Early  ordered  a  retreat,  and 
on  the  12th  his  forces  recrossed  the  Potomac  with  vast  quantities  of 
plunder. 

General  Wright,  who  was  sent  in  pursuit  of  Early’s  army,  fol¬ 
lowed  him  as  far  as  Winchester,  and  there,  on  the  24th  of  July,  defeated 
a  portion  of  his  forces.  But  Early  wheeled  upon  his  antagonist,  and  the 
Union  troops  were  in  turn  driven  across  the  Potomac.  Following  up  his 
advantage,  the  Confederate  general  next  invaded  Pennsylvania,  burned 
Chambersburg,  and  returned  into  the  valley  laden  with  spoils.  Seeing 
the  necessity  of  putting  an  end  to  these  devastating  raids,  General  Grant 
in  the  beginning  of  August  appointed  General  Philip  H.  Sheridan  to  the 
command  of  the  consolidated  army  on  the  Upper  Potomac.  The  troops 
thus  placed  at  Sheridan’s  disposal  numbered  nearly  forty  thousand,  and 
with  these  he  at  once  moved  up  the  valley.  On  the  19th  of  September 
he  came  upon  Early’s  army  at  Winchester,  attacked  and  routed  him  in  a 
hard-fought  battle.  On  the  2 2d  he  overtook  the  defeated  army  at  Fish¬ 
er’s  Hill,  assaulted  Early  in  his  entrenchments,  and  gained  another  com¬ 
plete  victory. 

In  accordance  with  orders  given  by  the  commander-in-chief,  Sher¬ 
idan  now  turned  about  to  ravage  the  valley.  The  ruinous  work  was  fear¬ 
fully  well  done;  and  what  with  torch  and  axe  and  sword,  there  was  noth¬ 
ing  left  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghanies  worth  fighting  for. 
Maddened  by  this  destruction  and  stung  by  his  defeats,  the  veteran  Early 
rallied  his  shattered  forces,  gathered  reinforcements,  and  again  entered 
the  valley.  Sheridan  had  posted  his  army  in  a  strong  position  on  Cedar 
Creek,  a  short  distance  from  Strasburg,  and  feeling  secure,  had  gone  to 
Washington.  On  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  October  Early  cautiously 
approached  the  Union  camp,  surprised  it,  burst  in,  carried  the  position, 
captured  the  artillery,  and  sent  the  routed  troops  flying  in  confusion  to-* 
ward  Winchester.  The  Confederates  pursued  as  far  as  Middletown,  and 
there,  believing  the  victory  complete,  paused  to  eat  and  rest.  On  the 
previous  night  Sheridan  had  returned  to  Winchester,  and  was  now  com¬ 
ing  to  rejoin  his  army.  On  his  way  he  heard  the  sound  of  battle,  rode 
twelve  miles  at  full  speed,  met  the  panic-struck  fugitives,  rallied  them 
.with  a  word,  turned  upon  the  astonished  Confederates,  and  gained  one 
87 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


538 

of  the  most  signal  victories  of  the  war.  Early’s  army  was  disorganized 
and  rained.  Such  was  the  end  of  the  strife  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenan¬ 
doah. 

All  fall  and  winter  long,  General  Grant  pressed  the  siege  of  Peters¬ 
burg  with  varying  success.  On  the  30th  of  July  a  mine  was  exploded 
under  one  of  the  forts.  An  assaulting  column  sprang  forward  to  carry 
the  works,  gained  some  of  the  defences,  but  was  finally  repulsed  with 
heavy  losses.  On  the  18th  of  August  a  division  of  the  Union  army 
seized  the  Weldon  Railroad  and  held  it  against  several  desperate  assaults, 
in  which  each  army  lost  thousands  of  men.  On  the  28th  of  September 
Battery  Harrison,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  James,  was  stormed  by  the 
Federals,  and  on  the  next  day  General  Paine’s  brigade  of  colored  soldiers 
carried  a  powerful  redoubt  on  Spring  Hill.  On  the  27th  of  October 
there  was  a  hard-fought  battle  on  the  Boydton  road,  south  of  Petersburg ; 
and  then  the  army  went  into  quarters  for  the  winter. 

Late  in  February  the  struggle  began  anew.  On  the  27th  of  the 
month  General  Sheridan,  who  had  moved  from  the  Shenandoah,  gained  a 
victory  over  the  forces  of  General  Early  at  Waynesborough,  and  then  joined 
the  commander-in-chief  at  Petersburg.  On  the  1st  of  April  a  severe 
battle  was  fought  at  Five  Forks,  on  the  Southside  Railroad,  in  which  the 
Confederates  were  defeated  with  a  loss  of  six  thousand  prisoners.  On 
the  next  day  Grant  ordered  a  general  assault  on  the  lines  of  Petersburg, 
and  the  works  were  carried.  On  that  night  the  army  of  General  Lee  and 
the  members  of  the  Confederate  government  fled  from  Richmond;  and  on 
the  following  morning  that  city,  as  well  as  Petersburg,  was  entered  by  the 
Federal  army.  The  warehouses  of  the  ill-fated  Confederate  capital  were 
fired  by  the  retreating  soldiers,  and  the  better  part  of  the  city  was  reduced 
to  ruins. 

The  strife  lasted  but  a  few  days  longer.  General  Lee  retreated 
as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the  south-west,  hoping  to  join  the  army  of 
General  Johnston  from  Carolina.  The  Confederates,  flying  from  Pe¬ 
tersburg,  joined  those  on  the  retreat  from  Richmond  at  Amelia  Court 
House.  To  this  place  General  Lee  had  ordered  his  supply-trains; 
but  the  officer  having  the  same  in  charge,  had  foolishly  mistaken  his 
orders  and  driven  the  train  on  in  the  direction  of  Danville.  Nearly  one- 
half  of  the  Confederate  army,  now  growing  hopeless,  had  to  be  dis¬ 
persed  to  gather  supplies  by  foraging.  The  4th  and  5th  of  April — 
days  precious  to  the  sinking  heart  of  Lee — were  consumed  with  the 
delay.  The  victorious  Federals  were  pressing  on  in  full  pursuit;  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  6th  nearly  the  whole  Union  army  was  at  Jet- 
fcersville,  on  the  Danville  railroad,  ready  to  strike  the  Confederates  at 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


539 


Amelia.  Sheridan  pressed  on  by  the  left  flank  in  the  direction  of 
Deatonsville.  Ord  came  up  with  his  division  by  way  of  the  South 
Side  Railroad  to  Burke’s  Station.  Lee  fell  back  to  the  west  from 
Amelia  Court  House  and  reached  Deatonsville  where  a  severe  battle 
was  fought,  in  which  Ewell’s  division  six  thousand  strong  was  over¬ 
whelmed  and  captured  by  Sheridan.  The  main  army  of  the  Confed¬ 
erates,  however,  gained  the  Appomattox  at  Farmville,  crossed  to  the 
northern  bank,  and  burned  the  bridges.  Lee  now  endeavored  to  in¬ 
terpose  the  river  as  a  barrier  between  himself  and  his  relentless  pur¬ 
suers  ;  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  Hoping  against  hope,  he  made  a  des¬ 


perate  effort  to  hold  the  line  of  the  Lynchburg  Railroad,  but  the  vig¬ 
ilant  Sheridan  was  there  before  him.  On  the  7th  of  April  a  slight 
success  in  battle  gave  a  momentary  encouragement  to  the  exhausted 
army ;  but  the  flame  of  hope  was  blown  out  as  soon  as  kindled.  On 
that  day  General  Grant,  now  at  Farmville,  addressed  a  note  to  the 
Confederate  commander  expressing  a  desire  that  the  further  effusion 
of  blood  might  be  saved  by  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  army. 
To  this  General  Lee  replied  by  declaring  his  desire  for  peace  but  add¬ 
ing  that  the  occasion  for  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  had  not  arrived.  On  the  morning  of  the  9th,  however, 
when  it  became  known  that  the  left  wing  of  the  Union  army  had  se¬ 
cured  the  line  of  the  Lynchburg  Railroad — when  the  wreck  of  Long- 
street’s  veterans,  attempting  to  continue  the  retreat,  were  confronted 
and  driven  back  by  Sheridan — then  the  iron-souled  Confederate  leader, 
seeing  the  utter  uselessness  of  a  further  struggle,  sent  General  Grant 
a  note  asking  for  a  meeting  preliminary  to  a  surrender.  The  Union 
commander  immediately  complied  with  the  request.  At  two  o’clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  Palm  Sunday,  the  9th  of  April,  1865,  the  two 


540 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


great  generals  met  each  other  in  the  parlor  of  William  McLean  at 
Appomattox  Court  House.  There  the  terms  of  surrender  were  dis¬ 
cussed  and  settled.  It  was  agreed  that  General  Grant  should  put  his 
proposition  in  the  form  of  a  military  note  to  which  General  Lee 
should  return  a  formal  answer.  The  Union  commander  accordingly 
drew  up  and  presented  the  following  memorandum : 


Appomattox  Court  House,  Va.,  April  9,  I860. 

General:  In  accordance  with  the  substance  of  my  letter  to  you  of  the  8th  inst¬ 
ant,  I  propose  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  on  the  fol¬ 
lowing  terms,  to-wit:  Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  duplicate;  one 
copy  to  be  given  to  an  officer  to  be  designated  by  me,  the  other  to  be  retained  by  such 
other  officer  or  officers  as  you  may  designate.  The  officers  to  give  their  individual 
paroles  not  to  take  up  arms  against,  the  Government  of  the  United  States  until  properly 
exchanged;  and  each  company  or  regimental  commander  to  sign  a  like  parole  for  the 
men  of  their  commands.  The  arms,  artillery,  and  public  property,  to  be  parked,  and 
stacked,  and  turned  over  to  the  officers  appointed  by  me  to  receive  them.  This  will  not 
embrace  the  side-arms  of  the  officers  nor  their  private  horses  or  baggage.  This  done, 
each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed  to  return  to  his  home,  not  to  be  disturbed  by 
United  States  authority  so  long  as  they  observe  their  paroles  and  the  laws  in  force 

where  they  reside.  _ _ _  T 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant-General. 


To  this  memorandum  General  Lee  responded  as  follows: 

Head-Quarters,  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  April  9,  1865. 

General:  I  received  your  letter  of  this  date,  containing  the  terms  of  the  surren¬ 
der  of  the  Army  ot  Northern  Virginia,  as  proposed  by  you.  As  they  are  substantially 
the  same  as  those  expressed  in  your  letter  of  the  8th  instant,  they  are  accepted.  1 
will  proceed  to  designate  the  proper  officers  to  carry  the  stipulations  into  effect. 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

Thus  the  work  was  done!  How  the  army  of  General  Johnston 
was  surrendered  at  Raleigh  a  few  days  later  has  already  been  nar¬ 
rated.  After  four  dreadful  years  of  bloodshed,  devastation,  and  sorrow, 
the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States  was  at  an  end. 

The  Federal  authority  was  rapidly  extended  over  the  Southern 
States.  After  the  surrender  of  Lee  and  Johnston,  there  was  no  further 
hope  of  reorganizing  the  Confederacy.  Mr.  Davis  and  his  cabinet  escaped 
to  Danville,  and  there  for  a  few  days  kept  up  the  forms  of  government. 
From  that  place  they  fled  into  -North  Carolina  and  were  scattered.  The 
ex-President  with  a  few  friends  continued  his  flight  through  South  Caro¬ 
lina  into  Georgia,  and  encamped  near  the  village  of  Irwinsville,  where,  on 
the  10th  of  May,  lie  was  captured  by  General  Wilson’s  cavalry.  He  was 
conveyed  as  a  prisoner  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  kept  in  confinement  until 
May  of  1867,  when  he  was  taken  to  Richmond  to  be  tried  on  a  charge  of 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


541 


treason.  He  was  admitted  to  bail ;  and  his  cause,  after  remaining  untried 
for  a  year  and  a  half,  was  finally  dismissed. 

At  the  presidential  election  in  the  autumn  preceding  the  downfall 
of  the  Confederacy,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  chosen  for  a  second  term.  As  Vice- 
President,  Andrew  Johnson  of  Tennessee  was  elected  in  place  of  Mr. 
Hamlin.  The  opposing  candidates,  supported  by  the  Democratic  party, 
were  General  George  B.  McClellan  and  George  H.  Pendleton  of  Ohio. 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  majority  was  very  heavy,  General  McClellan  carrying  only 
the  States  of  Kentucky,  Delaware  and  New  J ersey .  In  the  summer  pre¬ 
ceding  the  election  the  people  of  Nevada  framed  a  constitution,  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  an  act  of  Congress,  and  on  the  31st  of  October  the  new  common¬ 
wealth  was  proclaimed  as  the  thirty-sixth  State  of  the  Union.  The  gold 
and  silver  mines  of  Nevada  were  developed  with  such  rapidity  that  they 
soon  surpassed  those  of  California  in  their  yield  of  the  precious  metals. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  the  financial  credit  of  the  United 

States  had  sunk  to  a  very  low  ebb.  By  the  organization  of  the  army  and 

navy  the  expenses  of  the  government  were  at  once  swelled  to  an  enormous 

aggregate.  The  price  of  gold  and  silver  advanced  so  rapidly  that  the 

redemption  of  bank-notes  in  coin  soon  became  impossible;  and  on  the 

30th  of  December,  1861,  the  banks  of  New  York,  and  afterward  those  of 

the  whole  country,  suspended  specie  payments.  Mr.  Chase,  the  secretary 

of  the  treasury,  first  sought  relief  by  issuing  Treasury  Notes,  receivable 

as  money  and  bearing  seven  and  three-tenths  per  cent,  interest.  This 

expedient  was  temporarily  successful,  but  by  the  beginning  of  1862  the 

expenses  of  the  government  had  risen  to  more  than  a  million  of  dollars 

dailv. 

•/ 

To  meet  these  tremendous  demands  other  measures  had  to  be 
adopted.  Congress  accordingly  made  haste  to  provide  an  Internal 
Bevenue.  This  was  made  up  from  two  general  sources :  first,  a  tax  on 
manufactures ,  incomes  and  salaries;  second,  a  stamp-duty  on  all  legal 
documents.  The  next  measure  was  the  issuance  by  the  treasury  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  millons  of  dollars  in  non-interest-bearing  Legal 
Tender  Notes  of  the  United  States,  to  be  used  as  money.  These  are 
the  notes  called  Greenbacks.  The  third  great  measure  adopted  by  the 
government  was  the  sale  of  United  States  Bonds.  These  were  made 
redeemable  at  any  time  after  five  and  under  twenty  years  from  date,  and 
were  from  that  fact  called  Five- Twenties.  The  interest  upon  them  was 
fixed  at  six  per  cent.,  payable  semi-annually  in  gold.  Another  important 
series  of  bonds,  called  Ten-Forties ,  was  afterward  issued,  being  redeem¬ 
able  by  the  government  at  any  time  between  ten  and  forty  years  from 
date.  In  the  next  place,  Congress  passed  an  act  providing  for  the  estab- 


542 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


lishment  of  National  Banks.  The  private  banks  of  the  country  had 
been  obliged  to  suspend  operations,  and  the  people  were  greatly  distressed 
for  want  of  money.  To  meet  this  demand  it  was  provided  that  new 
banks  might  be  established,  using  national  bonds,  instead  of  gold  and 
silver,  as  a  basis  of  their  circulation.  The  currency  of  these  banks  was 
furnished  and  the  redemption  of  the  same  guaranteed  by  the  treasury  of 
the  United  States.  By  these  measures  the  means  for  prosecuting  the  war 
were  provided.  At  the  end  of  the  conflict  the  national  debt  had  reached 
the  astounding  sum  of  nearly  three  thousand  millions  of  dollars. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1865,  President  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  for 
his  second  term.  A  month  afterward  the  military  power  of  the  Confed¬ 
eracy  was  broken.  Three  days  after  the  evacuation  of  Richmond  by  Lee’s 
army  the  President  visited  that  city,  conferred  with  the  authorities,  and  then 
returned  to  Washington.  On  the  evening  of  the  14th  of  April  he  attended 
Ford’s  theatre  with  his  wife  and  a  party  of  friends.  As  the  play  drew  near 
its  close  a  disreputable  actor,  named  John  Wilkes  Booth,  stole  unnoticed 
into  the  President’s  box,  leveled  a  pistol  at  his  head,  and  shot  him  through 
the  brain.  Mr.  Lincoln  fell  forward  in  his  seat,  was  borne  from  the 
building,  lingered  in  an  unconscious  state  until  the  following  morning,  and 
died.  It  was  the  greatest  tragedy  of  modern  times — the  most  wicked 
atrocious  and  diabolical  murder  known  in  American  history.  The  assassin 
leaped  out  of  the  box  upon  the  stage,  escaped  into  the  darkness,  and  fled. 
At  the  same  hour  another  murderer,  named  Lewis  Payne  Powell,  burst 
into  the  bed-chamber  of  Secretary  Seward,  sprang  upon  the  conch  of  the 
sick  man,  stabbed  him  nigh  unto  death,  and  made  his  escape  into  the 
night.  The  city  was  wild  with  alarm  and  excitement.  It  was  clear  that 
a  plot  had  been  made  to  assassinate  the  leading  members  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  Troops  of  cavalry  and  the  police  of  Washington  departed  in  all 
directions  to  hunt  down  the  conspirators.  On  the  26th  of  April  Booth 
was  found  concealed  in  a  barn  south  of  Fredericksburg.  Refusing  to 
surrender,  he  was  shot  by  Sergeant  Boston  Corbett,  and  then  dragged 
forth  from  the  burning  building  to  die.  Powell  was  caught,  convicted 
and  hanged.  His  fellow-conspirators,  David  E.  Herrold  and  Geo.  A. 
Atzerott,  together  with  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Surratt,  at  whose  house  the  plot 
was  formed,  were  also  condemned  and  executed.  Michael  O’Laugh- 
lin,  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Mudd,  and  Samuel  Arnold  were  sentenced  to  im¬ 
prisonment  for  life,  and  Edward  Spangler  for  a  term  of  six  years. 

So  ended  in  darkness,  but  not  in  shame,  the  career  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  He  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  any  age  or  country 
— a  man  in  whom  the  qualities  of  genius  and  common  sense  were  strangely 
mingled.  He  was  prudent,  far-sighted  and  resolute;  thoughtful,  calm 


THE  CLOSING  CONFLICTS. 


54$ 


and  just;  patient,  tender-hearted  and  great.  The  manner  of  his 
death  consecrated  his  memory.  From  city  to  city,  in  one  vast  funeral 
procession,  the  mourning  people  followed  his  remains  to  their  last 
resting-place  at  Springfield.  From  all  nations  rose  the  voice  of  sym¬ 
pathy  and  shame — sympathy  for  his  death,  shame  for  the  dark  crime 
that  caused  it. 


He  had  been  born  a  destined  work  to  do, 

And  lived  to  do  it ;  four  long-suffering  years — 

Ill-fate,  ill-feeling,  ill-report  lived  through — 

And  then  he  heard  the  hisses  change  to  cheers, 

The  taunts  to  tribute,  the  abuse  to  praise 

And  took  them  both  with  his  unwavering  mood; 

But  as  he  came  on  light  from  darkest  days, 

And  seemed  to  touch  the  goal  from  where  he  stood, 

A  felon  hand,  between  that  goal  and  him, 

Beached  from  behind  his  head,  a  trigger  prest, 

And  those  perplexed  and  patient  eyes  were  dim, 
Those  gaunt  long-laboring  limbs  were  laid  to  rest! 

The  words  of  mercy  were  upon  his  lips, 

Forgiveness  in  his  heart  and.  on  his  pen, 

When  this  vile  murderer  brought  swift  eclipse 
To  thoughts  of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men. 

The  Old  World  and  the  New,  from  sea  to  sea, 

Utter  one  voice  of  sympathy  and  shame! 

Sore  heart,  so  stopped  when  it  at  last  beat  free, 

Sad  life,  cut  short  just  as  its  triumph  came ! 

A  deed  accurst !  Strokes  have  been  struck  before 
By  the  assassin’s  hand,  whereof  men  doubt 

If  more  of  horror  or  disgrace  they  bore; 

But  thy  foul  crime,  like  Cain’s  stands  darkly  out! 

Vile  hand  !  that  branded  murder  on  a  strife, 

What  e’er  its  grounds,  stoutly  and  nobly  striven, 

And  with  the  martyr’s  crown  crownest  a  life 
With  much  to  praise,  little  to  be  forgiven  1  * 


*  These  verses  are  from  the  London  Punch  of  May  6th,  1865.  For  years  that  paper 
had  caricatured  Mr.  Lincoln  and  ridiculed  the  National  government ;  but  now  that 
the  deed  was  done,  the  British  heart  reacted  and  spoke  out  for  humanity. 


544 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  LXVII. 

JOHNSON’S  ADMINISTRATION,  1865-1869. 

ON  the  day  after  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  Andrew  Johnson 
took  the  oath  of  office,  and  became  President  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  born  in  Raleigh,  on  the  29th  of 
.December,  1808.  With  no  advantages  of  education,  he  passed  his  boy¬ 
hood  in  poverty  and  neglect.  In  1826  he  removed  with  his  mother  to 
Tennessee  and  settled  at  Greenville.  Here  he  was  married  to  an  in¬ 
telligent  lady  who  taught  him  to  write  and  cipher.  Here  by  dint  of 
native  talent,  force  of  will,  and  strength  of  character,  he  first  earned 
the  applause  of  his  fellow-men.  Here,  through  toil  and  hardship,  he 
rose  to  distinction,  and  after  holding  minor  offices  was  elected  to  Con¬ 
gress.  As  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate  in  1860-61  he  op¬ 
posed  secession  with  all  his  zeal,  even  after  the  legislature  had  declared 
Tennessee  out  of  the  Union.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1862,  he  was  ap¬ 
pointed  military  governor  of  that  State,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  at 
Nashville.  He  began  his  administration  and  carried  out  his  measures 
with  all  the  vigor  and  vehemence  of  his  nature.  There  was  no  quail¬ 
ing  or  spirit  of  compromise.  His  life  was  many  times  in  peril;  but  he 
fed  on  danger  and  grew  strong  under  the  onsets  of  his  enemies.  He 
held  the  office  of  governor  until  1864,  when  he  was  nominated  for  the 
vice-presidency  in  place  of  Mr.  Hamlin.  Now,  by  the  tragic  death 
of  the  President,  he  was  suddenly  called  to  assume  the  responsibili¬ 
ties  of  chief  magistrate.  In  his  first  congressional  message  he  fore¬ 
shadowed  a  policy  of  great  severity  towards  the  civil  and  military 
leaders  of  the  overthrown  Confederacy. 

On  the  1st  of  February,  1865,  Congress  adopted  an  amendment  to 
the  Constitution  by  which  slavery  was  abolished  and  forbidden  in  all  the 
States  and  Territories  of  the  Union.  By  the  18th  of  the  following  De¬ 
cember  the  amendment  had  been  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  twenty- 
seven  States,  and  was  duly  proclaimed  as  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  The 
emancipation  proclamation  had  been  issued  as  a  military  measure ;  now 
the  doctrines  and  results  of  that  instrument  were  recognized  and  incor¬ 
porated  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land. 

On  the  29th  of  May  the  Amnesty  Proclamation  was  issued  by 
President  Johnson.  By  its  provisions  a  general  pardon  was  extended  to 
all  persons — except  those  specified  in  certain  classes — who  had  participated 
in  the  organization  and  defence  of  the  Confederacy.  The  condition  of  the 
pardon  was  that  those  receiving  it  should  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 


JOHNSON’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


545 


Owlted  States.  The  excepted  persons  might  also  be  pardoned  on 
special  application  to  the  President.  During  the  summer  of  1865 
the  great  armies  were  disbanded,  and  the  victors  and  vanquished  re¬ 
turned  to  their  homes  to  resume  the  work  of  peace. 

The  finances  of  the  nation  were  in  an  alarming  condition.  The  war- 
debt  went  on  increasing  until  the  beginning  of  1866,  and  it  was  only  by 
the  most  herculean  exertions  that  national  bankruptcy  could  be  warded 
off.  The  yearly  interest  on  the  debt  had  grown  to  a  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  million  dollars  in  gold.  The  expenses  of  the  government  had 
reached  the  aggregate  of  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  annually.  But 
the  augmented  revenues  of  the  nation  proved  sufficient  to  meet  these 
enormous  outlays,  and  at  last  the  debt  began  to  be  slowly  diminished. 
On  the  5th  of  December,  1865,  a  resolution  was  passed  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  pledging  the  faith  of  the  United  States  to  the  full  pay¬ 
ment  of  the  national  indebtedness,  both  principal  and  interest. 

During  the  civil  war  the  emperor  Napoleon  III.  interfered  in  the 
affairs  of  Mexico,  and  succeeded,  by  overawing  the  people  with  a  French 
army,  in  setting  up  an  empire.  In  the  early  part  of  1864  the  crown  of 
Mexico  was  conferred  on  Maximilian,  the  archduke  of  Austria,  who 
established  his  government  and  sustained  it  with  French  and  Austrian 
soldiers.  But  the  Mexican  president  Juarez  headed  a  revolution  against 
the  usurping  emperor;  the  government  of  the  United  States  rebuked 
France  for  having  violated  the  Monroe  doctrine;  Napoleon,  becoming 
alarmed,  withdrew  his  army;  and  Maximilian  was  overthrown.  Flying 
from  Mexico  to  Queretaro,  he  was  there  besieged  and  taken  prisoner. 
On  the  13th  of  June,  1867,  he  was  tried  by  court-martial  and  condemned 
to  be  shot ;  and  six  days  afterward  the  sentence  was  carried  into  execu¬ 
tion.  The  scheme  of  Napoleon,  who  had  hoped  to  profit  by  the  civil  war 
and  gain  a  foothold  in  the  New  World,  was  thus  justly  brought  to  shame 
and  contempt. 

After  a  few  weeks  of  successful  operation  the  first  Atlantic  telegraph, 
laid  bv  Mr.  Field  in  1858,  had  ceased  to  work.  The  friends  of  the  enter- 
prise  were  greatly  disheartened.  Not  so  with  Mr.  Field,  who  continued 
both  in  Europe  and  America  to  advocate  the  claims  of  his  measure  and  to 
plead  for  assistance.  He  made  fifty  voyages  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
finally  secured  sufficient  capital  to  begin  the  laying  of  a  second  cable. 
The  work  began  from  the  coast  of  Ireland  in  the  summer  of  1865.  When 
the  steamer  Gi'eat  Eastern  had  proceeded  more  than  twelve  hundred  miles 
on  her  way  to  America,  the  cable  parted  and  was  lost.  Mr.  Field  held  on 
to  his  enterprise.  Six  millions  of  dollars  had  been  spent  in  unsuccessful 
attempts,  but  still  he  persevered.  In  July  of  1866  a  third  cable,  two 
thousand  miles  in  length,  was  coiled  in  the  Great  Eastern,  and  again  the 


546 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


vessel  started  on  her  way.  This  time  the  work  was  completely  suc¬ 
cessful.  After  twelve  years  of  unremitting  effort  Mr.  Field  received 
a  gold  medal  from  the  Congress  of  his  country,  and  the  plaudits  of 
all  civilized  nations. 

By  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  on  the  1st  of  November,  1864, 
the  Postal  Money-Order  System  was  established  in  the  United 
States.  The  design  of  the  measure  was  to  secure  a  safe  and  conven¬ 
ient  method  of  transferring  small  sums  of  money  through  the  mails. 
The  money-order  is  divided  into  two  parts  —  the  order  proper  and  the 
advice.  From  the  order,  which  is  received  and  transmitted  by  the 
purchaser,  the  name  of  the  payee  is  omitted.  In  the  advice,  which  is 
sent  by  the  post-master  of  the  issuing  office  to  the  post-master  of  the 
paying  office,  the  name  of  the  payee  is  inserted.  The  advice  and  the 
order  receive  the  same  stamp  and  number,  and  being  transmitted  sep¬ 
arately,  constitute  an  almost  perfect  check  against  loss,  robbery,  and 
fraud.  The  largest  sum  which  may  be  transmitted  in  one  order  is 
fifty  dollars,  though  larger  amounts  may  be  sent  in  separate  orders. 
The  amount  charged  for  issuing  is  trifling,  varying  with  the  value  of 
the  order,  and  the  security  is  perhaps  as  great  as  human  sagacity  can 
provide.  Notwithstanding  the  invaluable  benefits  of  the  system,  it 
was  at  first  received  with  little  favor.  In  1870  there  were  two  thou¬ 
sand  and  seventy-six  post-offices  from  which  money-orders  were  issued. 
During  that  year  the  orders  numbered  a  million  six  hundred  and  sev¬ 
enty-one  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty -three;  and  the  amount  trans¬ 
mitted  was  above  thirty-four  millions  of  dollars.  On  the  1st  of  October, 
1875,  the  number  of  money-offices  in  operation  was  three  thousand  six 
hundred  and  ninety-six;  the  number  of  orders  issued  during  the  fiscal 
year  ending  on  the  30th  of  June  amounted  to  five  millions  six  thou¬ 
sand  three  hundred  and  twenty -three ;  the  amount  of  money  sent  to 
more  than  seventy-seven  millions  of  dollars.  Of  all  the  orders  issued 
during  that  year  only  twenty-seven  were  paid  to  persons  not  entitled 
to  receive  them.  Such  have  been  the  advantages  of  the  system  as  to 
require  its  extension  to  foreign  lands.  Postal  conventions  have  al¬ 
ready  been  held  and  arrangements  completed  for  the  exchange  of 
money-orders  with  Switzerland,  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  Ger¬ 
many.  The  requirements  of  civilization  will  no  doubt  soon  demand 
a  similar  compact  with  every  enlightened  nation. 

The  administration  of  President  Johnson  is  noted  as  the  time  when 
the  Territories  of  the  United  States  assumed  their  final  form.  The  vast 
domains  west  of  the  Mississippi  were  now  reduced  to  proper  limits  and 
organized  with  a  view  to  early  admission  into  the  Union  as  States.  A 


JOHNSON’S  ADMINISTRATION 


547 


large  part  of  the  work  was  accomplished  during  the  administration  of 
President  Lincoln.  In  March  of  1861  the  Territory  of  Dakota,  with  an 
area  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles,  was  detached  from 
Nebraska  on  the  north,  and  given  a  distinct  territorial  organization.  In 
February  of  1863  Arizona,  with  an  area  of  a  hundred  and  thirteen  thou¬ 
sand  square  miles,  was  separated  from  New  Mexico  .on  the  west  and 
organized  as  an  independent  Territory.  On  the  3d  of  March  in  the  same 
year  Idaho  was  organized  out  of  portions  of  Dakota,  Nebraska  and  Wash¬ 
ington  Territories ;  and  on  the  26th  of  May,  1864,  Montana,  with  an  area 
of  a  hundred  and  forty-six  thousand  square  miles,  was  cut  off  from  the 
eastern  part  of  Idaho.  By  this  measure  the  area  of  the  latter  Territory 
wras  reduced  to  eighty -six  thousand  square  miles.  On  the  1st  of  March, 
1867,  the  Territory  of  Nebraska,  reduced  to  its  present  area  of  seventy- 
six  thousand  miles,  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  the  thirty-seventh 
State.  Finally,  on  the  25th  of  July,  1868,  the  Territory  of  Wyoming, 
with  an  area  of  ninety-eight  thousand  square  miles,  was  organized  out  of 
portions  of  Dakota,  Idaho  and  Utah.  Thus  were  the  Territories  of  the 
great  West  reduced  to  their  present  limits. 

The  year  1867  was  signalized  by  the  Purchase  of  Alaska. 
Two  years  previously  the  territory  had  been  explored  by  a  corps  of 
scientific  men  with  a  view  of  establishing  telegraphic  communication  with 
Asia  by  way  of  Behring  Strait.  The  report  of  the  exploration  showed 
that  Alaska  was  by  no  means  the  worthless  country  it  had  been  supposed 
to  be.  It  was  found  that  the  coast-fisheries  were  of  very  great  value,  and 
that  the  forests  of  white  pine  and  yellow  cedar  were  among  the  finest  in 
the  world.  Negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  the  peninsula  were  at  once 
opened,  and  on  the  30th  of  March,  1867,  a  treaty  was  concluded  by  which, 
for  the  sum  of  seven  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  Russia  ceded 
Alaska  to  the  United  States.  The  territory  thus  added  to  the  domains 
of  the  Republic  embraced  an  area  of  five  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
square  miles,  and  a  population  of  twenty-nine  thousand  souls. 

Very  soon  after  his  accession  to  the  chief  magistracy  a  serious  dis¬ 
agreement  arose  between  the  President  and  Congress.  The  difficulty 
grew  out  of  the  great  question  of  reorganizing  the  Southern  States.  The 
particular  point  in  dispute  was  as  to  the  relation  which  those  States  had 
sustained  to  the  Federal  Union  during  the  civil  war.  The  President  held 
that  the  ordinances  of  secession  were  in  their  very  nature  null  and  void, 
and  that  therefore  the  seceded  States  had  never  been  out  of  the  Union. 
The  majority  in  Congress  held  that  the  acts  of  secession  were  illegal  and 
unconstitutional,  but  that  the  seceded  States  had  been  by  those  acts 


548 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


actually  detached  from  the  Union,  and  that  special  legislation  and  special 
guarantees  were  necessary  in  order  to  restore  them  to  their  former  rela¬ 
tions  under  the  government.  Such  was  the  real  foundation  of  the  diffi¬ 
culty  by  which  the  question  of  reconstructing  the  Southern  States  was  so 
seriously  embarrassed. 

In  the  summer  of  1865  measures  of  reconstruction  were  begun  by 
the  President  in  accordance  with  his  own  views.  On  the  9th  of  May  a 
proclamation  was  issued  for  the  restoration  of  Virginia  to  the  Union. 
Twenty  days  afterward  another  proclamation  wras  issued  establishing  a 
provisional  government  over  South  Carolina ;  and  at  brief  intervals 
similar  measures  were  adopted  in  respect  to  the  other  States  of  the  late 
Confederacy.  On  the  24th  of  June  all  restrictions  on  trade  and  inter¬ 
course  with  the  Southern  States  were  removed  by  proclamation  of  the 
President.  On  the  7th  of  the  following  September  a  second  amnesty 
proclamation  was  issued,  by  which  all  persons  who  had  upheld  the  Con¬ 
federate  cause — excepting  the  leaders — were  unconditionally  pardoned. 
Meanwhile,  the  State  of  Tennessee  had  been  reorganized,  and  in  1866 
was  restored  to  its  place  in  the  Union.  Meanwhile,  the  national  Con¬ 
gress  was  pursuing  its  own  line  of  policy  in  regard  to  the  reconstruc¬ 
tion  of  the  Southern  States.  During  the  session  of  1865-66,  a  com¬ 
mittee  of  fifteen  was  appointed  by  that  body  to  whom  all  matters 
appertaining  to  the  reorganization  of  the  States  of  the  overthrown 
Confederacy  should  be  referred.  Soon  afterwards  the  celebrated  Civil. 
Rights  Bill  was  passed,  the  object  of  which  was  to  secure  to  the 
freedmen  of  the  South  the  full  exercise  of  citizenship.  The  measure 
was  opposed  and  vetoed  by  the  President,  but  was  immediately  re¬ 
passed  by  a  two-thirds  congressional  majority.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
celebration  of  Washington’s  birthday  at  the  Capital,  the  bill  was  se¬ 
verely  denounced  by  the  President  in  a  speech  delivered  in  front  of 
the  executive  mansion ;  and  the  position  assumed  by  Congress  was  de¬ 
clared  to  be  a  new  rebellion  against  the  government  of  the  United 
States.  In  subsequent  speeches  and  messages  the  same  sentiment  was 
reiterated,  and  the  attitude  of  the  executive  and  legislative  departments 
became  constantly  more  unfriendly. 

In  the  summer  of  1866  a  call  was  issued  for  a  national  conven¬ 
tion  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia  on  the  14th  of  August.  The  objects 
had  in  view  were  not  very  clearly  defined;  but  it  was  understood  that 
the  general  condition  of  the  country  would  be  considered,  measures 
of  national  policy  discussed,  and  all  the  political  elements,  in  opposi¬ 
tion  to  the  majority  in  Congress  be  consolidated  into  a  new  political 
party,  with  which  the  President’s  name  would  be  associated  in  leader- 


JOHNSON’S  ADMINISTRATION 


549 


ship.  At  the  appointed  time  delegates  from  all  the  States  and  terri¬ 
tories  were  present;  many  members  of  the  Republican  party  took  part 
in  the  movement,  and  the  convention  was  not  lacking  in  enthusiasm. 
Still,  the  meeting  exercised  but  very  little  permanent  influence  on  the 
affairs  of  the  country. 

Soon  afterwards  the  President  made  another  effort  to  rally  pub¬ 
lic  opinion  in  favor  of  his  policy.  In  the  latter  part  of  August  he 
set  out  from  Washington,  accompanied  by  Secretaries  Seward,  Welles, 
and  Randall,  General  Grant,  Admiral  Farragut,  and  other  prominent 
officials,  to  make  a  tour  of  the  Northern  States.  The  ostensible  ob¬ 
ject  had  in  view  was  that  the  President  should  be  present  at  the  laying 
of  the  corner  stone  of  a  monument  to  Senator  Douglas  at  Chicago. 
Departing  from  the  Capital,  the  presidential  party  passed  through  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  New  York,  and  Albany,  and  after  taking  part  in  the  cere¬ 
monies  at  Chicago,  returned  by  way  of  St.  Louis,  Indianapolis,  Louis¬ 
ville,  Cincinnati,  and  Pittsburg.  At  all  the  principal  towns  and  cities 
through  which  he  passed,  the  President  spoke  freely  to  the  crowds  in 
defence  of  his  own  policy  and  in  denunciation  of  that  of  Congress. 
The  whole  journey  was  a  scene  of  intense  excitement  and  partisan  ani¬ 
mosity.  The  general  effect  of  the  President’s  course  was  disastrous 
to  him  and  his  political  adherents;  for  in  the  elections  of  the  follow¬ 
ing  autumn  the  measures  of  Congress  were  sustained  and  the  members 
reelected  by  increased  popular  majorities.  Nevertheless,  the  result  of 
the  election  had  very  little  effect  in  altering  the  President’s  views  or 
softening  his  feelings  towards  the  legislative  department  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment. 

By  degrees  the  affairs  of  the  administration  grew  critical.  When 
Congress  convened  in  December  of  1866  the  policy  of  the  President 
was  severely  condemned.  The  congressional  committee,  appointed  at 
the  session  of  the  previous  year,  now  brought  forward  a  report  em¬ 
bodying  a  full  plan  of  reorganizing  the  Southern  States.  After  much 
discussion  the  measures  proposed  by  the  committee  were  adopted  by 
Congress,  and  the  work  of  reconstruction  was  begun.  As  the  first 
condition  for  the  readmission  of  a  State  into  the  Union  it  was  enacted 
that  the  people  of  the  same,  by  their  legislative  assembly  or  other¬ 
wise,  should  ratify  the  fourteenth  amendment  to  the  constitution  which 
declared  the  citizenship  of  all  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the 
United  States.  In  furtherance  of  this  policy  Congress,  at  the  same 
session,  passed  an  act  requiring  that  in  the  national  territories  the 
elective  franchise  should  be  granted  without  distinction  of  race  or 
color,  before  such  territories  should  be  admitted  into  the  Union.  A 


550 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


similar  measure  was  adopted  in  respect  to  the  District  of  Columbia, 
forbidding  the  further  restriction  of  the  right  of  suffrage  to  white 
men.  To  all  of  these  acts  President  Johnson  opposed  his  veto ;  but 
in  every  case  his  objection  was  overcome  by  the  two-thirds  majority 
in  Congress. 

Concerning  the  reorganization  of  the  Southern  States,  the  real 
question  at  issue  was  as  to  whether  a  civil  or  a  military  method  of  re¬ 
construction  ought  to  be  adopted.  From  the  beginning,  the  President 
had  urged  the  superiority  of  the  civil  process.  But  in  Congress  the 
opposite  opinion  prevailed,  and  the  views  of  the  majority  were  rather 
intensified  by  the  hostility  of  the  executive.  On  the  2d  of  March, 
1867,  an  act  was  passed  by  which  the  ten  seceded  States  were  divided 
into  five  military  districts,  each  district  to  be  under  the  control  of  a 
governor  appointed  by  the  President.  After  appointing  the  comman¬ 
ders  required  by  this  law,  the  chief  magistrate  asked  the  opinion  of 
Mr.  Stanbery,  his  attorney-general,  as  to  the  validity  of  the  con¬ 
gressional  measures  of  reconstruction.  An  answer  was  returned  that 
most  of  the  acts  were  null  and  void ;  and  the  President  accordingly 
issued  to  the  military  commanders  an  order  which  measurably  nulli¬ 
fied  the  whole  proceeding.  But  Congress  passed  a  supplemental  act 
declaring  the  meaning  of  the  previous  law,  and  the  process  of  reor¬ 
ganization  was  continued  under  the  congressional  plan.  The  work, 
howevei’,  was  greatly  retarded  by  the  distracted  counsels  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  and  the  chaotic  condition  of  affairs  in  the  South.  But  in  dub 
time  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Florida,  Louisiana, 
North  Carolina,  and  South  Carolina  were  reconstructed,  and  in  the 
months  of  June  and  July,  1868,  readmitted  into  the  Union.  In  every 
case,  however,  the  readmission  was  effected  against  the  protest,  and 
over  the  veto  of  the  President. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  difficulty  had  arisen  in  the  President’s  cabinet 
which  led  to  his  impeachment.  On  the  21st  of  February,  1868,  he  noti¬ 
fied  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  secretary  of  war,  of  his  dismissal  from  office. 
The  act  was  regarded  by  Congress  as  a  usurpation  of  authority  and  a 
violation  of  law  on  the  part  of  the  President.  The  reconstruction  diffi¬ 
culties  had  already  broken  off  all  friendly  relations  between  the  two 
Houses  and  the  executive.  Accordingly,  on  the  3d  of  March,  articles  of 
impeachment  were  agreed  to  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  the  forms  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  cause  was  im¬ 
mediately  remanded  to  the  Senate  for  trial  Proceedings  began 
before  that  body  on  the  23d  of  March  and  continued  until  the  26th 
of  May,  when  the  President  was  acquitted.  But  his  escape  was 


551 


JOHNSON ’S  AVMINISTRA  TION. 


very  narrow;  a  two-thirds  majority  was  required  to  convict,  and 
but  one  vote  was  wanting.  Chief- Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase,  one  of  the 
most  eminent  of  American  statesmen  and  jurists,  presided  over  this 
remarkable  trial. 

The  time  for 
holding  another  presi¬ 
dential  election  was 
already  at  hand. 

General  Ulysses  S. 

Grant  was  nomina¬ 
ted  by  the  Republi¬ 
cans,  and  Horatio 


Seymour  of  New 
York  by  the  Demo¬ 
crats.  The  canvass 
was  attended  with 
great  excitement. 

The  people  were  still 
agitated  by  the  recent 
strife  through  which 
the  nation  had  passed, 
and  the  questions 
most  discussed  by  the 
political  speakers  were 
those  arising  out  of 
(he  uvil  war.  The 

principles  advocated  by  the  majority  in  Congress  furnished  the  basis  of 
the  Republican  platform  of  1868,  and  on  that  platform  General  Grant 
was  chosen  by  a  very  large  electoral  majority.  The  votes  of  twenty- 
six  States,  amounting,  in  the  aggregate,  to  two  hundred  and  fourteen 
ballots,  were  cast  in  his  favor,  while  his  competitor  received  only 
the  eighty  votes  of  the  remaining  eleven  States.  Of  the  popular  vote, 
however,  Mr.  Seymour  obtained  two  million  seven  hundred  and  three 
thousand  six  hundred,  against  three  million  thirteen  thousand  one 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  given  to  General  Grant.  At  the  same  elec¬ 
tion,  the  choice  for  the  vice-presidency  fell  on  Schuyler  Colfax  of 
Indiana. 


CHIEF-JUSTICE  CHASE. 


562 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  L  X  Ar  1 1 1 . 

GRANT’S  ADMINISTRATION,  1S69-1S77. 


ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  eighteenth  President  of  the  United  States,  is 
a  native  of  Ohio,  born  at  Point  Pleasant,  in  that  State,  April  27th, 
1822.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  the  United  States  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point,  and  was  graduated  in  1843.  He  served  with 

distinction  and  was 
promoted  for  gallantry 
in  the  Mexican  war; 
but  his  first  national 
reputation  was  won  by 
the  capture  of  Forts 
Henry  and  Donel- 
son  in  1862.  From, 
that  time  he  rapidly 
rose  in  rank,  and  in 
March,  1864,  received 
the  appointment  of 
lieutenant-general  and 
commander-i  n-c  h  i  e  f 
of  the  Union  army. 
Plis  subsequent  career 
at  the  head  of  that 
army  has  already  been 
narrated.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  his 
reputation,  though 
strictly  military,  was 
president  grant.  very  great ;  and  his 

being  involved  in 

the  imbroglio  between  President  Johnson  and  Congress  rather  height¬ 
ened  than  diminished  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  the 
people  of  the  North.  Before  the  Republican  convention,  held  at 
Chicago  on  the  21st  of  May,  1868,  he  had  no  competitor,  and  was 
unanimously  nominated  on  the  first  ballot.  On  "the  day  following  his 
inauguration  as  President,  he  sent  in  to  the  Senate  the  following 


GRANT’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


553 


nominations  for  cabinet  officers:  For  secretary  of  state,  Elihu  B. 
Washburne  of  Illinois;  for  secretary  of  the  treasury,  Alexander  T. 
Stewart  of  New  York ;  for  secretary  of  the  interior,  Jacob  D.  Cox  of 
Ohio;  for  secretary  of  the  navy,  Adolph  E.  Borie  of  Pennsylvania; 
for  secretary  of  war,  John  M.  Schofield  of  Illinois;  for  postmaster- 
general,  John  A.  J.  Creswell  of  Maryland;  for  attorney-general,  E. 
R.  Hoar  of  Massachusetts.  These  nominations  were  at  once  con¬ 
firmed;  but  it  was  soon  discovered  that  Mr.  Stewart,  being  engaged 
in  commerce,  was  ineligible,  and  George  S.  Boutwell  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  Mr.  Washburne  also  gave  up  his 
office  to  accept  the  position  of  minister  to  France;  and  the  vacant 
secretaryship  was  given  to  Hamilton  Fish  of  New  York. 

The  first  event  by  which  the  new  administration  was  signalized 
was  the  completion  of  the  Pacific  Railroad.  This  vast  enterprise  was 
projected  as  early  as  1853;  but  ten  years  elapsed  before  the  work  of 
construction  was  actually  begun.  The  first  division  of  the  road  ex¬ 
tended  from  Omaha,  Nebraska,  to  Ogden,  Utah,  a  distance  of  a  thou¬ 
sand  and  thirty-two  miles.  The  western  division,  called  the  Central 
Pacific  Railroad,  reached  from  Ogden  to  San  Francisco,  a  distance  of 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-two  miles.  On  the  10th  of  May,  1869,  the 
great  work  was  completed  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 

Before  the  inauguration  of  President  Grant  two  additional  amend- 
ments  to  the  Constitution  had  been  adopted  by  Congress.  The  first  of 
these,  known  as  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  extended  the  right  of  citi¬ 
zenship  to  all  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  de¬ 
clared  the  validity  of  the  public  debt.  This  amendment  was  submitted 
in  1867,  was  ratified  by  three-fourths  of  the  States,  and  in  the  following 
year  became  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  A  few  weeks  before  the  expiration 
of  Mr.  Johnson’s  term  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  was  adopted  by  Congress, 
providing  that  the  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not 
be  denied  or  abridged  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude.  This  clause,  which  was  intended  to  confer  the  right  of  suffrage 
on  the  emancipated  black  men  of  the  South,  was  also  submitted  to  the 
States,  received  the  sanction  of  three-fourths  of  the  legislatures,  and  on 
the  30th  of  March,  1870,  was  proclaimed  by  the  President  as  a  part  of 
Jiie  Constitution. 

In  the  autumn  of  1869  occurred  the  most  extraordinary  mone¬ 
tary  excitement  ever  known  in  the  United  States,  or  perhaps  in  the 
world.  A  company  of  unscrupulous  speculators  in  New  York  city, 
headed  by  Jay  Gould  and  James  Fisk,  jr.,  succeeded  in  producing 
what  is  known  as  a  “corner”  in  the  gold  market  and  brought  the 
38 


55-1 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


business  interests  of  the  metropolis  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  During  the 
civil  war  the  credit  of  the  government  had  declined  to  such  an  extent 
that  at  one  time  a  dollar  in  gold  was  worth  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
six  cents  in  paper  currency.  But  after  the  restoration  of  the  national 
authority  the  value  of  paper  money  appreciated,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1869  the  ratio  of  gold  to  the  greenback  dollar  had  fallen  to  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty  to  one  hundred.  There  were  at  this  time,  in  the 
banks  of  New  York,  fifteen  million  dollars  in  gold  coin  and  in  the 
sub-treasury  of  the  United  States  a  hundred  millions  more.  The  plan 
of  Gould  and  Fisk  was  to  get  control  by  purchase  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  fifteen  millions,  to  prevent  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  from 
selling  any  part  of  the  hundred  millions  under  his  authority,  then  — 
having  control  of  the  market  —  to  advance  the  price  of  gold  to  a  fab¬ 
ulous  figure,  sell  out  all  which  they  held  themselves,  and  retire  from 
the  field  of  slaughtered  fortunes  with  their  accumulated  millions  of 
spoils!  Having  carefully  arranged  all  the  preliminaries,  the  conspir¬ 
ators,  on  the  13th  of  September,  began  their  work  of  purchasing  gold, 
at  the  same  time  constantly  advancing  the  price.  By  the  22d  of  the 
month,  they  had  succeeded  in  putting  up  the  rate  to  a  hundred  and 
forty.  On  the  next  day  the  price  rose  to  a  hundred  and  forty-four. 
The  members  of  the  conspiracy  now  boldly  avowed  their  determina¬ 
tion  to  advance  the  rate  to  two  hundred,  and  it  seemed  that  on  the 
morrow  they  would  put  their  threat  into  execution.  On  the  morning 
of  the  24th,  known  as  Black  Friday,  the  bidding  in  the  gold-room 
began  with  intense  excitement.  The  brokers  of  Fisk  and  Gould  ad¬ 
vanced  the  price  to  a  hundred  and  fifty,  a  hundred  and  fifty-five,  and 
finally  to  a  hundred  and  sixty,  at  which  figure  they  were  obliged  to 
purchase  several  millions  by  a  company  of  merchants  who  had  banded 
themselves  together  with  the  determination  to  fight  the  gold-gamblers 
to  the  last.  Just  at  this  moment  came  a  despatch  that  Secretary  Bout- 
well  had  ordered  a  sale  of  four  millions  from  the  sub-treasury  !  There 
was  an  instantaneous  panic.  _  The  price  of  gold  wrent  down  twenty 
per  cent,  in  less  than  as  many  minutes!  The  speculators  were  blown 
away  in  an  uproar;  but  they  managed,  by  accumulated  frauds  and 
corruptions,  to  carry  off  with  them  more  than  eleven  million  dollars  as 
the  fruits  of  their  nefarious  game  !  Several  months  elapsed  before  the 
business  of  the  country  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  shock. 

In  the  first  three  months  of  1870  the  work  of  reorganizing  the 
Southern  States  was  completed.  On  the  24th  of  January  the  senators 
and  representatives  of  Virginia  were  formally  readmitted  to  their  seats  in 
Ct  ngress,  and  the  Old  Dominion  once  more  took  her  place  in  the  Union. 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


555 


On  the  23d  of  February  a  like  action  was  taken  in  regard  to  Mississippi ; 
and  on  the  30th  of  March  the  work  was  finished  by  the  readmission  of 
Texas,  the  last  of  the  seceded  States.  For  the  first  time  since  the  outbreak 
of  the  civil  war  the  voice  of  all  the  States  was  heard  in  the  councils  of 
the  nation. 

In  this  year  was  completed  the  ninth  census  of  the  United  States. 
It  was  a  work  of  vast  importance,  and  the  results  presented  were  of  the 
most  encouraging  character.  Notwithstanding  the  ravages  of  war,  the 
last  decade  had  been  a  period  of  wonderful  growth  and  progress.  During 
that  time  the  population  had  increased  from  thirty-one  million  four  hun¬ 
dred  and  forty-three  thousand  to  thirty-eight  million  five  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  thousand  souls.  The  centre  of  population  had  now  moved 
westward  into  the  great  State  of  Ohio,  and  rested  at  a  point  fifty  miles 
east  of  Cincinnati.  The  national  debt,  though  still  enormous,  was  rapidly 
falling  off.  The  products  of  the  United  States  had  grown  to  a  vast 
aggregate ;  even  the  cotton  crop  of  the  South  was  regaining  much  of  its 
former  importance.  American  manufactures  were  competing  with  those 
of  England  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  The  Union  now  embraced 
thirty-seven  States  and  eleven  Territories.*  From  the  narrow  limits  of 
the  thirteen  original  colonies,  with  their  four  hundred  and  twenty-one 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  the  national  domain  had  spread  to  the 
vast  area  of  three  million  six  hundred  and  four  thousand  square  miles. 
Few  things,  indeed,  have  been  more  marvelous  than  the  territorial  growth 
of  the  United  States.  The  purchase  of  Louisiana  more  than  doubled  the 
geographical  area  of  the  nation ;  the  several  Mexican  acquisitions  were 
only  second  in  importance ;  while  the  recent  Russian  cession  alone  was 
greater  in  extent  than  the  original  thirteen  States. 

In  January  of  1871  President  Grant  appointed  Senator  Wade  of 
Ohio,  Professor  White  of  New  York  and  Dr.  Samuel  Howe  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts  as  a  board  of  commissioners  to  visit  Santo  Domingo  and  report 
upon  the  desirability  of  annexing  that  island  to  the  United  States.  The 
question  of  annexation  had  been  agitated  for  several  years,  and  the 
measure  was  earnestly  favored  by  the  President.  After  three  months 
spent  abroad,  the  commissioners  returned  and  reported  in  favor  of  the 
proposed  annexation ;  but  the  proposal  was  met  with  violent  opposition 
in  Congress,  and  defeated. 

The  claim  of  the  United  States  against  the  British  government  for 
damages  done  to  American  commerce  by  Confederate '  cruisers  during  the 
*  Including  the  Indian  Territory  and  Alaska. 


556 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES . 


civil  war  still  remained  unsettled.  These  cruisers  had  been  built  and 
equipped  in  English  ports  and  with  the  knowledge  of  the  English  gov¬ 
ernment.  Such  a  proceeding  was  in  plain  violation  of  the  law  of  nations, 
even  if  the  independence  of  the  Confederate  States  had  been  recognized. 
Time  and  again  Mr.  Seward  remonstrated  with  the  British  authorities, 
but  without  effect.  After  the  war  Great  Britain  became  alarmed  at  her 
own  conduct,  and  grew  anxious  for  a  settlement  of  the  difficulty.  On 
the  27th  of  February,  1871,  a  joint  high  commission,  composed  of  five 
British  and  five  American  statesmen,  assembled  at  Washington  city. 
From  the  fact  that  the  cruiser  Alabama  had  done  most  of  the  injury 
complained  of,  the  claims  of  the  United  States  were  called  the  Alabama 
Claims.  After  much  discussion,  the  commissioners  framed  a  treaty, 
known  as  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  all 
claims  of  either  nation  against  the  other  should  be  submitted  to  a  board 
of  arbitration  to  be  appointed  by  friendly  nations.  Such  a  court  was 
formed,  and  in  the  summer  of  1872  convened  at  Geneva,  Switzerland. 
The  cause  of  the  two  nations  was  impartially  heard,  and  on  the  14th  of 
September  decided  in  favor  of  the  United  States.  Great  Britain  was 
obliged,  for  the  wrongs  which  she  had  done,  to  pay  into  the  Federal 
treasury  fifteen  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

During  the  year  1871,  there  were  laid  and  put  into  operation  in 
the  United  States  no  less  than  seven  thousand  six  hundred  arid  seventy 
miles  of  railroad !  There  is  perhaps  no  fact  in  the  history  of  the 
world  which  exhibits  so  marvelous  a  development  of  the  physical 
resources  of  a  nation.  Ere  the  mutterings  of  the  civil  war,  with  its 
untold  destruction  of  life  and  treasure,  had  died  away  in  the  distance, 
the  recuperative  power,  enterprise,  and  genius  of  the  American  peo¬ 
ple  were  revealed,  as  never  before,  in  establishing  and  extending  the 
lines  of  travel  and  commerce.  In  1830  there  were  but  twentv-three 

J 

miles  of  railway  track  in  the  New  World.  In  1840  the  lines  in  the 
United  States  had  been  extended  to  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eighteen  miles.  Ten  years  later  there  were  nine  thousand  and  twenty- 
one  miles  of  track.  According  to  the  reports  for  1860,  the  railroads 
of  the  country  had  reached  the  enormous  extent  of  thirty  thousand 
six  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles;  and  in  the  next  ten  years,  embrac¬ 
ing  the  period  of  the  civil  war,  the  amount  was  nearly  doubled.  Such 
is  the  triumphant  power  of  free  institutions — the  victory  of  free  enter¬ 
prise,  free  industry,  free  thought.  There  stands  the  fact!  Let  the 
adherents  of  the  Old  World’s  methods,  the  eulogists  of  the  past,  take 
it  and  read  it.  Wherever  the  human  race  pants  for  a  larger  activity, 
a  more  glorious  exercise  of  its  energies,  let  the  story  be  told  how  the 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


55? 


United  States,  just  emerged  from  the  furnace  of  war,  smarting  with 
wounds,  and  burdened  with  an  enormous  debt,  built  in  a  single  year 
more  than  twice  as  many  miles  of  railroad  as  Spain,  ridden  with  her 
precedents  of  kingcraft  and  priestcraft,  has  ever  built  in  her  whole 
career. 

The  year  1871  is  noted  in  American  history  for  the  burning  of 
Chicago.  On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  October  a  fire  broke  out  in  De 
Koven  street,  and  was  driven  by  a  high  wind  into  the  lumber-yards  and 
wooden  houses  of  the  neighborhood.  The  flames  leaped  the  South  Branch 
of  the  Chicago  River  and  spread  with  great  rapidity  through  the  business 
parts  of  the  city.  All  day  long  the  deluge  of  fire  rolled  on,  crossed  the 
main  channel  of  the  river,  and  swept  into  a  blackened  ruin  the  whole  dis¬ 
trict  between  the  North  Branch  and  the  lake  as  far  northward  as  Lincoln 
Park.  The  area  burned  over  was  two  thousand  one  hundred  acres,  or 
three  and  a  third  square  miles.  Nearly  two  hundred  lives  were  lost  in 
the  conflagration,  and  the  property  destroyed  amounted  to  about  two 
hundred  millions  of  dollars.  No  such  a  terrible  devastation  had  been 
witnessed  since  the  burning  of  Moscow  in  1812.  In  the  extent  of  the 
district  burned  over,  the  Chicago  fire  stands  first,  in  the  amount  of 
property  destroyed  second,  and  in  the  suffering  occasioned  third,  among 
the  great  conflagrations  of  the  world. 

On  the  21st  of  October,  1872,  was  settled  the  only  remaining 
dispute  concerning  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States.  Bv  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  of  1846  it  was  stipulated  that  the  North-western  bound¬ 
ary  line,  running  westward  along  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  latitude, 
should  extend  to  the  middle  of  the  channel  which  separates  the  con¬ 
tinent  from  Vancouver’s  Island,  and  thence  southerly  through  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  said  channel  and  of  Fuca’s  Straits  to  the  Pacific.  But  what  was 
“  the  middle  of  said  channel  ”  ?  for  there  were  several  channels.  The 
British  government  claimed  the  Straits  of  Rosario  to  be  the  true  line 
intended  by  the  treaty,  while  the  United  States  would  have  the  Canal 
de  Haro.  So  the  question  stood  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  Avas 
then  referred  for  settlement  to  the  arbitration  of  William  I.,  Em¬ 
peror  of  Germany.  That  monarch  heard  the  cause,  decided  in  favor 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  Canal  de  Haro  became  the  international 
boundary. 

As  the  first  official  term  of  President  Grant  dreAv  to  a  close  the 
political  parties  made  ready  for  the  twenty-second  presidential  election. 
Many  parts  of  the  chief  magistrate’s  policy  had  been  made  the  subjects  of 
criticism  and  controversy.  The  congressional  plan  of  reconstructing  the 
Southern  States  had  prevailed,  and  with  that  plan  the  President  Avas  in 


558 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


accord.  But  the  reconstruction  measures  had  been  unfavorably  re¬ 
ceived  in  the  South.  The  elevation  of  the  negro  race  to  the  full  rights 
of  citizenship  was  regarded  with  apprehension.  Owing  to  the  disor¬ 
ganization  of  civil  government  in  the  Southern  States,  an  opportunity 
was  given  in  certain  districts  for  bad  men  to  band  themselves  togethei 

in  lawlessness.  The 
military  spirit  was 
still  rife  in  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  the  issues 
of  the  civil  war  were 
rediscussed,  some¬ 
times  with  much 
bitterness.  On  these 
issues  the  people  di¬ 
vided  in  the  election 
of  1872.  The  Re¬ 
publicans  reno m  i  - 
nated  General  Grant 
for  the  presidency. 
For  the  vice-presi¬ 
dency  Mr.  C  o  1  fa  x 
declined  a  renomi¬ 
nation,  and  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  Henry 
Wilson  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts.  As  the 

HORACE  GREELEY.  ,  .  ,  (' 

standard  -  bearer  oi 

the  Liberal  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  Horace  Greeley,  ed¬ 
itor  of  the  New  York  Tribune ,  was  nominated.  This  was  the  last  act 
in  that  remarkable  man’s  career.  For  more  than  thirty  years  he  had 
been  an  acknowledged  leader  of  public  opinion  in  America.  He  had 
discussed  with  vehement  energy  and  enthusiasm  almost  every  question 
in  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  any  interest.  After  a 
lifetime  of  untiring  industry  he  was  now,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one, 
called  to  the  forefront  of  political  strife.  The  canvass  was  one  of 
wild  excitement  and  bitter  denunciations.  Mr.  Greeley  was  over¬ 
whelmingly  beaten,  and  died  in  less  than  a  month  after  the  election. 
In  his  death  the  nation  lost  a  great  philanthropist  and  journalism  its 
brightest  light. 

O  o 


A  few  days  after  the  presidential  election  the  city  of  Boston  was 
visited  by  a  conflagration  only  second  in  its  ravages  to  that  of  Chicago 


GRANT’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


559 


in  the  previous  year.  On  the  evening  of  the  9th  of  November  a  fire 
broke  out  on  the  corner  of  Kingston  and  Summer  streets,  spread  to 
the  north-east,  and  continued  with  almost  unabated  fury  until  the 
morning  of  the  11th.  The  best  portion  of  the  city,  embracing  some 
of  the  finest  blocks  in  the  United  States,  was  laid  m  ashes.  The 
burnt  district  covered  an  area  of  sixty-five  acres.  Eight  hundred 
buildings,  property  to  the  value  of  eighty  million  dollars,  and  fifteen 
lives  were  lost  by  the  conflagration. 

In  the  spring  of  1872  an  order  had  been  issued  to  Superintendent 
Odeneal  to  remove  the  Modoc  Indians  from  their  lands  on  the  southern 
shore  of  Lake  Klamath,  Oregon,  to  a  new  reservation.  The  Indians,  who 
had  been  greatly  mistreated  by  former  agents  of  the  government,  refused 
to  go;  and  in  the  following  November  a  body  of  troops  was  sent  to  force 
them  into  compliance.  The  Modocs  resisted,  kept  up  the  war  during  the 
winter,  and  then  retreated  into  an  almost  inaccessible  volcanic  region 
called  the  lava-beds.  Here,  in  the  spring  of  1873,  the  Indians  were  sur¬ 
rounded,  but  not  subdued.  On  the  11th  of  April  a  conference  was  held 
between  them  and  six  members  of  the  peace  commission ;  but  in  the 
midst  of  the  council  the  treacherous  savages  rose  upon  the  kind-hearted 
men  who  sat  beside  them  and  murdered  General  Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas 
in  cold  blood.  Mr.  Meacham,  another  member  of  the  commission,  was 
shot  and  stabbed,  but  escaped  with  his  life.  The  Modocs  were  then  be¬ 
sieged  and  bombarded  in  their  stronghold;  but  it  was  the  1st  of  June 
before  General  Davis  with  a  force  of  regulars  could  compel  Captain  Jack 
and  his  murderous  band  to  surrender.  The  chiefs  were  tried  by  court- 
martial  and  executed  in  the  following  October. 

In  the  early  part  of  1873  a  difficulty  arose  in  Louisiana  which 
threatened  the  peace  of  the  country.  Owing  to  the  existence  of  double 
election-boards  two  sets  of  presidential  electors  had  been  chosen  in  the 
previous  autumn.  At  the  same  time  two  governors — William  P.  Kellogg 
and  John  McEnery — were  elected;  and  rival  legislatures  were  also  re¬ 
turned  by  the  hostile  boards.  Two  State  governments  were  accordingly 
organized,  and  for  a  while  the  commonwealth  was  in  a  condition  border¬ 
ing  on  anarchy.  The  dispute  was  referred  to  the  Federal  government* 
and  the  President  decided  in  favor  of  Governor  Kellogg  and  his  party. 
The  rival  government  was  accordingly  disbanded ;  but  on  the  14th  of 
September,  1874,  a  large  party,  opposed  to  the  administration  of  Kellogg 
and  led  by  D.  B.  Penn,  who  had  been  returned  as  lieutenant-governor 
with  McEnery,  rose  in  arms  and  took  possession  of  the  State-house. 
Governor  Kellogg  fled  to  the  custom-house  and  appealed  to  the  President 
for  help.  The  latter  immediately  ordered  the  adherents  of  Penn  to  dis** 


I 


560 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


perse,  and  a  body  of  national  troops  was  sent  to  New  Orleans  to  enforce 
the  proclamation.  On  the  assembling  of  the  legislature  in  the  following 
December  the  difficulty  broke  out  more  violently  than  ever,  and  the  sol¬ 
diery  was  again  called  in  to  settle  the  dispute. 

About  the  beginning  of  President  Grant’s  second-  term,  the  country 
was  greatly  agitated  by  what  was  known  as  the  Credit  Mobilier 
Investigation  in  Congress.  The  Credit  Mobilier  of  America  was  a 
joint  stock  company  organized  in  1863  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the 
construction  of  public  works.  In  1867  another  company  which  had 
undertaken  to  build  the  Pacific  Railroad  purchased  the  charter  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier,  and  the  capital  was  increased  to  three  million  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Owing  to  the  profitableness  of  the 
work  in  which  the  company  was  engaged,  the  stock  rose  rapidly  in  value 
and  enormous  dividends  were  paid  to  the  shareholders.  In  1872  a  law¬ 
suit  in  Pennsylvania  developed  the  startling  fact  that  much  of  the  stock 
of  the  Credit  Mobilier  was  owned  by  members  of  Congress.  A  suspicion 
that  those  members  had  voted  corruptly  in  the  legislation  affecting  the 
Pacific  Railroad  at  once  seized  the  public  mind  and  led  to  a  congressional 
investigation,  in  the  course  of  which  many  scandalous  transactions  were 
brought  to  light,  and  the  faith  of  the  people  in  the  integrity  of  their 
servants  greatly  shaken. 

In  the  autumn  of  1873  occurred  one  of  the  most  disastrous  finan¬ 
cial  panics  known  in  the  history  of  the  United  States.  The  alarm 
was  given  by  the  failure  of  the  great  banking-house  of  Jay  Cooke  & 
Company  of  Philadelphia.  Other  failures  followed  in  rapid  succes¬ 
sion.  Depositors  everywhere  hurried  to  the  banks  and  withdrew  their 
money  and  securities.  Business  was  suddenly  paralyzed,  and  many 
months  elapsed  before  confidence  was  sufficiently  restored  to  enable 
merchants  and  bankers  to  engage  in  the  usual  transactions  of  trade. 
The  primary  cause  of  the  panic  was  the  fluctuation  in  the  volume  and 
value  of  the  national  currency.  Out  of  this  had  arisen  a  wild  spirit 
of  speculation  which  sapped  the  foundations  of  business,  destroyed 
financial  confidence,  and  ended  in  disaster. 

Not  the  least  of  the  evil  results  of  the  great  monetary  disturb¬ 
ance  was  the  check  given  to  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad. 
As  early7  as  1864  a  company  had  been  organized  under  a  congressional 
charter  to  construct  a  railway  from  Lake  Superior  to  Puget  Sound. 
The  work  also  contemplated  the  running  of  a  branch  road,  two  hun¬ 
dred  miles  in  length,  down  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  River  to  Port¬ 
land,  Oregon.  Large  subsidies  were  granted  to  the  company  by  Con¬ 
gress,  and  other  favorable  legislation  was  expected.  In  1870  the  work 


GRANT 'S  ADM  INIS  TRA  TION. 


561 


of  construction  was  begun  and  carried  westward  from  Duluth,  Minne¬ 
sota.  Jay  Cooke’s  banking-house  made  heavy  loans  to  the  company, 
accepting  as  security  the  bonds  of  the  road ;  for  it  was  confidently 
expected  that  such  legislation  would  be  obtained  as  should  secure  the 
success  of  the  enterprise  and  bring  the  bonds  to  par.  In  this  condi¬ 
tion  of  affairs  the  Credit  Mobilier  scandal  was  blown  before  the  coun¬ 
try  ;  and  no  Congress  would  have  dared  to  vote  further  subsidies  to 
a  railroad  enterprise.  Jay  Cooke’s  securities  became  comparatively 
worthless;  then  followed  the  failures  and  the  panic.  The  work  of 
constructing  the  road  was  arrested  by  the  financial  distress  of  the 
country,  and  has  since  been  pushed  forward  but  slowly  and  with  great 
difficulty.  In  1875  the  section  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  ex¬ 
tending  from  Duluth  to  Bismarck,  Dakota,  had  been  put  in  opera¬ 
tion;  and  another  section,  a  hundred  and  five  miles  in  length,  between 
Kalama  and  Tacoma,  in  Washington  Territory,  had  also  been  com¬ 
pleted.  Meanwhile,  the  attention  of  the  country  was  turned  to  the 
Texas  and  Pacific  line,  which  had  been  projected  from  Shreveport, 
Louisiana,  and  Texarkana,  Arkansas,  by  way  of  El  Paso  to  San  Diego, 
California  —  a  distance  from  Shreveport  of  a  thousand  five  hundred 
and  fourteen  miles.  In  1875  the  main  line  had  been  carried  west¬ 
ward  a  hundred  and  eighty-nine  miles  to  Dallas,  Texas,  while  the  line 
from  Texarkana  had  progressed  seventy-five  miles  towards  El  Paso. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1875,  the  Territory  of  Colorado  was  au¬ 
thorized  by  Congress  to  form  a  State  constitution.  On  the  1st  of 
July,  in  the  following  year,  the  instrument  thus  provided  for,  was 
ratified  by  the  people ;  a  month  later,  the  President  issued  his  proc¬ 
lamation,  and  “  the  Centennial  State  ”  took  her  place  in  the  Union. 
The  new  commonwealth  embraced  an  area  of  a  hundred  and  four 
thousand  five  hundred  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  forty-two 
thousand  souls.  Public  attention  was  directed  to  the  territory  by  the 
discovery  of  gold,  in  the  year  1852.  Silver  was  discovered  about  the 
same  time,  and  in  the  winter  of  1858-9,  the  first  colony  of  miners 
was  established  on  Clear  Creek  and  in  Gilpin  County.  The  entire 
yield  of  gold  up  to  the  time  of  the  admission  of  the  State  was  esti¬ 
mated  at  more  than  seventy  millions  of  dollars.  Until  1859,  Colo¬ 
rado  constituted  a  part  of  Kansas;  but  in  that  year  a  convention 
was  held  at  Denver,  and  in  1861  a  distinct  territorial  organization 
was  effected.  Since  1870,  immigration  has  been  rapid  and  constant. 

The  last  years  of  the  history  of  the  Republic  have  been  noted 
for  the  number  of  public  men  who  have  fallen  by  the  Land  of  death. 
In  December  of  1869,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  secretary  of  war  under 


36 


562 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


President  Lincoln,  and  more  recently  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
United  States,  died.  In  1870  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  president  of 
Washington  and  Lee  University,  General  George  H.  Thomas  and  Ad¬ 
miral  Farragut  passed  away.  In  1872  William  H.  Seward,  Professor 
Morse,  Horace  Greeley  and  General  Meade  were  all  called  from  the 

scene  of  their  earth¬ 
ly  labors.  On  the 
7th  of  May,  1873, 
Chief- Justice  Chase 
fell  under  a  stroke 
of  paralysis  at  the 
home  of  his  daugh¬ 
ter  in  New  York 

City;  and  on  the 
•  * 

lltli  of  March  in 
the  following  year, 
Senator  Charles 
Sumner  of  Massa- 
chusetts  died  at 
Washington.  He 
was  a  native  of  Bos¬ 
ton  ;  bom  in  1811; 
liberally  educated  at 
Harvard  College. 
At  the  age  of  thir¬ 
ty  -  five  he  entered 
the  arena  of  public 
life,  and  in  1850  succeeded  Daniel  Webster  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  This  position  he  retained  until  the  time  of  his  death, 
speaking  much  and  powerfully  on  all  the  great  questions  that  agitated 
the  nation.  His  last  days  were  spent  in  considering  the  interests 
and  welfare  of  that  country  to  whose  service  he  had  given  the  life¬ 
long  energies  of  his  genius.  On  the  22d  of  November,  1875,  Vice- 
President  Henry  Wilson,  whose  health  had  been  gradually  failing 
since  his  inauguration,  sank  under  a  stroke  of  paralysis  and  died  at 
Washington  city.  Like  Roger  Sherman,  he  had  risen  from  the  shoe¬ 
maker’s  bench  to  the  highest  honors  of  his  country.  Without  the 
learning  of  Seward  and  Sumner — without  the  diplomatic  skill  of  the 
one  or  the  oratorical  fame  of  the  other — he  nevertheless  possessed 
those  great  abilities  and  sterling  merits  which  will  transmit  his  name 
to  after  times  on  the  roll  of  patriot  statesmen. 


CHARLES  SCMNER. 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


563 


As  the  Centennial  of  American  Independence  drew  near,  the 
people  made  ready  to  .celebrate  the  great  event  with  appropriate 
ceremonies.  A  hundred  years  of  national  prosperity — though  not 
unclouded  by  ominous  shadows  and  not  unhurt  by  the  devastations 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL,  1876. 


cf  war — had  swept  away,  and  at  last  the  dawn  of  the  centennial 
morning  was  rising  in  the  eastern  sky.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed 
that  the  thoughtful  and  patriotic  of  the  land  would  allow  so  lustrous 
an  epoch  to  go  by  without  impressing  upon  the  present  generation  the 


564 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  ST  A  TES. 


lesson  of  the  past  and  the  hope  of  the  future.  As  early  as  1866,  a 
proposition  was  made  by  Professor  John  L.  Campbell  of  Wabash 
College,  that  steps  should  be  taken  looking  to  the  proper  celebration 
of  the  great  national  anniversary.  About  the  same  time  the  question 
of  an  international  exhibition  in  honor  of  our  independence,  was 
agitated  by  the  Honorable  John  Bigelow,  a  former  minister  of  the 
United  States  to  France.  A  •  correspondence  was  soon  afterward 
begun  and  carried  on  by  the  Honorable  Morton  McMichael,  Mayor 
of  Philadelphia,  Senator  Henry  S.  Lane  of  Indiana,  M.  R.  Muckle  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  General  Charles  B.  Norton,  who  had  served  as  a 
commissioner  of  the  United  States  at  the  Exposition  Internationale  of 
1867.  To  these  men,  more  than  to  others  perhaps,  must  be  awarded 
the  honor  of  having  originated  the  Centennial  Exposition.  But  it  is 
hardly  to  be  supposed  that  the  American  people  would  have  failed, 
from  the  want  of  leaders  or  any  other  circumstance,  to  mark  with  an 
imposing  display  the  hundredth  year  of  the  Republic. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  movement;  but  the  development  of 
the  project  was  discouraged  for  a  while  with  considerable  opposition 
and  much  lukewarmness.  The  whole  scheme  was  a  vision  of  enthu¬ 
siasm,  a  Quixotieal  dream, — said  the  critics  and  objectors.  No  such 
an  enterprise  could  be  carried  through  except  under  the  patronage  of 
the  Government,  and  the  Government  had  no  right  to  make  appropri¬ 
ations  merely  to  preserve  an  old  reminiscence.  We  had  had  enough 
.of  the  Fourth  of  July  already.  Besides, — said  the  writs  and  caricatur¬ 
ists, — the  other  nations  would  present  a  ludicrous  figure  in  helping  us 
to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  a  rebellion  which  they  had  tried  to 
crush  a  hundred  years  ago.  Victoria  was  expected — so  said  they-r- 
to  send  over  commissioners  to  heap  contumely  and  contempt  on  the 
grave  of  her  grandfather !  No  nation  of  Europe  would  consent  to  its 
own  stultification  by  joining  in  the  jubilee  of  republicanism.  Besides 
all  this  caviling,  it  was  foreseen  that  Philadelphia  would  quite 
certainly  be  selected  as  the  scene  of  the  proposed  display,  and  on 
that  account  a  good  deal  of  local  jealousy  wTas  excited  in  the  other 
principal  cities  of  the  Union.  Nevertheless,  the  advocates  of  the 
enterprise  continued  to  urge  the  feasibility  and  propriety  of  the 
exposition ;  the  more  enlightened  newspapers  of  the  country  lent 
their  influence,  and  the  popular  voice  soon  declared  in  favor  of  the 
measure. 

As  early  as  the  beginning  of  1870,  the  general  plan  and  princi¬ 
pal  features  of  the  celebration  had  been  determined  in  the  minds  of 
its  projectors.  As  to  the  form  of  the  display,  an  International  Expo- 


GRANT’S  ADMINISTRATION 


565 


sition  of  Arts  and  Industries  was  decided  on ;  as  to  the  scene,  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  hallowed  by  a  thousand  Revolutionary  memories, 
was  selected;  as  to  the  time,  from  the  19th  of  April  to  the  19th  of 
October,  1876.  The  first  organized  body  to  give  aid  and  encourage¬ 
ment  to  the  enterprise  was  the  Franklin  Institute  of  Philadelphia. 
Through  the  influence  of  that  patriotic  organization,  a  Centennial 
Commission,  consisting  of  seven  members  appointed  by  the  city 
council,  was  constituted,  with  John  L.  Shoemaker  as  chairman. 
Shortly  afterwards  a  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania,  invoking  the  aid  of  Congress  in  behalf  of  the  proposed 
celebration  ;  and  on  the  3d  of  March,  1871,  a  bill  was  passed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  which  became  the  basis  of  qll  subsequent 
proceedings  relating  to  the  Centennial. 

In  this  bill  it  was  provided  that  an  exhibition  of  American  and 
Foreign  arts,  products  and  manufactures  should  be  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  the  city  of  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  in  1876;  that  a  Centennial  Commission,  consisting  of  one 
member  and  one  alternate  from  each  State  and  Territory,  should  be 
appointed  by  the  President;  that  to  this  board  of  commissioners  should 
be  referred  the  entire  management  and  responsibility  of  the  enter¬ 
prise  ;  that  the  members  of  the  board  should  receive  no  compensa¬ 
tion  ;  that  the  United  States  should  not  be  liable  for  any  of  the 
expenses  of  the  exposition  ;  and  that  the  President,  when  officially 
informed  that  suitable  buildings  had  been  erected  and  adequate  pro¬ 
visions  made  for  the  proposed  exhibition,  should  make  proclamation 
of  that  fact  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  to  all  foreign 
nations.  During  the  year  1871,  the  Centennial  Commission  was  con¬ 
stituted  in  accordance  with  the  act  of  Congress.  On  the  4th  of  March, 
1872,  the  members  assembled  at  Philadelphia  and  effected  a  perma¬ 
nent  organization  by  the  election  of  General  Joseph  R.  Hawley  of 
Connecticut  as  President.  Orestes  Cleveland  of  New  Jersey,  John  D. 
Creigh  of  California,  Robert  Lowry  of  Iowa,  Robert  Mallory  of  Ken¬ 
tucky,  Thomas  H.  Coldwell  of  Tennessee,  John  McNeill  of  Missouri, 
and  William  Gurney  of  South  Carolina,  were  chosen  as  the  seven  vice- 
presidents  of  the  organization.  As  secretary,  Professor  John  L.  Camp¬ 
bell  of  Indiana  was  elected.  The  important  office  of  director-general 
was  conferred  on  Alfred  T.  Goshorn  of  Ohio  ;  and  as  counselor  and 
solicitor  John  L.  Shoemaker  of  Pennsylvania  was  chosen. 

The  question  of  money  next  engaged  the  attention  of  the  man¬ 
agers.  How  to  provide  the  funds  necessary  for  carrying  forward  so 
vast  an  enterprise  became  a  source  of  much  discussion  and  no  little 


566 


JUS  TOE  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  ST  A  TES. 


anxiety.  The  positive  refusal  of  the  government  to  become  respon¬ 
sible  for  any  part  of  the  expenses  of  the  Exhibition  added  to  the  em¬ 
barrassment;  for  it  was  now  seen  that  private  resources  and  the  good 
will  of  the  people  must  furnish  the  entire  sum  necessary  for  the  suc¬ 
cess  of  the  enterprise.  Several  measures  were  accordingly  adopted 

by  the  Centennial  Commis¬ 
sion  looking  to  the  creation 
of  a  treasury.  By  an  act  ot 
Congress,  passed  on  the  1st- 
of  June,  1872,  provision  was 
made  for  the  organization  of 
a  Centennial  Board  of  Fi¬ 
nance,  to  which  the  whole 
monetary  management  of 
the  Exposition  should  be 
entrusted.  This  board  was 
organized  by  the  election 
of  John  Welsh  of  Philadel¬ 
phia  as  president.  William 
Sellers  and  John  S.  Barboui 
were  chosen  vice-presidents. 
The  office  of  secretary  and 
treasurer  was  conferred  on 
Frederick  Fraley;  that  of 
auditor,  on  H.  S.  Lansing; 
and  that  of  financial  agent,  on  William  Bigler.  The  board  was  au¬ 
thorized  to  issue  stock  in  shares  of  ten  dollars  each,  the  whole  num¬ 
ber  of  shares  thus  issued  not  to  exceed  one  million.  It  was  also  pro¬ 
vided  that  a  series  of  Centennial  Memorial  Medals  should  be  struck  at 
the  mint  of  the  United  States,  and  that  the  sale  of  such  medals  should 
be  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the  Board  of  Finance.  The  medals 
were  elegantly  executed  in  several  styles  and  sizes — of  gilt,  silver,  and 
bronze — furnishing  for  after  ages  an  impressive  token  of  the  American 
Republic  in  its  hundredth  year. 

Careful  estimates,  made  by  the  Centennial  Commission  and  the 
Board  of  Finance,  placed  the  entire  expense  of  the  Exposition  at  eight 
million  jive  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Of  this  sum  about  two  and  a 
half  millions  were  raised  by  the  sale  of  stock — a  work  which  was  at 
first  entrusted  to  the  banks  of  the  country  and  afterward  to  a  Bureau 
of  Revenue  established  for  that  purpose.  Long  before  this  amount 
was  secured,  however,  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  made  a  glorious 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION 


567 


record  tor  that  State  by  appropriating  one  million  dollars  for  the 
Exhibition.  The  “  City  of  Brotherly  Love”  did  better  still  by  voting 
the  sum  of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  people 
of  New  York  City  made  a  contribution  of  a  quarter  of  a  million. 
The  State  of  New  Jersey  gave  a  hundred  thousand  dollars;  New 


CENTENNIAL  medal.— obverse.  centennial  medal.— reverse. 


Hampshire,  Connecticut,  and  Delaware,  ten  thousand  dollars  each. 
But  notwithstanding  these  magnificent  contributions,  the  aggregate 
sum  fell  far  short  of  the  estimates;  and  the  Centennial  Commission — 
in  the  face  of  the  former  illiberal  action  of  Congress — resolved  to 
make  a  second  appeal  to  that  body  for  help.  A  bill  was  accordingly 
prepared,  asking  for  an  appropriation  of  three  million  dollars  from 
the  national  treasury;  but  on  the  6th  of  May,  1874,  the  bill  was 
decisively  defeated — an  act  well  calculated  to  bring  the  American 
name  into  contempt  and  shame.*  The  managers  of  the  Exposition 
were  again  thrown  back  upon  the  people  for  sympathy  and  aid. 

Meanwhile,  the  sale  of  stock  and  of  medals,  as  well  as  other 
enterprises  for  the  increase  of  the  Centennial  funds,  was  going  on 
successfully.  *  The  Exposition  gained  constantly  in  public  favor. 
Even  in  the  Far  West,  Centennial  orators  traveled  through  the 
country  districts,  stirring  up  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people.  The 
public  Free  Schools,  by  exhibitions  and  excursions,  contributed  their 
part  towards  the  success  of  the  great  celebration.  In  June  of  1874, 

*  After  times  may  be  astonished  to  know  that  the  empire  of  Japan  cheerfully 
contributed  six  hundred  thousand  collars  to  the  success  of  the  American  Centennial 
after  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  had  twice  refused  to  vote  a  cent. 


568 


HISTOB  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  ST  A  TES. 


the  President  of  the  United  States  extended  a  cordial  invitation  to 
all  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world  to  participate  in  an  Interna¬ 
tional  Exhibition  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Products  of  the  Soil 
and  Mine,  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  1876,  in  honor 
of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  American  Independence.  By 
and  by,  the  contagion  spread  even  to  Congress,  and  that  body  passed 
an  act  appropriating  five  hundred  and  five  thousand  dollars  for  the 
erection  of  a  Centennial  Building  in  honor  of  the  United  States  and 
for  the  illustration  of  the  functions  and  resources  of  the  American 
Government  in  times  of  peace  and  of  war.  The  legislatures  of  sev¬ 
eral  of  the  States  also  became  interested  in  the  enterprise,  and  made 
appropriations — ranging  from  five  thousand  to  fifty  thousand  dollars — 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  State  Buildings  on  the  Exhibition 
grounds,  the  sum  thus  contributed  amounting  to  nearly  a  half 
million  dollars.  Finally,  as  the  success  of  the  Exposition  became 
more  and  more  assured,  the  patriotism  of  the  people  and  the  clamors 
of  the  press  drove  the  national  Congress  into  an  appropriation  of  a 
million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  supply  the  deficit  which  was 
still  reported  by  the  Board  of  Finance.  Such  were  the  principal 
measures  by  which  the  Centennial  fund  was  finally  secured. 

One  of  the  first  matters  to  which  the  attention  of  the  Centennial 
Commission  was  directed,  was  the  selection  of  suitable  grounds  for 
holding  the  Exposition.  But  that  problem  was  soon  solved  in  the 
most  satisfactory  manner.  By  the  act  of  March  3d,  1871,  it  was 
decided  by  Congress  that  the  Exhibition  should  be  held  within  the 
corporate  limits  of  Philadelphia.  The  authorities  of  that  city,  throw¬ 
ing  their  whole  energies  into  the  enterprise,  at  once  proffered  to  the 
commissioners  the  free  use  of  Fairmount  Park,  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  magnificent  in  the  world.  This  beautiful  tract,  presenting 
every  variety  of  surface,  well  wooded  and  well  watered,  extends  on 
both  sides  of  the  Schuylkill  for  more  than  seven  miles,  and  along  the 
banks  of  the  Wissahickon  for  nearly  the  same  distance.  The  entire 
park  embraces  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty  acres,  and 
presents  to  the  eye  every  thing  that  is  lovely  and  refreshing  in 
woodland  scenery,  beautified  and  adorned  by  the  hand  of  art.  The 
portion  of  the  grounds  more  particularly  set  apart  for  the  purposes 
of  the  Exposition,  including  an  area  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres, 
lies  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Schuylkill,  below  Belmont,  and  was 
formerly  known  as  the  old  Lansdowne  Estate. 

The  formal  transfer  of  the  grounds  to  the  Centennial  Commission 
was  made  on  the  4th  of  July,  1873,  An  immense  throng  of  citizens 


TILE  CENTENNIAL  GE0UND8  AND  BUILDINGS. 


570 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  strangers  gathered  in  the  park  to  witness  the  ceremonies.  The 
address  of  presentation  was  made  by  the  Honorable  Morton  Mc- 
Michael  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  response  by  General  Hawley, 
president  of  the  Commission.  The  dedicatory  oration  was  then 
delivered  by  Governor  Hartranft  of  Pennsylvania,  who,  after  reciting 
the  congressional  acts  and  various  other  measures  upon  which  the 
Centennial  enterprise  had  thus  far  proceeded,  continued  in  the 
following  eloquent  manner  :  # 

“We  have  assembled  here  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  this  beauti- . 
ful  park  to  the  uses  of  a  great  International  Exhibition,  which  is 
to  commemorate  the  anniversary  of  our  country’s  birth.  Upon 
the  threshold  of  the  century  to  expire  in  1876,  thirteen  poor  and 
feeble  colonies,  with  no  common  ties  other  than  their  love  of  liberty 
and  hatred  of  oppression,  declared  their  independence.  These 
Thirteen  Colonies,  with  their  offspring,  now  increased  in  number  to 
thirty-seven,  stretch  their  empire  across  a  continent,  and  afford  the 
grandest  exhibition  of  a  nation’s  progress  in  the  world’s  history.  In 
all  the  wondrous  changes  wrought  in  the  nineteenth  century,  none 
are  so  wondrous  and  conspicuous  as  the  industrial,  moral,  and  physi¬ 
cal  growth  of  this  our  native  land.  With  those  powerful  auxiliaries, 
steam  and  the  telegraph — both  of  which  our  country  gave  to  man¬ 
kind — we  are  striding  with  majestic  steps  toward  a  dominion  unri¬ 
valed  by  any  other  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Let  us,  then,, 
from  every  State — north,  south,  east,  and  west — bring  to  this  great 
city,  the  consecrated  place  where  our  liberty  was  born,  the  evidences 
of  our  culture,  the  proofs  of  our  skill,  and  our  vast  and  varied 
resources,  that  the  world  may  have  a  glimpse  of  our  enlargement, 
industry,  wealth,  and  power.  To  the  myriads  who  will  gather  here, 
let  us  accord  a  welcome  which  shall  be  in  keeping  with  the  dignity 
and  magnitude  of  our  country.  Here,  too,  let  our  own  people  gather, 
garnering  new  and  fresh  ideas  from  a  survey  of  the  world’s  arts  and 
industries;  and  let  us  dedicate  ourselves  to  a  higher  civilization,  to 
more  extensive  fields  of  development,  to  more  liberal  and  more  widely 
diffused  education,  to  the  purification  of  our  institutions,  and  to  the 
preservation  of  that  liberty  which  is  the  foundation-stone  of  our 
prosperity  and  happiness.” 

Governor  Hartranft  was  followed  by  George  M.  Robeson,  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  navy,  who  read  a  proclamation  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States;  and  then  the  General  Regulations  for  the  government 
of  the  Exposition  were  announced  as  follows  : 


GRANT’S  ADMINISTRATION 


571 


I.  The  International  Exhibition  of  1876  will  be  held  in  Fair- 
mount  Park,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1876. 

II.  The  date  of  opening  the  Exhibition  will  be  April  19th, 
1876,  and  of  closing  will  be  October  19th,  1876. 

III.  A  cordial  invitation  is  hereby  extended  to  every  nation  of 
the  earth  to  be  represented  by  its  arts,  industries,  progress,  and 
development. 

IV.  A  formal  acceptance  of  this  invitation  is  requested  previous 
to  March  4th,  1874. 

V.  Each  nation  accepting  this  invitation  is  requested  to  appoint 
a  Commission,  through  which  all  matters  pertaining  to  its  own  inter¬ 
ests  shall  be  conducted.  For  the  purpose  of  convenient  intercourse 
and  satisfactory  supervision,  it  is  especially  desired  that  one  member 
of  every  such  Commission  be  designated  to  reside  at  Philadelphia 
until  the  close  of  the  Exposition. 

VI.  The  privileges  of  exhibitors  can  be  granted  only  to  citizens 
of  countries  whose  governments  have  formally  accepted  the  invitation 
to  be  represented,  and  have  appointed  the  aforementioned  Commis¬ 
sion  ;  and  all  communications  must  be  made  through  the  Govern¬ 
mental  Commissions. 

VII.  Applications  for  space  within  the  Exposition  buildings,  or 
in  the  adjacent  buildings  and  grounds  under  the  control  of  the  Cen¬ 
tennial  Commission,  must  be  made  previous  to  March  4th,  1875. 

VIII.  Full  diagrams  of  the  buildings  and  grounds  will  be  fur¬ 
nished  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  different  nations  which  shall 
accept  the  invitation  to  participate. 

IX.  All  articles  intended  for  exhibition,  in  order  to  secure 
proper  position  and  classification,  must  be  in  Philadelphia  on  or 
before  January  1st,  1876. 

X.  Acts  ot  Congress  pertaining  to  custom-house  regulations, 
duties,  etc.,  together  with  all  special  regulations  adopted  by  the  Cen¬ 
tennial  Commission  in  reference  to  transportation,  allotment  of  space, 
classification,  motive  power,  insurance,  police  rules,  and  other  matters 
necessary  to  the  proper  display  and  preservation  of  materials, — will  be 
promptly  communicated  to  the  accredited  representatives  of  the  sev¬ 
eral  governments  cooperating  in  the  Exposition. 

On  the  day  after  the  dedication  of  the  grounds  in  Fairmount 
Park,  a  copy  of  the  President’s  proclamation,  already  mentioned;  was 
transmitted  to  each  of  the  foreign  ministers  resident  at  Washington. 
At  the  same  time,  the  American  secretary  of  state  notified  the  minis- 


572 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ters  that  the  proposed  display  was  intended  as  an  International 
Exhibition  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Products  of  the  Soil  and 
Mine ;  that  the  special  design  of  the  Exposition  was  to  commemorate 
the  Declaration  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States;  that 
another  prime  object  was  to  furnish  to  all  nations  an  opportunity  for 
mutual  improvement  and  a  higher  culture  in  beholding  the  products 
of  each  other’s  civilization  ;  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
indulged  the  hope  that  all  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  foreign 
nations  would  bring  the  Exposition  and  its  objects  to  the  attention 
of  the  people  of  their  respective  countries;  and  that  the  Exhibition 
might  greatly  conduce  to  the  establishment  and  perpetuation  of  in¬ 
ternational  friendship  and  good  will.  These  official  communications 
were  cordially  received  by  the  foreign  ministers  and  by  the  govern¬ 
ments  which  they  represented.  The  President’s  invitations  were 
quickly  accepted ;  and  before  the  expiration  of  the  allotted  time,  the 
following  nations  had  notified  the  American  Government  of  their 
desire  and  intention  to  participate  in  the  Exposition  :  The  Argentine 
Confederation,  Austria,  Belgium,  Bolivia,  Brazil,  Chili,  China,  Den¬ 
mark,  Ecuador,  Egypt,  France  (including  Algeria),  German  Empire, 
Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies,  Greece,  Guatemala,  Hawaii,  Hayti, 
Honduras,  Italy,  Japan,  Liberia,  Mexico,  Netherlands,  Nicaragua, 
Norway,  Orange  Free  State,  Persia,  Peru,  Portugal,  Russia,  Siam, 
Spain,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Tunis,  Turkey,  United  States  of  Colom¬ 
bia,  Venezuela. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  difficult  of  the  subjects  which 
engaged  the  attention  of  the  Centennial  Commission  was  the  proper 
analysis  and  classification  of  the  materials  to  be  exhibited.  Until 
this  question  was  settled  it  could  not  be  known  what  buildings  to 
erect  or  how  to  erect  them.  Nor  could  the  various  nations  know  in 
advance  how  to  select  and  arrange  their  products  so  as  to  come  into 
proper  competition  with  each  other,  until  a  General  Classification 
should  be  prepared  and  reported.  It  was  foreseen,  moreover,  that 
a  mistake  in  this  regard  would  be  in  a  great  measure  fatal  to  the 
success  of  the  Exposition,  as  a  bad  classification  would  be  sure  to 
result  in  heaping  up  in  the  Centennial  buildings  a  vast  and  chaotic 
mass  of  materials  which  nobody  could  appreciate  or  understand.  In 
this  important  work  of  classification  the  Commissioners — considering 
the  magnitude  and  novelty  of  the  task  imposed  upon  them — succeeded 
admirably.  It  was  decided  to  arrange  all  of  the  materials  which 
should  be  presented  for  exhibition  in  ten  great  classes  or  departments, 


GRANT* S  ADMINISTRATION. 


573 


the  names  of  which  should  suggest,,  even  to  the  common  beholder, 
the  particular  object  on  display.  The  following  was  the  General 
Classification  adopted  by  the  Commission  : 

I.  Raw  Materials;  Mineral,  Vegetable,  and  Animal. 

II.  Materials  and  Manufactures  used  for  Food  or  in 
the  Arts  ;  the  results  of  Extractive  or  Combining  Processes. 

III.  Textile  and  Felted  Fabrics;  Apparel,  Costumes,  and 
Personal  Ornaments. 

IV.  Furniture  and  Manufactures  of  General  Use  in 
Construction  and  in  Dwellings. 

V.  Tools,  Implements,  Machines,  and  Processes. 

VI.  Motors  and  Transportation. 

VII.  Apparatus  and  Methods  for  the  Increase  and  Dif¬ 
fusion  of  Knowledge. 

VIII.  Engineering;  Public  Works,  Architecture,  etc. 

IX.  Plastic  and  Graphic  Arts. 

X.  Objects  illustrating  Efforts  for  the  Improvement 

of  the  Physical,  Intellectual,  and  Moral  Condition  of 
Man.  # 

Each  of  these  general  departments  was  divided  and  subdivided 
until  a  proper  classification  of  all  the  materials  about  to  be  exhibited 
was  secured. 

To  erect  buildings  suitable  in  character  and  capacity — buildings 
illustrative  of  the  taste,  equal  to  the  enterprise,  and  worthy  of  the 
genius  of  the  American  people — was  the  next  great  duty  devolved 
upon  the  Centennial  Commission.  Here  success  was  necessary.  To 
succeed  was  to  elicit  the  admiration  of  every  people ;  to  fail  was  to 
fail  ingloriously.  The  reputation  of  the  United  States  was  at  stake. 
For  the  foremost  men  of  all  the  world,  the  savants  of  Europe  and 
Asia — art  critics,  wits,  and  journalists;  statesmen,  poets,  and  philoso¬ 
phers;  admirers  of  the  beautiful,  keen-scented  satirists,  and  dislikers 
of  republicanism  out  of  every  clime  under  heaven — were  sure  to  gaze 
upon  and  criticise  whatever  should  be  built  in  Fairmount  Park,  and 
to  carry  abroad  the  story  of  our  honor  or  our  disgrace.  Grand  and 
imposing  structures  would  add  to  the  dignity  of  the  great  occasion. 
Mean  and  insignificant  buildings  would  insure  a  mean  and  insignificant 
exhibition,  and  that,  in  its  turn,  would  produce  among  all  nations  a 
contemptuous  estimate  of  the  American  people  and  their  institutions. 

After  much  deliberation,  the  Centennial  Commission  determined 
upon  the  erection  of  five  principal  buildings,  the  name  and  character 


574 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  STA  TES. 


of  each  to  be  determined  by  the  nature  of  the  materials  therein  to  be 
displayed.  The  first  of  these,  called  the  Main  Building,  was  de¬ 
signed  with  special  reference  to  the  exhibition  of  Products  of  the 
Mine,  Workmanship  in  the  Metals,  Manufactures  in  general,  Edu¬ 
cational  and  Scientific  displays.  The  second  building — called  the 
Memorial  Hall,  or  Art  Gallery — was  planned  for  the  exhibi¬ 
tion  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  all  their  various  branches  and  modifications 
— Sculpture,  Painting,  Engraving,  Lithography,  Photography,  Indus¬ 
trial  and  Architectural  Designs,  Decorations,  and  Mosaics.  The  third 
principal  building  was  named  Machinery  Hall,  and  was  designed 
for  the  display  of  Machines  of  every  pattern  and  purpose  known  to 
man — Motors,  Generators  of  Power,  Pneumatic  and  Hydraulic  Appa¬ 
ratuses,  Railway  Enginery,  and  Contrivances  for  Aerial  and  Water 
Transportation.  The  fourth  edifice  projected  by  the  Commissioners 
was  called  Agricultural  Hall,  and  was  planned  for  the  exhibition 
of  all  Tree  and  Forest  Products,  Fruits  of  every  grade  and  descrip¬ 
tion,  Agricultural  Products  proper,  Land  and  Marine  Animals  includ¬ 
ing  the  Apparatus  used  in  the  Care  and  Culture  of  the  same,  Animal 
and  Vegetable  Products,  Textile  Materials,  Implements  and  Processes 
peculiar  to  Agriculture,  Farm  Engineering,  Tillage  and  General  Man¬ 
agement  of  Field,  Forest,  and  Homestead.  The  fifth  and  last  build¬ 
ing,  called  Horticultural  Hall,  was  designed  for  the  proper  dis¬ 
play  of  Ornamental  Trees,  Shrubs,  and  Flowers — Hot-houses,  Conserv¬ 
atories,  Graperies ;  Tools,  Accessories,  Designs,  Construction,  and 
Management  of  Gardens.  Such  was  the  general  plan  under  which 
the  principal  edifices  of  Fairmount  Park  were  begun. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1874,  the  foundations  of  Memorial  Hall 
were  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  In  the  following  September, 
work  was  begun  on  the  Main  Building,  and  was  steadily  carried  for¬ 
ward  during  the  whole  of  the  next  year  and  until  the  beginning  of 
February,  1876,  when  the  immense  structure  was  completed.  Machin¬ 
ery  Hall  was  built  between  the  months  of  January  and  October,  1875. 
On  the  1st  of  May,  in  the  same  year,  the  foundations  of  Horticultural 
Hall  were  laid,  and  the  building  was  brought  to  completion  April 
1st,  1876.  Agricultural  Hall  was  not  begun  until  September  of  1875, 
but  the  work  was  carried  forward  so  rapidly  that  the  edifice  was  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  middle  of  the  following  April.  Meanwhile,  the  work 
on  the  Government,  Building,  the  construction  of  which  had 
been  provided  for  by  the  congressional  act  of  March  3d,  1875,  was 
pressed  to  completion  early  in  1876.  Moreover,  it  had  become  appar¬ 
ent  to  the  Commissioners  that  the  space  provided  in  Memorial  Hall 
\ 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


575 


would  by  no  means  accommodate  the  immense  exhibition  of  Fin* 
Arts  which  was  now  confidently  expected;  and  an  Art  Annex  was 
accordingly  planned  and  built.  It  was  also  found  from  the  rapidly 
accumulating  applications  for  space  that  the  Main  Building  itself 
would  be  filled  to  overflowing ;  and  two  Annexes — the  principal  one 
for  carriages  and  the  other  for  the  display  of  the  Minerals  of  the 
United  States — were  accordingly  added  to  that  immense  structure. 

Other  buildings — illustrative  of  various  interests  and  enterprises 
brought  together  from  the  ends  of  the  earth — were  rapidly  planned 
and  constructed.  A  Woman’s  Pavilion,  projected  and  carried  to 
completion  by  an  organization  called  the  Women’s  Centennial  Exec¬ 
utive  Committee,  was  begun  in  the  middle  of  October,  1875,  and  fin¬ 
ished  in  the  following  January.  The  building  was  designed  for  the 
special  exhibition  of  whatever  woman’s  skill,  patience  and  genius 
have  produced,  and  are  producing,  in  the  way  of  handicraft,  inven¬ 
tion,  decorations,  letters,  and  art.  Next  came  the  several  States  and 
Territories,  selecting  grounds  and  constructing  a  series  of  State 
Buildings,  commemorative  of  the  spirit  and  illustrating  the  re¬ 
sources  of  the  respective  commonwealths  of  the  Union.  Nearly  all 
the  foreign  nations  participating  in  the  Exposition  made  haste  to 
erect,  for  their  own  convenience  and  for  the  honor  of  native  land, 
elegant  Government  Buildings  —  French,  Spanish,  or  British  — 
which  became  a  kind  of  head-quarters  and  rendezvous  for  the  sev¬ 
eral  nationalities  Then  came  model  dwellings  and  Bazaars,  School- 
houses  and  Restaurants,  Judges’  Halls  and  model  Factories,  News¬ 
paper  Buildings  and  Ticket  Offices, — until  the  Centennial  grounds 
(capacious  as  they  were)  were  filled  with — shall  it  be  called  a  city  ? — 
the  most  imposing,  spacious,  and  ornate  ever  seen  in  the  world.  A 
more  complete  description  of  some  of  those  grand  structures  will  here 
be  appropriate. 

The  first  and  largest  of  them  all  was  the  Main  Building,  situated 
immediately  east  of  the  intersection  of  Belmont  and  Elm  Avenues. 
The  edifice  was  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  having  a  length  from 
east  to  west  of  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty'  feet,*  and  a  breadth 
from  north  to  south  of  four  hundred  and  sixty'-four  feet.  The  build¬ 
ing  throughout  its  greater  extent  was  one  story  high,  the  main  cornice 
being  forty-five  feet  from  the  ground.  The  general  height  within  was 
seventy  feet,  rising  to  ninety  feet  under  the  principal  arcades.  From 
each  of  the  four  corners  of  the  building  rose  a  rectangular  tower 
forty-eight  feet  square  and  seventy-five  feet  high.  Over  the  central 

*  Eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six  feet  (the  Centennial  number)  in  the  clear. 


57G 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  ST  A  TES. 


portion  of  the  main  structure  a 
raised  roof  one  hundred  and  eigh¬ 
ty-four  feet  square  was  likewise 
surmounted  at  the  corners  by  four 
towers  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
in  height.  In  the  middle  of  the 
two  sides,  looking  north  and  south, 
were  the  principal  projections,  four 
hundred  and  sixteen  feet  in  length. 
The  corresponding  projections  at 
the  ends  were  two  hundred  and 
sixteen  feet  long,  and  extended, 
the  western  in  the  direction  of 
Machinery  Hall,  and  the  eastern 
towards  the  city.  In  these  four 
projections  were  placed  the  main 
entrances  to  the  building;  that  on 
the  east  facing  the  carriage-ways 
to  the  city;  the  southern  receiv¬ 
ing  passengers  from  the  street-cars 
and  the  depot  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railway ;  the  western  being  rath¬ 
er  an  exit  to  other  parts  of  the 
grounds  than  an  entrance  proper; 
and  the  northern  facing  Memorial 
Hall  and  the  Schuylkill. 

In  the  ground-plan  of  this 
immense  building  a  central  nave 
or  avenue,  a  hundred  and  tAventy 
feet  in  width,  traversed  the  main 
diameter  to  the  distance  of  eight¬ 
een  hundred  and  thirty-tA\ro  feet. 
Parallel  with  this,  two  side  aisles 
a  hundred  feet  Avide,  and  of  the 
same  length  Avith  the  principal 
nave,  divided  the  spaces  betAA’een 
the  same  and  the  sides  of  the 
building.  These  three  main  ave¬ 
nues  AArere  intersected  at  rig’ht  an¬ 
gles  by  cross  aisles  forty-eight  feet 
in  width,  dividing  the  Avhole  are& 


GRANT’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


577 


of  the  floor  into  blocks  or  squares,  with  spacious  avenues  entirely  around 
them.  The  principal  nave  and  its  parallel  aisles  were  likewise  inter¬ 
sected  by  the  main  and  two  subordinate  transepts,  dividing  the  cen¬ 
tral  space  of  the  ground-floor  into  nine  great  squares,  free  from 
columnar  support,  and  embracing  an  area  of  over  a  hundred  and 
seventy-three  thousand  square  feet.  The  entire  area  of  Ae  ground- 
floor  was  eight  hundred  and  seventy-two  thousand  three  hundred 
and  twenty  square  feet;  of  the  floors  in  the  projections,  thirty- 
seven  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-four  feet;  of  the  tower  floors, 
twenty-six  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-four  feet; — making  an 
aggregate  area  of  nine  hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand  and  eight 
square  feet,  or  twenty-one  and  forty-seven  hundredths  acres !  The 
ground-floor  proper  covered  a  space  of  a  little  more  than  twenty  acres.* 
The  building  was  chiefly  of  iron  and  glass,  and  contained  a  mass 
of  material  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  architecture.  The  outer 
walls  were  carried  up  in  brick-work  to  the  height  of  seven  feet  from 
the  foundations,  which  consisted  of  stone  piers  of  the  most  substantial 
masonry.  Above  the  brick-work  the  panels  between  the  columns  of 
support  were  occupied  with  glazed  sash,  sections  of  which  were  movable 
for  purposes  of  ventilation.  The  roof  was  of  tin,  laid  solidly  on  boards 
of  pine ;  and  the  exterior  ornaments — abounding  on  all  the  corners, 
angles,  and  towers — were  of  galvanized  iron.  The  columns  of  interior 
support — numbering  six  hundred  and  seventy-two,  and  ranging  from 
twenty-three  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  in  length — were 
of  rolled  iron,  and  had  an  aggregate  weight  of  two  million  two  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  pounds.  The  roof  trusses  and  girders  were  of  the  same 
material,  and  weighed  about  five  million  pounds.  No  less  than  seven 
million  feet  of  lumber  were  used  in  the  construction  of  the  building. 


*  A  comparison  of  the  leading  Centennial  buildings  (in  respect  of  dimensions)  with 
other  famous  edifices  may  prove  of  interest. 


Name  of  Structure. 

Area  of  Ground-Floor. 

Main  Exposition  Building, 

872,320  Square  feet, 

20.02  Acre?- 

Machinery  Hall, 

558,440 

u  u 

12.82 

U 

Agricultural  Hall, 

442,800 

u  u 

10.16 

Memorial  Hall, 

76,650 

(l  u 

1.76 

u 

Horticultural  Hall,  . 

73,912 

u  u 

1.69 

K 

The  Louvre  (including  the 

court), 

309,888 

(6  U 

7.11 

a 

St.  Peter’s, 

273,927 

u  u 

6.28 

a 

The  Capitol, 

261,348 

u  a 

6.00 

u 

The  Coliseum, 

245,340 

u  u 

5.63 

u 

St.  Paul’s, 

142,500 

u  u 

3.27 

u 

Cathedral  of  Milan,  . 

139,968 

u  u\ 

3.21 

a 

Tuileries, 

108,864 

a  u 

2.50 

a 

Westminister, 

103,733 

u  u 

2.38 

44 

St.  Sophia, 

82,600 

u  u 

1.89 

*4 

St.  Stephen’s, 

81,420 

a  u 

1.86 

44 

Notre  Dame,  .  . 

56,160 

u  u 

1.27 

37 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


1)78 

The  water  and  drainage  pipes — laid  for  the  most  part  underneath  the 
floor — were  four  miles  in  length.  Light — whether  streaming  through 
acres  of  stained  and  fretted  glass  by  day,  or  blazing  from  thousands 
of  gas-jets  and  burnished  reflectors  by  night — was  equally  and  abun¬ 
dantly  distributed.  Hydrants — everywhere  and  ever  full — promised 
security  against  the  destroyer. 

Such  were  the  principal  features  of  the  largest,  if  not  the  most 
imposing,  edifice  in  the  world.  The  general  effect,  notwithstanding 
the  immense  size  of  the  building,  was  especially  airy  and  pleasing. 
Happy  proportions  and  the  regularity  of  irregularity  reduced  the 
apparent  dimensions  of  the  mammoth  pavilion  till  the  vision  was 
nowhere  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  cumbrous  outlines  or  heaviness 
of  structure.  In  practical  adaptation  to  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  designed,  the  building  was  all  that  could  be  desired ;  and  in  its 
effect  upon  that  sense — call  it  by  what  name  you  will — which  takes 
cognizance  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful,  there  was  small  room  for 
caviling  and  criticism.  From  the  great  towers  and  observatories, 
rising  grandly  above  the  roof,  the  eye  of  the  beholder,  sweeping 
around  the  horizon,  drank  in  without  fatigue  the  historic  outline 
of  the  surrounding  country  and  the  midsummer  glories  of  Fair- 
mount  Park.  Here  wound  the  Schuylkill.  Yonder  was  Laurel  Hill, 
where  Elisha  Kent  Kane  sleeps  in  an  uninscribed  grave  on  the  rocky 
hillside.  No  need  of  epitaphs  for  such  as  him!  Farther  on  there 
came  a  glimpse  of  Germantowm,  where  through  the  fogs  and  deso¬ 
lations  of  that  forbidding  October  day-dawn  a  hundred  years  ago  the 
greatest  man  of  all  history,  at  the  head  of  his  ragged  and  half-starved 
army,  struggled  against  the  foe.  Here  to  the  east,  spreading  away 
from  the  very  feet  of  the  beholder  to  the  distant  rolling  Delaware, 
and  right  and  left  to  the  skirts  of  the  horizon,  slumbered  under  the 
summer  sun  the  old  City  of  Penn,  where  in  those  same  heroic  days, 
now  gliding  dreamily  into  the  shadow's  of  the  past,  Adams  and  Jef¬ 
ferson  and  Franklin  did  the  bravest  deed  in  the  civil  history  of  the 
human  race.  Such  were  the  thrilling  associations  which  clustered 
around  the  great  Centennial  Building.  Only  one  melancholy  reflec¬ 
tion  arose  to  trouble  the  soul  of  the  beholder:  the  grand  edifice  was 
designed  only  as  a  temporary  structure — meant  to  subserve  the  fleeting 
purposes  of  the  International  Exhibition. 

The  building  second  in  importance,  though  not  in  size,  among 
the  Centennial  structures,  was  the  Memorial  Hall,  or  Art  Gallery.  It 
stands  upon  a  broad  terrace  in  the  Lansdovme  Plateau,  at  the  dis¬ 
tance  of  twro  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the  north  projection  of  the 


Thm  'rvnrowwW- 


580 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Main  Building,  and  a  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  Schuylkill.  The  structure  is  of  iron,  granite,  and  glass,  and  is  in 
that  modern  style  of  architecture  called  the  Renaissance.  The  build¬ 
ing  is  in  the  form  of  a  rectangular  parallelogram,  and  is  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-five  feet  in  length,  two  hundred  and  ten  feet  wide,  and 
fifty-nine  feet  in  height  above  a  twelve-foot  basement  of  stone.  The 
dome,  also  rectangular  in  form,  rises  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  terrace,  and  is  surmounted  with  a  colossal  bell  bearing  a  mag¬ 
nificent  statue  of  the  goddess  America,  cast  in  zinc,  twenty-three  and 
a  half  feet  in  height,  and  weighing  six  thousand  pounds.  At  the  four 
corners  of  the  base  of  the  dome  are  seated  other  statues  representing 
the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  The  floor  of  the  main  hall  below  has 
an  area  of  more  than  a  half  acre,  and  is  capable  of  accommodating 
eight  thousand  spectators  at  one  time.  In  its  architectural  elements 
the  building  embraces  hints  derived  from  many  styles,  some  of  which 
— as,  for  instance,  the  arcades — date  back  as  far  as  the  villas  of  An¬ 
cient  Rome ;  but  the  general  effect  is  that  of  unity,  elegance,  and 
grandeur. 

The  Centennial  surroundings  of  Memorial  Hall  were  appropriate 
and  striking.  Before  the  main  entrance  and  on  either  hand  were  sta 
tioned  two  colossal  bronze  pegasi  curbed  by  the  Muses.  On  the  south¬ 
west  angle  of  the  terrace  a  group  of  statuary,  also  in  bronze,  repre¬ 
sented  the  firing  of  a  mortar  and  the  flight  of  the  shell,  watched  by 
the  men  of  the  battery;  while  on  the  southeast  angle  a  corresponding 
group  depicted  a  dying  lioness,  surrounded  by  her  whelps  and  guarded 
by  her  lord.  Opposite  the  main  entrances  of  the  edifice  the  terrace 
was  ascended  by  flights-  of  stone  steps,  spacious  and  grand ;  and  the 
beholder,  when  for  the  first  time  he  reached  the  plateau,  found  him¬ 
self  face  to  face  with  an  edifice  among  the  most  novel  and  beautiful 
in  the  New  World.  As  he  stood  midway  between  the  site  of  the  Main 
Building  and  Memorial  Hall,  he  saw,  on  the  one  hand,  a  mammoth 
structure  designed  for  the  exhibition  of  all  things  practical,  utilitarian,, 
and  profitable  among  the  products  of  thought  and  application ;  and, 
on  the  other,  a  temple  fit  for  the  repose  and  revelation  of  all  things 
ideal,  beautiful,  and  sublime  among  the  trophies  of  human  genius. 

The  Art  Gallery  was  built  at  a  cost  of  a  million  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  funds  for  this  purpose  were  the  joint  contri¬ 
bution  of  Philadelphia  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  The  building, 
was  designed  as  a  permanent  structure,  affording  for  present  time  a. 
suitable  gallery  for  the  Fine  Art  display  of  the  International  Exhibi¬ 
tion,  and,  in  its  final  purpose,  becoming  a  national  memorial  of  tl*- 


GRANT' S  ADMINISTRATION. 


581 


Centennial  year.  After  the  close 
of  the  Exposition,  the  edifice  was 
converted,  according  to  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  its  founders,  into  a  recep¬ 
tacle  for  the  Pennsylvania  Museum 
of  Industrial  Art, — an  institution 
similar  to  that  of  South  Kensing¬ 
ton,  in  London.  When  the  other 
structures,  many  in  purpose  and 
fashion,  which  the  Centennial  cel¬ 
ebration  had  caused  to  spring  up 
in  Fairmount  Park,  wrere  struck 
from  their  foundations — disappear¬ 
ing  even  as  they  came,  like  an 
exhalation  of  the  night, — Memo¬ 
rial  Hall,  with  its  higher  purpose 
and  destiny,  was  happily  preserved 
for  after  ages  as  an  enduring  mon¬ 
ument  of  the  artistic  taste  and  pa¬ 
triotism  of  the  American  people. 

In  its  general  plan  and  out¬ 
line  Machinery  Hall  was  similar  to 
the  Main  Exposition  Building,  and 
only  second  thereto  in  dimensions. 
The  ground-plan  was  a  rectangu¬ 
lar  parallelogram  fourteen  hun¬ 
dred  and  two  feet  in  length,  and 
three  hundred  and  sixty  feet  in 
width.  On  the  south  side  the  cen¬ 
tral  transept  of  the  main  hall  pro¬ 
jected  into  an  Annex,  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  eight  feet  in  depth  by  two 
hundred  and  ten  feet  in  breadth. 
On  the  north  the  front  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  structure  was  on  a  right  line 
with  the  corresponding  front  of 
the  Main  Building,  and  the  two 
bdifices  were  separated  by  an  inter¬ 
vening  space  or  promenade  of  only 
five  hundred  and  forty-two  feet ; 
SO  that,  glancing  from  the  east  end 


582 


HIS  TOR  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  ST  A  TES. 


of  the  Main  Building  to  the  western  extreme  of  Machinery  Hall, 
the  eye  swept  along  an  almost  unbroken  front  line  more  than  seventy- 
two  hundredths  of  a  mile  in  length  !  The  principal  materials  used  in 
the  construction  of  Machinery  Hall  were  iron  and  glass.  The  piers 
of  the  foundation  were  of  stone,  and  the  supporting  columns,  for  the 
most  part,  of  wood.  The  main  cornice  without  was  forty  feet  from  the 
ground,  and  the  general  height  within  was  seventy  feet.  The  build¬ 
ing  was  painted  in  a  pleasing  tint  of  purplish  blue,  relieved  bv  various 
hues  of  contrasted  colors.  At  the  four  corners  and  over  the  main 
side-entrances  stood  the  towers,  a  hundred  feet  in  height,  breaking  up 
in  some  measure  the  otherwise  monotonous  outline  of  the  building.  In 
the  north-east  tower  was  hung  the  famous  chime  of  bells,  thirteen  in 
number,  weighing  twenty-one  thousand  pounds, — many-tongued  and 
clamorous  with  the  silver  music  which  they  flung  out  upon  the  air  in 
honor  of  the  Old  Thirteen  States.  Over  the  central  gallery  a  royal 
bald-eagle  looked  down  upon  the  great  clock  which  calmly  marked 
the  hours  of  the  Centennial  summer. 

Machinery  Hall  could  hardly  be  called  a  thin'g  of  beauty :  it 
was  too  long  and  low  for  that ; — but  if  adaptability  to  the  purposes 
for  which  it  was  designed  be  a  criterion,  the  structure  was  by  no  means 
wanting  in  taste.  American  civilization  is  the  civilization  of  utility, 
invention,  and  mechanism.  The  engine  is  the  emblem,  and  Qua? 
Prosunt  Omnibus  the  motto,  over  the  doorway  of  our  temple.  On 
the  porches  and  architrave  of  what  great  structure  might  the  em¬ 
blem  and  the  motto  be  more  appropriately  set  than  on  the  arches 
of  Machinery  Hall?  For  here  Invention  was  queen,  and  Utility  her 
minister  of  state.  Here  was  the  realm  where  Thought  had  the  mas¬ 
tery  over  Matter — the  empire  of  wheels  and  pistons,  where  Steam 
was  the  Mother  of  Motion. — All  this  and  more  was  foreshadowed  and 
provided  for  in  the  grand  structure  designed  by  the  Centennial  Com¬ 
mission  for  the  display  of  machinery. 

The  fourth  principal  building  of  the  Exposition  grounds  was  Ag¬ 
ricultural  Hall,  situated  on  the  eastern  side  of  Belmont  Avenue,  and 
beyond  the  valley  of  the  same  name.  The  ground-plan  of  the  edifice 
presented  a  central  nave  eight  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length, 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  wide.  This  principal  aisle  was 
crossed  at  right  angles  by  a  main  and  two  subordinate  transepts — the 
former  one  hundred  feet,  and  the  latter  eighty  feet,  in  width.  The 
projections  of  these  transepts  formed  two  courts  on  either  side  of  the 
main  structure,  which,  together  with  the  four  spaces  similarly  formed 
at  the  corners  of  the  building,  were  enclosed  with  fronts  and  roofs, — 


TTTH  'IVHOnnorowr 


584 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


whereby  the  edifice  was  extended  into  an  immense  parallelogram  eight 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  long,  and  five  hundred  and  forty  feet  in 
width.  The  entire  area  thus  embraced  in  the  ground-floor  was  ten 
and  three-tentlis  acres. 

As  to  its  style,  Agricultural  Hall  had  a  touch  of  Gothicism— 
suggested  by  the  Howe  truss-arches  of  the  nave  and  transepts — in  its 
construction.  Over  the  bisection  of  the  central  avenue  and  the  main 
transept,  rose  an  elegant  cupola  surmounted  by  a  weather-vane.  The 
entrances  were  ornamental,  and  at  each  side  were  handsome  turrets. 
The  roofs  were  pointed,  stained  a  greenish  tint,  and  flecked  with  sky¬ 
lights.  The  body  of  the  building  was  composed  of  wood,  iron,  and 
glass,  and  was  painted  brown.  The  general  effect  was  pleasing,  and  a 
bird’s-eye  view  revealed  in  the  edifice  and  its  surroundings  a  pictur- 
esqueness  hardly  discoverable  in  any  other  of  the  Exposition  struct¬ 
ures.  This  building,  being  devoted  to  the  general  purposes  of  an 
agricultural  display,  had  the  necessary  concomitant  of  yards  for  the 
exhibition  of  all  the  domestic  fowls  and  animals.  The  entire  cost  of 
Agricultural  Hall  was  nearly  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars. 
The  building  was  a  temporary  structure,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Ex¬ 
position  was  taken  down  and  removed  from  the  Park. 

In  the  erection  of  Horticultural  Hall — fifth  and  smallest  of  the 
main  Exhibition  edifices — the  Centennial  committees  displayed  their 
liking  for  the  Moors.  For  the  building  is  Arabesque  in  its  archi¬ 
tecture.  The  twelfth  century  furnishes  the  model,  and  the  nineteenth 
does  the  work.  As  to  situation,  Horticultural  Hall  stands  on  the 
Lansdowne  Terrace,  north  of  the  valley,  overlooking  the  Schuylkill. 
As  to  materials, — iron,  glass,  and  wood.  As  to  dimensions, — three 
hundred  and  eighty-three  feet  long,  one  hundred  and  ninety-three 
feet  broad,  and  sixty-nine  feet  to  the  top  of  the  lantern.  As  to 
cost, — three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  As  to  purpose, — a  temple  of 
flowers.  As  to  destiny, — a  permanent  ornament  of  Fairmount  Park. 
For  the  city  of  Philadelphia  contributed  the  funds  for  the  building, 
and  decided  that  it  should  stand  in  spite  of  the  general  demolition 
and  temple-crushing  which  prevailed  at  the  close  of  the  Exposition. 

Next  among  the  notable  structures  of  the  Exhibition  grounds 
*  was  that  building  provided  for  by  the  Congressional  act  of  March  3d, 
1875,  and  called  the  United  States  Government  Building.  It  stood 
on  Belmont  Avenue,  northward  from  Machinery  Hall.  The  ground- 
plan  was  a  cross,  with  the  main  stem  four  hundred  and  eighty  feet, 
and  the  transept  three  hundred  and  forty  feet,  in  length.  In  the  cen¬ 
tral  part,  the  building  was  two  stories  in  height.  Over  the  bisection 


Horticultural  ball. 


586 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  the  nave  and  transept  rose  an  octagonal  dome,  surmounted  hy  a 
flag-staff.  The  edifice  was  elegantly  painted,  the  prevailing  color  being 
brown.  The  roof  was  black,  the  dome  in  imitation  of  wood,  and  all 
the  ceilings  blue.  The  walls  within  were  divided  into  panels,  in  each 
of  which  was  laid  off  a  diamond-shaped  space  containing  in  its  center 
an  emblem  representing  some  department  or  function  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment.  The  general  effect  of  the  building  was  that  of  airiness  and 
_ase — hardly  to  have  beeen  expected  in  an  edifice  so  strongly  and 
ieavily  built.  % 

The  Woman’s  Pavilion^  already  mentioned,  was  located  at  the 
western  end  of  the  Horticultural  section  of  the  grounds,  and  was  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  Centennial  buildings.  The  structure  was 
of  wood  and  glass.  Here  again  the  ground-plan  was  a  cross,  each  of 
the  arms  being  a  hundred  and  ninety-two  feet  long,  and  sixty-four 
feet  in  width.  The  end  of  each  transept  was  adorned  with  an  elegant 
porch;  and  the  spaces  in  the  corners — formed  by  the  four  projections 
of  the  building — were  converted  into  four  minor  pavilions,  and  made 
an  integral  part  of  the  main  hall.  Within,  there  were  in  all  only  four 
columns  of  support,  the  roof  resting  mainly  upon  the  outside  walls. 
The  whole  interior  was  painted  in  delicate  tints  of  blue,  the  color  with¬ 
out  being  gray.  The  central  part  of  the  building,  surmounted  by  a 
lantern  bearing  a  cupola,  rose  to  the  height  of  ninety  feet.  The 
ground-floor  embraced  an  area  of  nearly  seven-tenths  of  an  acre. 

The  British  Government  Building,  generally  called  “  St.  George’s 
House,”  stood  on  George’s  Hill,  and  was  the  head-quarters  of  the  Brit¬ 
ish  commissioners.  The  edifice,  embracing  in  the  ground-plan  an  area 
of  twenty-two  hundred  and  fifty  square  feet,  was  in  the  style  of  archi¬ 
tecture  prevalent  in  the  times  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  roof  was  com¬ 
posed  of  red  tiles;  and  the  fixtures,  furniture,  and  decorations  were  all 
after  models  which  were  fashionable  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  cen¬ 
tury.  The  building,  which  was  two  stories  high,  was  very  handsome — 
even  elegant — in  its  general  appearance,  recalling  forcibly  to  mind  the 
most  brilliant  and  romantic  period  in  English  history.  St.  George’s 
House  was  designed  for  the  accommodation  not  only  of  the  commis¬ 
sioners  from  the  home  empire  of  Great  Britain,  but  also  for  the  use 
and  comfort  of  the  agents  from  the  British  colonial  possessions  in 
different  parts  of  the  world. 

The  Building  of  the  French  Government  was  located  eastward 
from  Memorial  Hall.  The  ground-plan  was  a  parallelogram  sixty  feet 
long  by  forty  feet  in  width.  The  structure  was  composed  of  brick,  iron, 
and  glass,  and  in  its  general  aspect  was  not  unworthy  to  express  the 


department  of  public  comport. 


588 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


interest  felt  by  the  authorities  of  the  Third  Republic  in  the  American 
Centennial.  The  building  was  designed  to  subserve  the  double  pur¬ 
pose  of  a  home  for  the  French  Commission  and  of  a  hall  for  the  dis¬ 
play  of  models  representing  the  public  works  of  France. 

The  Building  of  the  German  Empire  was  an  edifice  still  more 
spacious  and  imposing.  It  was  located  east  of  Belmont  Avenue,  near 
the  head  of  the  Lansdowne  Valley.  The  structure  was  an  imitation  of 
stone,  in  the  style  of  the  Renaissance.  The  area  of  the  ground-plan 
was  thirty-four  hundred  and  forty-four  square  feet,  being  a  parallelo¬ 
gram.  The  main  portico  and  principal  hall  were  very  beautiful,  and 
the  walls  and  ceilings  were  ornamented  with  frescos  in  the  best  style 
of  art.  Here  were  the  head-quarters  of  the  Imperial  German  Commis¬ 
sion,  and  here  also  was  a  suite  of  reception-rooms  for  the  accommoda¬ 
tion  of  strangers  and  visitors  from  the  different  parts  of  Father-Land. 

The  single  word  “Espana”  over  the  portal  of  an  elegant  frame 
structure  standing  on  George’s  Hill,  told  the  beholder  that  he  was  at 
the  entrance  to  the  Government  Building  of  Spain.  The  edifice  was  of 
wood,  was  two  stories  in  height,  and  eighty  by  one  hundred  feet  in  dimen¬ 
sions.  As  in  the  case  of  the  other  structures  erected  by  foreign  gov¬ 
ernments,  the  Spanish  Building  was  intended  primarily  for  the  accom¬ 
modation  of  the  Centennial  Commissioners  from  Spain,  and  as  a  place 
of  assembly  for  Spaniards  and  their  friends  who  may  be  present  at 
the  Exposition.  The  secondary  design  was  that  of  a  suitable  hall  for 
the  display  of  models  and  drawings  representing  the  more  important 
public  works,  fortifications,  historical  buildings,  etc.,  of  Spain. 

The  Kingdom  of  Sweden  made  a  unique  contribution  to  the  Cen¬ 
tennial  grounds  in  the  way  of  a  Model  School-house.  The  building 
was  constructed  and  furnished  in  Sweden  according  to  the  pattern 
commonly  employed  in  the  better  class  of  the  national  High  Schools. 
The  structure  was  of  native  wood,  unpainted,  but  brought  to  a  high 
degree  of  luster  by  skillful  polishing.  The  furniture,  apparatus,  and 
text-books  displayed  within,  were  excellent  in  their  respective  kinds ; 
and  the  building  in  its  entirety  was  fully  worthy  of  the  ten  thousand 
encomiums  which  were  pronounced  upon  it. 

As  already  mentioned  the  different  States  of  the  Union — except¬ 
ing  Maine,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Flor¬ 
ida,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Texas,  Kentucky,  Minnesota,  and  Oregon 
— erected  buildings  on  the  Centennial  grounds,  commemorative  of 
the  history,  public  spirit,  and  resources  of  the  respective  common¬ 
wealths.  These  structures  varied  greatly  in  their  style,  expensiveness, 
aud  proportions — according  to  the  liberality  or  parsimony  ot  the  sev' 


WOMAN’S  PAVILION. 


590 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


eral  State  authorities.  The  buildings  of  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Kansas  were  perhaps  superior  to  any  others 
of  this  class  in  elegance  of  design  and  structure.  Of  similar  sort 
was  the  splendid  Educational  Hall  of  Pennsylvania,  designed  for  the 
display,  by  models  and  model-work,  of  all  the  methods  and  products 
of  education  in  the  Keystone  State. 

Of  private  structures  the  grounds  were  full.  There  was  a  commo¬ 
dious  and  valuable  edifice  situated  at  the  intersection  of  the  Agricul¬ 
tural  Avenue  with  that  of  the  Republic,  called  the  Department  of 
Public  Comfort — a  name  significant  of  its  design.  An  elegant  build¬ 
ing,  devoted  to  the  displays  of  the  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Company, 
stood  on  the  southern  declivity  of  the  Lansdowne  Valley,  north  of 
the  Art  Gallery.  Southward  from  Machinery  Hall  a  Shoe  and 
Leather  Building  had  been  erected,  the  design  of  which  was  to  illus¬ 
trate  the  various  processes  and  products  of  that  important  branch  of 
manufacture.  The  Building  of  the  Centennial  Photographic  Associa¬ 
tion  was  located  on  the  east  side  of  Belmont  Avenue,  and  was  a  spacious 
edifice  where  all  the  processes  of  photography  were  illustrated.  Sev¬ 
eral  of  the  leading  newspapers  of  the  country  had  buildings  of  limited 
size,  where  their  respective  publications  were  advertised  and  offered 
for  sale.  Then  came  the  restaurants,  cafes,  and  bazaars,  varying  in 
their  sort  from  common-place  and  mediocrity  to  a  high  degree  of  ele¬ 
gance  and  luxury. — An  extended  description  of  structures  of  this 
grade  and  fashion  would  hardly  be  appropriate  in  an  abridged  history 
Lhe  great  Exhibition. 

This  account  of  the  Exposition  buildings  can  not  be  better  con¬ 
cluded  than  by  a  brief  reference  to  the  unexpected  and  extraordinary 
part  which  the  Empire  of  Japan  had  taken  in  the  Centennial.  The 
Japanese  buildings — two  in  number — though  neither  elaborate  in  their 
style  nor  expensive  in  construction,  were  far  more  elegant,  tasteful, 
and  commodious  than  had  been  anticipated.  The  Japanese  Dwelling 
stood  on  George’s  Hill,  north  of  the  Spanish  Government  Building; 
and  the  oriental  edifice  was  the  better  of  the  two  !  Spain,  whose  immor¬ 
tal  navigator  of  the  fifteenth  century  “gave  a  New  World  to  Castile 
and  Leon,”  did  obeisance  at  the  American  Centennial  to  the  dusky 
Island  Empire  of  the  Far  Pacific !  The  Bazaar  of  these  progressive 
foreigners  was  located  near  the  Building  of  Public  Comfort,  and  ex¬ 
tended  around  three  sides  of  a  court.  The  edifice  was  of  carved  wood, 
built  without  nails,  low  in  elevation,  covered  with  tiles.  The  grounds 
were  laid  off  in  the  style  of  a  Japanese  garden,  and  were  surrounded 
with  a  quaint  fence  of  interwoven  bamboo.  These  buildings,  however. 


GRANT'S  ADMIN  1ST R A  TION. 


591 


creditable  as  they  were,  by  no  means  did  justice  to  the  enterprise  and 
wit  of  the  men  who  had  them  in  charge.  The  people  of  the  Western 
Nations  have  felt  a  keen  surprise  at  the  intelligence,  public  spirit,  anu 
progress  manifested  by  the  Japanese  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition. 

Such  were  the  buildings  erected  for  the  great  occasion.  And  the 
time  drew  near  when  they  were  to  fulfill  their  purpose.  On  the  5th 
of  January,  1876,  the  formal  reception  of  articles  for  the  Exposition 
■was  begun.  From  that  time  forth  the  work  of  setting  in  proper  array 
the  almost  infinite  variety  of  materials  which  came  pouring  in  from 
all  quarters  of  the  world,  was  pressed  with  the  utmost  expedition  by 
the  Centennial  Commissioners.  A  branch  track  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railway  was  laid  to  the  very  portals  of  the  great  halls,  and  every  meas¬ 
ure  was  adopted  by  the  managers  which  could  facilitate  the  delivery 
and  arrangement  of  the  articles  of  display.  Still,  there  were  delays, 
foreseen  and  unforeseen ;  and  it  became  apparent  that  a  brief  post¬ 
ponement  of  the  formal  opening  of  the  Exhibition  would  be  neces¬ 
sary.  The  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  had  been  fixed  upon 
as  a  suitable  time  for  the  inaugural  ceremonies ;  but  the  work  lagged, 
and  the  Commissioners  reluctantly  changed  the  date  of  opening  to  the 
10th  of  May,  and  of  closing  to  the  10th  of  November. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  13th  of  October,  1875,  A  System  of  Awards 
had  been  adopted  by  the  Centennial  Commission.  The  members  of 
that  body  —  availing  themselves  of  past  experience,  and  improving 
upon  the  imperfect  methods  employed  by  the  managers  of  the  Inter¬ 
national  Expositions  of  Paris  and  Vienna  —  presented  the  following 
General  Scheme : 

I.  Awards  shall  be  based  upon  Written  Reports,  attested  by  the 
signatures  of  their  authors. 

II.  Two  hundred  Judges  shall  be  appointed  to  make  such  re¬ 
ports,  one-half  of  whom  shall  be  foreigners,  and  one-half  citizens  of 
the  United  States.  They  shall  be  selected  for  their  known  qualifica¬ 
tions  and  character,  and  shall  be  experts  in  the  departments  to  which 
they  shall  be  respectively  assigned.  The  foreign  members  of  this 
body  shall  be  appointed  by  the  commissioners  of  each  country,  and 
in  conformity  with  the  distribution  and  allotment  to  each,  which  will 
be  hereafter  announced.  The  judges  from  the  United  States  shall  be 
appointed  by  the  Centennial  Commission. 

III.  The  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  will  be  paid  to  each  com¬ 
missioned  judge,  for  personal  expenses. 

IV.  Reports  and  awards  shall  be  based  upon  Merit.  The  ele¬ 
ments  of  merit  shall  be  held  to  include  considerations  relating  to 


592 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


originality,  invention,  discovery,  utility,  quality,  skill,  workmanship, 
fitness  for  the  purposes  intended,  adaptation  to  public  wants,  economy, 
and  cost. 

Y.  Each  report  shall  be  delivered  to  the  Centennial  Commission 
as  soon  as  completed,  for  final  award  and  publication. 

VI.  Awards  shall  be  finally  decreed  by  the  United  States  Cen¬ 
tennial  Commission,  in  compliance  with  the  act  of  Congress,  and 
shall  consist  of  a  Diploma,  with  a  uniform  bronze  Medal,  and  a  spe¬ 
cial  Report  of  the  judges  on  the  subject  of  the  award. 

VII.  Each  exhibitor  shall  have  the  right  to  reproduce  and  pub¬ 
lish  the  report  awarded  to  him,  but  the  United  States  Centennial 
Commission  reserves  the  right  to  publish  and  dispose  of  all  reports 
in  the  manner  it  thinks  best  for  public  information,  and  also  to  em¬ 
body  and  distribute  the  reports  as  records  of  the  Exhibition. 

The  day  of  opening  came.  Philadelphia  was  thronged  with 
strangers  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Every  line  of  travel  contrib¬ 
uted  its  multitude.  The  morning  of  the  10th  of  May  broke  heavily 
with  clouds  and  rain.  But  patriotism  made  gloom  impossible  in  the 
Quaker  City,  and  enthusiasm  supplied  the  place  of  sunshine.  A 
thousand  flags  fluttered  in  every  street,  and  more  than  ten  times  ten 
thousand  people,  cheering  as  they  went,  pressed  their  way  towards 
Fairmount  Park.  A  military  escort,  four  .thousand  strong,  conducted 
the  President  of  the  United  States  to  the  Centennial  grounds  For 
it  was  he  who  should  declare  the  formal  opening  of  the  Exposition. 
The  notables  of  many  nations  had  already  preceded  him  to  the  scene 
of  the  ceremonies.  The  great  open  space — traversed  by  the  Avenue 
of  the  Republic — between  the  Main  Building  and  Memorial  Hall, 
had  been  prepared  for  the  inauguration.  There  had  assembled  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  members  of  the  Cabinet  and 
the  American  Congress,  the  governors  of  many  of  the  States,  distin¬ 
guished  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  the  ministers  from  foreign 
countries,  Dom  Pedro  II.  of  Brazil  and  his  queen,  illustrious  civil¬ 
ians,  statesmen  and  diplomatists,  noblemen  with  titles  and  greater 
men  without  them, — to  witness  the  imposing  pageant. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  splendid  orchestra,  led  by  Theodore 
Thomas,  burst  forth  with  the  national  airs  of  the  various  countries 
participating  in  the  Exhibition.  Soon  the  President  ascended  the 
platform  and  was  seated,  with  the  Brazilian  Emperor  and  Empress 
on  his  right.  Then  followed  Wagner’s  celebrated  Centennial  Inaugu¬ 
ration  March,  composed  for  the  occasion.  Matthew  Simpson,  bishop 
oi  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  then  offered  an  eloquent  and  fer- 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


593 


vent  prayer,  which  was  followed  by  the  singing  of  John  G.  Whittier’s 
Centennial  Hymn.  When  the  strains  had  died  away,  the  Honorable 
John  Welsh,  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Finance,  arose  and  made  a 
formal  presentation  of  the  buildings  and  grounds  to  General  Hawley, 
president  of  the  Centennial  Commission.  The  latter,  in  an  appropri¬ 
ate  manner,  accepted  the  trust ;  and  then  followed  the  singing  of  Sid¬ 
ney  Lanier’s  Centennial  Cantata.  General  Hawley  next  delivered  an 
address,  recounting  briefly  the  things  accomplished  by  the  Centennial 
Commission,  and  in  the  name  thereof  presenting  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  the  International  Exhibition  of  1876.  The 
President — most  famous  of  all  American  chief-magistrates  for  not  de- 


IN AUGURAL  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  CENTENNIAL  EXHIBITION. 


livering  orations — replied  to  General  Hawley  in  the  following  well- 
chosen  address : — 

“  My  Countrymen  :  It  has  been  thought  appropriate,  upon  this 
Centennial  occasion,  to  bring  together  in  Philadelphia,  for  popular 
inspection,  specimens  of  our  attainments  in  the  Industrial  and  Fine 
arts,  and  in  literature,  science,  and  philosophy,  as  well  as  in  the  great 
business  of  agriculture  and  commerce.  That  we  may  the  more  thor¬ 
oughly  appreciate  the  excellencies  and  deficiencies  of  our  achieve¬ 
ments,  and  also  give  emphatic  expression  to  our  earnest  desire  to  cul¬ 
tivate  the  friendship  of  our  fellow-members  of  this  great  family  ot 
nations,  the  enlightened  agricultural,  commercial,  and  manufacturing 
people  of  the  world  have  been  invited  to  send  hither  corresponding 

38 


594 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


specimens  of  their  skill  to  exhibit  on  equal  terms,  in  friendly  com¬ 
petition  with  our  own. — For  so  doing  we  render  them  our  hearty 
thanks. 

“  The  beauty  and  utility  of  the  contributions  will  this  day  be 
submitted  to  your  inspection.  We  are  glad  to  know  that  a  view  of 
specimens  of  the  skill  of  all  nations  will  afford  you  unalloyed  pleas¬ 
ure,  as  well  as  yield  to  you  a  valuable  practical  knowledge  of  so 
many  of  the  remarkable  results  of  the  wonderful  skill  existing  in 
enlightened  communities. 

“  One  hundred  years  ago  our  country  was  new,  and  but  partially 
settled.  Our  necessities  have  compelled  us  chiefly  to  expend  our 
means  and  time  in  felling  forests,  subduing  prairies,  building  dwell¬ 
ings,  factories,  ships,  docks,  warehouses,  roads,  canals,  and  machin¬ 
ery.  Most  of  our  schools,  churches,  libraries,  and  asylums  have  been 
established  within  a  hundred  years.  Burdened  with  these  great  pri¬ 
mal  works  of  necessity,  which  could  not  be  delayed,  we  yet  have  done 
what  this  Exhibition  will  show  in  the  direction  of  rivaling  older  and 
more  advanced  nations  in  law,  medicine,  and  theology;  in  science, 
literature,  philosophy,  and  the  fine^arts.  Whilst  proud  of  what  we 
have  done,  we  regret  that  we  have  not  done  more.  Our  achievements 
have  been  great  enough,  however,  to  make  it  easy  for  our  people  to 
acknowledge  superior  merit  wherever  found. 

“  And  now,  fellow-citizens,  I  hope  a  careful  examination  of  what  is 
about  to  be  exhibited  to  you  will  not  only  inspire  you  with  a  profound 
respect  for  the  skill  and  taste  of  our  friends  from  other  nations,  but 
also  satisfy  you  with  the  attainments  made  by  our  own  people  dur¬ 
ing  the  past  one  hundred  years.  I  invoke  your  generous  cooperation 
with  the  worthy  Commissioners,  to  secure  a  brilliant  success  to  this 
International  Exhibition,  and  to  make  the  stay  of  our  foreign  visit¬ 
ors —  to  whom  we  extend  a  hearty  welcome  —  both  profitable  and 
pleasant  to  them. 

“  I  DECLARE  THE  INTERNATIONAL  EXHIBITION  NOW  OPEN.” 

When  the  President’s  brief  oration  was  concluded,  the  National 
ensign  was  flung  out  as  a  signal  from  the  great  flag-stafl*  of  the  Main 
Building ;  the  banners  of  foreign  nations  were  immediately  unfurled ; 
cheers  rent  the  air;  a  salute  of  a  hundred  guns  from  the  battery  on 
George’s  Hill  answered  to  the  shout.  Memorial  Hall,  the  Main 
Building,  and  Machinery  Hall  were  now  thrown  open  to  receive  the 
procession  of  invited  guests — four  thousand  in  number,  and  first  to 
behold  the  handiwork  of  the  nations.  General  Grant  and  Major 
Alfred  T.  Goshorn,  the  able  and  indefatigable  Director-General  of 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


595 


the  Exhibition,  led  the  way  from  the  Main  Building,  and  down  the 
great  aisle  of  Machinery  Hall  to  the  center,  where  a  special  work  had 
been  reserved  for  the  President  and  the  Brazilian  Emperor.  This 
honorable  duty  was  to  open  the  valves  of  the  mighty  Corliss  Engine, 
whose  tremendous  pistons  were  to  start  into  life  and  motion  the  in¬ 
finite  machinery  of  «the  hall.  At  twenty  minutes  past  one  o’clock,  the 
signal  was  given  by  George 
H.  Corliss,  the  maker  of  the 
iron  giant.  The  President 
and  the  Emperor,  standing 
upon  the  raised  platform, 
opened  t  h  e  valves ;  the 
ponderous  fly-wheel  started 
on  its  tireless  rounds,  and 

the  multitudinous  engines  of 

© 

the  hall  began  their  varied 
work. — The  Centennial  Ex¬ 
hibition  was  fairly  inaugu¬ 
rated  under  the  most  auspi¬ 
cious  omens. 

Such  was  the  begin¬ 
ning.  Into  the  spacious 
and  beautiful  park,  into  the 
great  buildings  provided  by 
national  wealth  and  patriot¬ 
ism,  had  come  the  products 
of  all  lands  and  the  people  of  all  climes.  Never  before  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  world  had  so  many  of  the  fruits  of  human  genius  been 
brought  together — never  before  had  so  rich  a  display  of  the  handi¬ 
work  and  skill  of  man  been  made.  What,  therefore,  of  the  Exposi¬ 
tion  itself?  How  did  it  impress  the  imagination  of  the  beholder? 
How  enlarge  his  faculties  and  increase  his  fund  of  knowledge?  In 
what  way  conduce  to  a  higher  standard  of  civilization?  For  that 
was  the  object  aimed  at. 

The  first  effect  of  the  great  Exposition  upon  the  mind  of  the  be¬ 
holder  was  a  sense  of  alarm  and  bewilderment  at  the  extent  of  the  dis¬ 
play.  At  the  very  beginning,  he  despaired  of  realizing  the  exhibition 
on  account  of  its  vast  proportions.  On  ascending  from  the  valley  of 
the  Schuylkill  to  the  Lansdowne  Plateau,  a  vision  rose  upon  him  pos¬ 
sessing  every  element  of  intellectual  interest,  from  the  simple  beauty  of 
the  green  sward  and  flower-gardens  at  his  feet,  to  the  stately  magnifi- 


596 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


cence  of  the  Main  Building  and  the  grandeur  of  Memorial  Hall.  Here 
wound  the  long  asphaltum  boulevards,  thronged,  but  not  crowded, 
with  ten  thousand  strangers.  Beyond  lay  a  landscape  of  sloping  hill¬ 
sides,  lakes,  forest,  and  fountains.  The  entire  space,  though  a  most 
living  picture,  was  noiseless,  airy,  and  clean — a  field  of  many  colors, 
full  of  sunshine,  foliage,  and  flags.  For  the  banners  of  all  nations 
waved  everywhere. 

Entering  under  the  eastern  arches  of  the  Main  Building,  the  vis¬ 
itor,  rallying  from  his  first  surprises,  began  a  work  which  he  should 
never  accomplish — that  of  examining  in  detail  the  exhibits  of  the  great 
hall.  From  the  gallery  overhead  floated  down  upon  him  the  melodi¬ 
ous  and  far-reaching  harmonies  of  the  mammoth  Hastings  organ  with 
its  twenty-seven  hundred  pipes  and  its  twelve  hundred  and  eighty 
square  feet  of  front.  Ascending  to  the  gallery,  the  observer  found 
himself  face  to  face  with  the  splendid  educational  display  of  the  State 
of  Massachusetts — best  of  its  kind  at  the  Exposition — embracing  the 
finest  of  the  plans,  models,  and  methods  employed  in  the  schools  of 
the  Old  Bay  Commonwealth.  Turning  about  and  glancing  to  the 
west,  down  the  long  avenues,  the  full  vision  of  the  Exhibition  burst 
upon  him.  There  on  the  ground-floor  lay  the  magnificent  “  courts,” 
or  hollow  squares,  into  which  the  space  had  been  divided — each  of 
these  courts  an  exposition  in  itself.  Afar  to  the  right,  where  the 
main  transept  ended  in  the  north  projection  of  the  building,  the  gal¬ 
lery  was  occupied  with  the  great  Roosevelt  organ  with  its  electric 
echo  and  hydraulic  engine.  In  the  corresponding  gallery,  at  the 
south  end  of  the  transept,  were  the  fine  educational  displays  of  Maine, 
New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Maryland, 
Tennessee,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota, 
and  Iowa.  In  the  gallery  at  the  western  end  of  the  main  avenue — 
dimly  seen  at  the  distance  of  thirty-five  hundredths  of  a  mile — was 
placed  the  exhibit  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  the 
display  consisting  of  models,  drawings,  and  photographs  peculiar  to 
engineering  art. 

Descending  to  the  main  floor,  the  observer  found  himself  in  a 
world  of  wonders.  Near  the  eastern  entrance  was  the  fine  exhibit 
made  by  American  stationers,  and  south  of  this  the  splendid  book 
display,  representing  the  superb  work  done  by  all  the  great  publish¬ 
ing  houses  of  the  country.  Further  westward  was  the  department 
allotted  to  the  Yale  Lock  Manufacturers  for  the  exhibition  of  their 
model  post-offices.  Next  came  the  large  section  set  apart  for  the  dis¬ 
play  of  American  silks,  woolens,  and  cotton  goods — fabrics  rivaling 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


597 


the  richest  products  of  European  and  Oriental  factories.  And  the 
carpet  pavilion — also  American — with  its  patterns,  delicate,  novel, 
luxurious,  merited  equal  praise  for  the  splendor  of  its  treasures.  Nor 
did  the  cutlery  of  the  United  States,  which  was  exhibited  above  the 
sections  allotted  to  textile  fabrics,  suffer  by  comparison  with  the  finest 
corresponding  products  of  British  skill. 

Among  the  southeastern  squares  was  likewise  set  the  display  of 
American  pottery  and  porcelain.  Near  by  stood  a  collection  of  gram 
ite  monuments,  and  in  the  same  vicinity  a  splendid  exhibit  of  iron 
and  steel,  chiefly  from  the  furnaces  and  works  of  Pittsburgh.  More 
attractive  still  was  the  great  display  of  American  watches,  made  by 


VIEW  IN  THE  MAIN  EXHIBITION  BUILDING. 

the  Waltham  Company  of  Massachusetts  and  the  Elgin  of  Ulinoisc 
Beyond  the  main  aisle,  to  the  north,  bristled  batteries  of  Gatling  and 
Parrott  guns,  and  farther  on  were  placed  exhibits  of  safes  from  sev¬ 
eral  noted  firms.  The  next  sections  were  occupied  with  the  beautiful 
and  costly  displays  of  furnishing  goods,  costumes,  etc.,  from  the  prin¬ 
cipal  merchants  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Then  came  an  ex¬ 
hibit  of  vases,  pedestals,  and  fountains,  in  terra  cotta;  then  the  sec¬ 
tions  set  apart  for  threads,  cordage,  and  cables ;  and  south  of  these, 
beyond  the  principal  avenue,  the  massive  display  of  the  Centennial 
Safe  Deposit  Company  and  the  beautiful  department  of  American 
clocks. 

On  the  line  of  the  main  aisle,  between  the  eastern  entrance  ana 


598 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  greater  transept,  were  arranged  the  fine  collections  of  cut  and 
ground  glass,  the  best  being  from  the  works  of  Wheeling  and  Pitts¬ 
burgh.  In  the  adjacent  sections  stood  the  glittering  show-cases  of  the 
Meriden  Britannia  Company  with  their  beautiful  specimens  of  silver, 
plated  wares,  and  bronzes.  But  more  magnificent  still  was  the  jew¬ 
elers’  pavilion — Moorish  in  its  style — standing  at  the  southeast  angle 
of  the  principal  nave  and  transept.  In  this  were  displayed  the  almost 
priceless  treasures  of  the  leading  American  jewelers — Starr  and  Mar¬ 
cus,  Caldwell  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Gorham  Manufacturing  Com¬ 
pany  of  Providence.  Among  the  articles  exhibited  by  the  latter  was 
the  celebrated  Century  Vase,  representing  by  its  beautiful  allego¬ 
ries  and  emblems  in  raised  silver  the  progress  of  America  from  bar¬ 
barism  to  renown.  Here  also  were  the  matchless  show-cases  of  Tiffany, 
starlit  with  diamonds,  and  blazing  with  all  manner  of  precious  stoneA 
It  was  here,  moreover,  that  the  observer  found  the  best  view  over¬ 
head  ;  for  at  this  point,  by  the  bisection  of  the  principal  nave  and 
transept,  abundant  room  was  afforded  above  for  the  display  of  art. 
Each  of  the  four  sides  of  the  vaulted  space  was  occupied  with  an 
immense  allegorical  painting.  That  on  the  east  represented  America, 
with  Washington  and  Franklin  for  its  central  figures.  The  piece  em¬ 
blematical  of  Europe  stood  opposite,  with  Charlemagne  and  Shake¬ 
speare  as  its  typical  heroes.  Asia  was  represented  at  the  south  curve 
of  the  transept  by  a  group  of  figures  and  emblems,  with  Confucius 
and  Mohammed  in  the  midst;  while  in  the  north  division  was  set  the 
painting  of  Africa,  Rameses  II.  and  Sesostris  occupying  the  center. 

In  the  section  south  and  east  of  the  jewelers’  pavilion  were 
placed  the  exhibits  of  ores,  paints,  and  chemicals.  The  display  of 
printing-inks  was  made  near  by;  and  further  to  the  east  stood  the 
perfume-fountains  with  their  jets  of  cologne  and  halos  of  fragrant 
mist.  Still  eastward  were  set  the  cases  containing  the  exhibit  of  phil¬ 
osophical  and  surgical  instruments;  and  in  the  same  vicinity,  to  the 
south,  were  the  sections  allotted  to  furniture,  much  of  which  was  of 
the  richest  woods  and  most  elaborate  finish  known  to  that  branch  of 
art.  And  before  the  observer  had  finished  his  examination  of  these 
superb  apartments — for  here  the  courts  were  fitted  up  after  the  man¬ 
ner  of  a  suite  of  rooms — his  ear  was  saluted  with  strains  of  music, 
and  turning  about,  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with  the  finest  dis¬ 
play  of  piano-fortes  ever  made  in  the  world.  All  of  the  great  makers 
had  here  done  their  best,  under  the  stimulus  of  the  sharpest  compe¬ 
tition — Steinway,  Chickering,  Decker,  Steck,  Ivnabe,  Weber, — each 
with  his  claims  of  peculiar  excellence,  and  each  anxious  for  the  su- 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


593 


preme  award. — So  ended  a  ramble  through  the  seven  acres  of  space 
apportioned  on  the  ground-floor  of  the  Main  Building  to  the  exhibits 
of  the  United  States. 

But  the  Saxon’s  Island  Empire,  mother  of  English  liberty,  was 
also  there  with  her  arts  and  industries.  Over  the  northwest  angle 
of  the  main  aisle  and  transept  hung  the  Bed  banner  of  Lancaster, 
bearing  the  words  “  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.”  There  'were 
the  courts  apportioned  to  the  British  commission.  In  the  first  of 
these  was  placed  the  celebrated  exhibit  of  the  Elkingtons,  silver¬ 
smiths  of  Birmingham.  Their  collection  embraced  several  pieces 
worthy  to  rank  among  the  highest  products  of  human  skill  and  pa¬ 
tience.  The  work  was  mostly  in  the  new  style  of  art  called  Repousse 
— the  process  of  developing  figures  in  relief  upon  metallic  surfaces  by 
hammering.  Here  stood  the  Helicon  Vase  with  its  infinite  stories 
from  the  legends  of  Greece.  Here  hung  the  Milton  Shield,  bear¬ 
ing  upon  its  ample  disc  the  sublime  visions  of  Paradise  Lost*  Here 
a  great  number  of  less  valuable  works  in  silver  and  bronze  gave  ex¬ 
tent  and  variety  to  one  of  the  richest  collections  in  the  whole  Exhi¬ 
bition. 

Nearer  to  the  northern  projection  of  the  Main  Building  were 
placed  the  British  porcelains  and  potteries,  embracing  some  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  ceramic  art.  Farther  northward  was  the  display 
of  ornamental  iron-work,  and  to  the  west  an  extensive  exhibit  of 
tiles.  Next  came  the  department  of  British  furniture,  rivaling  that 
of  the  United  States  in  the  elaborate  and  sumptuous  character  of  its 
specimens.  Near  by,  the  pavilion  of  the  Boyal  School  of  Art  and 
Needlework  attracted  a  constant  throng  of  visitors.  For  the  queen 
herself  and  the  members  of  her  family  were  the  makers  of  those  splen¬ 
did  embroideries.  Farther  to  the  west  was  the  magnificent  display  of 
the  British  carpet-dealers.  Then  came  the  exhibit  of  fire-arms,  cut¬ 
lery,  philosophical  instruments,  stained  glass,  jewelry — chiefly  Scot¬ 
tish — and  then  the  superb  collection  of  cotton  and  woolen  goods, 
Irish  poplins,  cloths,  silks,  and  laces,  with  which  the  section  was 
filled  along  the  main  avenue. 

The  British  Colonies  had  emulated  the  zeal  of  the  mother-coun¬ 
try.  The  Canadian  exhibit  was  of  the  highest  order.  The  educa¬ 
tional  system  of  Ontario  was  fully  and  meritoriously  displayed  by 

®  It  was  a  matter  of  oft-repented  inquiry  among  the  visitors  at  the  Centennial,  why 
these  superb  specimens  of  workmanship  exhibited  by  the  Elkingtons,  as  well  as  the 
riitany  Bryant  Vase  and  the  (lorhatn  Century  Vase,  were  not  transferred  to  Memorial 
Hall,  along  with  oilier  works  of  art  in  no  respect  superior. 


600 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


models,  plans,  and  drawings  illustrative  of  the  methods  and  work  of 
the  public  schools.  The  geological  department  was  enriched  with  a 
full  collection  of  ores,  especially  plumbago,  coal,  and  granite.  The 
Canadian  Indians  had  sent  a  large  contribution  of  peltry,  bead-work, 
and  apparel ;  and  this  display  was  contrasted  with  the  richer  and  more 
extensive  exhibit  of  furs  made  by  the  Company  of  Hudson  Bay.  In 
another  section  specimens  of  furniture  from  the  shops  of  Quebec  and 
Toronto  gave  token  of  tastefully  furnished  homes  in  the  Dominion. 
Models  of  Canadian  vessels  showed  commercial  enterprise ;  cotton 
and  woolen  goods  told  of  extensive  factories ;  sewing-machines  and 
pianos  repeated  the  music  of  the  Northern  household. 

Far  Australia  had  also  remembered  the  jubilee  of  Independence. 
The  flocks  on  her  hill-sides  had  contributed  their  magnificent  fleeces 
to  surprise  the  Western  nations.  The  Argonauts  of  the  South  Pacific 
were  home  again  with  the  richest  of  treasures !  Here  stood  an  obe¬ 
lisk  of  phantom  gold,  showing  in  cubic  inches  the  quantity  of  real 
gold  taken  from  the  mines  of  New  South  Wales  since  1851.  Here 
were  bars  of  New  Zealand  tin  and  blocks  of  coal ;  sections  of  beau¬ 
tiful  timber  and  cocoons  of  silk;  ores  of  antimony  and  copper;  na¬ 
tive  wines  and  heaps  of  precious  stones.  Excellent  photographs  of 
Australian  cities  and  scenery  added  much  to  the  interest  of  the  ex¬ 
hibit. 

British  India  had  also  contributed  specimens  of  her  arts  and 
industries.  Photographs  of  her  dusky  people — oldest  of  the  Aryan 
races — whose  ancestors  and  our  ancestors,  in  the  far  hill-country  of 
Bactria,  abode  together,  watching  the  same  flocks,  gazing  at  the  same 
stars,  and  dreaming  the  same  dream  of  destiny  in  the  ages  agone, — 
and  photographs  of  Hindu  homes  as  well,  made  the  display  of  special 
interest.  India  carpets,  gems  from  Bombay,  and  Delhi  embroidery 
added  brilliancy  to  the  exhibit.  Here,  too,  were  jeweled  weapons, 
native  pottery,  and  precious  stones;  shawls  and  laces;  silks  and  wool¬ 
ens;  cereals  and  cotton  from  the  banks  of  the  Indus. 

The  colony  of  New  Zealand  was  chiefly  represented  by  paintings 
and  drawings.  But  an  important  display  of  copper  ores,  lead,  and 
coal  was  also  made.  The  section  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  was 
occupied  with  a  collection  of  native  wines  and  brandies ;  gems  aud 
weapons ;  costumes  and  ores ;  and  specimens  illustrating  the  natural 
history  of  the  country.  Gold-dust,  skins  of  animals,  idols,  ornaments, 
and  weapons  composed  the  display  from  the  Gold  Coast.  Jamaica 
sent  her  rums  and  sugars,  native  woods  and  hemp.  Tasmania  had 
also  come  with  an  exhibit  of  zoological  and  mineral  specimens.  The 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


601 


Bahamas,  Bermudas,  Trinidad,,  and  Guiana  were  represented  by  their 
various  products,  ranging  from  shells  and  corals  to  sugars,  tobacco, 
and  manufactures. 

La  Belle  France — for  the  third  time  a  republic!  After  a  hun¬ 
dred  years  the  land  of  LaFayette  had  come  to  do  homage  at  the 
shrine  which  his  blood  had  helped  to  consecrate.  The  space  allotted 
to  the  French  Commission  was  located  between  the  main  aisle  and 
the  north  wall  of  the  building,  east  of  the  central  transept.  The 
section  of  chief  importance  was  that  containing  the  exhibit  of  porce¬ 
lains,  rivaling  in  beauty  and  excellence  the  choicest  work  of  the  East. 
In  glassware,  too,  the  French  display  was  of  the  highest  order.  The 
superb  mirrors  and  chandeliers,  exhibited  by  Brocard  of  Paris,  were 
a  delight  to  thousands  who  thronged  around  them.  The  section  set 
apart  for  the  display  of  bronzes  and  antiques  was  also  crowded  with 
admiring  multitudes.  Here  stood  an  elegant  mantel-piece  of  black 
marble,  fifteen  feet  in  height,  exquisitely  embellished  with  statues 
and  reliefs;  and  here  were  grouped  artistic  cabinets,  quaint  figures, 
and  articles  in  gilt. 

Another  department  of  great  beauty  was  that  in  which  were  ex¬ 
hibited  the  treasures  of  French  fashion — laces,  gloves,  silks,  velvets, 
satins,  and  costumes.  In  this  dazzling  court  Lyons  and  Paris  were 
rivals.  Near  by  was  a  second  department  of  apparel,  where  courtly 
wax-figures,  dressed  to  the  excess  of  magnificence,  did  obeisance  to 
other  figures  in  splendid  shawls  and  laces.  Further  on,  stood  the 
pavilion  of  the  book  publishers  of  France ;  and  opposite  to  this  was 
the  court  of  engravings.  The  walls  of  the  booksellers*  pavilion  were 
hung  with  the  most  elegant  tapestries;  and  many  of  the  publica¬ 
tions  displayed  within  were  in  the  highest  style  of  art.  North  of 
these  sections,  was  the  department  of  French  vehicles — a  unique  col¬ 
lection,  ranging  from  the  quaint  Cynofere,  or  dog-car,  to  carriages 
of  state. 

In  the  matter  of  personal  ornaments  and  articles  of  household 
economy,  the  French  exhibit  was  of  great  excellence.  The  display 
of  the  Paris  jewelers  was  exceptional  in  its  beauty  and  tastefulness. 
Of  mantel  ornaments  there  was  an  almost  infinite  variety,  ranging 
from  little  ivory  sprites  and  phantoms  in  ebony  to  elaborate  clocks 
and  bronzes.  Of  musical  instruments — violins,  flutes,  cornets,  music- 
boxes,  and  mimic  birds — the  exhibit  was  elegant  after  its  kind.  But 
the  French  pianos  and  organs  were  hardly  comparable  with  the  mag¬ 
nificent  instruments  displayed  by  the  United  States.  In  the  depart¬ 
ment  of  cutlery  a  fine  collection  was  presented,  but  the  display  was 
41 


602 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


inferior  to  the  corresponding  exhibit  made  by  Great  Britain.  The 
comparison  turned  the  other  way,  however,  in  the  section  of  plate 
glass;  for  in  that  department  the  French  specimens  were  peerless.* 

West  of  the  central  transept  and  south  of  the  principal  aisle  were 
the  sections  allotted  to  the  German  Empire.  Across  the  avenue,  di¬ 
rectly  opposite  the  American  jewelers’  pavilion,  was  placed  the  mag¬ 
nificent  exhibit  of  the  Royal  Factory  of  Berlin.  Here  stood  an  im¬ 
posing  crescent-shaped  case,  with  black  columns  at  either  end,  bearing 
upon  their  summits  the  golden  eagles  of  empire — the  empire  of  Caesar 
and  Charlemagne  restored  in  Hohenzollern.  In  this  case  were  dis¬ 
played  the  Gernian  porcelains,  next  to  the  French  in  excellence  and 
beauty.  Here  were  plates,  busts,  and  statuettes,  elaborate  in  design 
and  intensely  national  in  every  part.  Here  were  the  three  superb 
emblematical  pieces  called  the  Germania,  the  Aurora,  and  the 
Otho  Vases — queenly  rivals  of  the  splendid  works  of  the  Elkingtons, 
Tiffany,  and  Gorham.  Further  to  the  west  was  the  section  of  plate 
glass ;  then  the  exhibit  of  the  German  jewelers ;  and  then  the  court 
of  armory,  where  were  displayed  the  uniforms,  accouterments,  and 
weapons  of  the  German  soldiery,  from  the  Crusading  times  to  the 
present.  Next  came  a  section  filled  with  toys  from  Nurnberg,  and 
next  the  displays  of  Elberfeld  silks  and  Saxon  hosiery.  On  the 
southern  aisle  the  objects  of  chief  interest  were  the  ivories  exhibited 
by  Meyer  of  Hamburg,  the  woven  wire  goods  of  Dresden,  the  gold 
and  silver  leaf  exhibit  of  Bavaria,  and  the  perfumes  of  Cologne. 
Nearer  to  the  southern  wall  vTas  the  display  of  the  German  chem¬ 
ists.  Then  came  the  Leipsic  lamps  and  lanterns,  and  then  the  Lin¬ 
den  pavilion  of  velvets. 

The  southwest  section  of  the  German  department  was  occupied 
with  what  musical  instruments  soever  are  played  upon  in  Fatherland. 
But  here  again,  as  in  the  department  of  France,  the  inadequacy  of 
the  pianos  and  organs  to  compete  with  the  instruments  of  the  United 
States  was  plainly  apparent.  Along  the  southern  wall  was  placed 
an  interesting  collection  of  articles  illustrating  the  appliances  and 

*  The  manufacture  of  American  plate  glass  is  yet  in  its  incipiencv,  and  is  beset  with 
special  difficulties.  Chief  among  the  embarrassments  which  have  attended  the  enter¬ 
prise  is  the  want  of  adequate  protection,  and  the  inveterate  determination  of'  foreign 
establishments  to  prevent  the  success  of  such  manufacture  in  the  United  States.  Never¬ 
theless,  it  is  known  to  the  author  that  but  for  the  serious  misfortune  of  breaking  the 
finest  plate  in  packing,  the  Honorable  \V.  C.  De  Pauw,  president  of  the  Star  Glass 
Works  of  New  Albany,  Indiana,  would  have  contributed  to  the  Exposition  specimens 
of  his  work  fairly  rivaling  the  best  of  the  French  exhibit.  The  largest  of  the  De  Pauw 
collection  was  a  magnificent  plate  having  a  superficial  area  o/‘21,095  square  inches. 


GRANT’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


603 


methods  of  a  German  army  hospital.  Near  by  was  the  exhibit  of 
the  Schwartzwold  clock-makers — a  quaint  and  beautiful  collection. 
Models  of  the  Hamburg  steamships  were  found  in  the  southeastern 
sections,  and,  finally,  the  elegant  pavilion  of  the  German  booksellers 
— best  of  the  kind  from  Europe. 

A  description  of  the  departments  of  the  leading  Western  nations, 
and  of  the  exhibits  made  thereby,  is  in  some  measure  a  description 
of  the  rest.  True,  the  beholder  as  he  wandered  from  court  to  court 
was  ever  impressed  with  the  multifarious  aspects  of  human  life  and 
the  ever-varying  phases  of  civilization.  Still,  so  far  .as  the  displays 
made  by  the  different  branches  of  the  Aryan  race  were  concerned, 
there  was  unity  in  variety — a  generic  similarity  with  specific  modifi¬ 
cations.  As  to  the  Oriental  nations,  there  was  a  wider  departure 
from  the  common  type,  but  a  noticeable  similarity  of  features  among 
their  own  displays.  The  thoughtful  observer  rarely  failed  to  find  in 
the  various  courts  an  exhibit  typical  of  a  known  civilization,  but  he 
also  found  more  than  that.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  Austrian  sections 
presented  the  expected  treasures  of  Bohemian  cut-glass;  of  amber- 
work  and  meerschaums;  of  pipes  ad  infinitum;  of  Viennese  porte- 
monnaies,  diaries,  and  albums;  and  the  unexpected  treasures  of  the 
silk-weavers  of  the  Danube.  Also  in  the  Italian  court  were  found 
the  anticipated  reproductions  of  ancient  art ;  trophies  commemorative 
of  the  Italian  Radicals  from  Columbus  to  Garibaldi ;  the  religious 
halo  over  every  thing;  and  the  unanticipated  display  of  Venetian 
pottery.  The  Belgian  section  presented  the  finest  of  Brussels  linens, 
laces,  and  tapestries ;  and,  as  if  in  contrast  with  these,  an  elaborate 
display  of  fire-arms  and  an  illuminated  advertisement  of  the  min¬ 
eral  waters  of  Spa.  Holland  made  an  exhibit  of  what  things  soever 
the  Netherlander  prizes — from  dikes  to  pipe-stems,  from  magnificent 
bridges  to  humble  roofs  of  thatch.  Nor  had  the  conquerors  of  the 
North  Sea  forgotten  the  refinements  of  letters ;  for  the  Dutch  book¬ 
sellers’  pavilion  was  among  the  finest  at  the  Exposition. 

Here  stood  the  cuckoo  clocks  of  Switzerland.  Geneva,  city  of 
political  philosophy  and  quaint  watches,  was  present  with  all  her  arts. 
The  embroidered  lace  curtains  of  St.  Gall  hung  tastefully  over  pho¬ 
tographs  of  the  Alpine  glens,  and  the  Swiss  pavilion  of  education 
stood  near  by.  Sweden  contributed  a  court  of  exceptional  elegance, 
well  filled  with  the  products  of  her  arts  and  industries.  The  chief 
attractions  of  the  display  were  the  specimens  of  Bessemer  steel  and 
cutlery,  Swedish  arms  and  armor,  woolens  and  silks,  safety-matches 
and  pottery.  Norway  presented  her  glassware  from  Christiana.  An- 


604 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


cient  weapons  were  placed  in  contrast  with  a  modern  .Norwegian 
school-house,  and  old  coins  and  medals  with  modern  jewels  and  sil¬ 
verware. 

Among  the  sections  of  chief  interest  were  the  courts  of  Den¬ 
mark,  Egypt,  and  Spain.  These  were  set  contiguous,  fronting  the 
main  aisle,  and  representing  in  their  style  and  contents  three  diverse 
types  of  civilization.  The  articles  most  attractive  in  the  Danish  court 
were  terra  cotta  ornaments,  silverware  from  Copenhagen,  Esquimau 
apparel,  and  a  rich  collection  of  furs.  Across  the  entrance-way  to 
the  Egyptian  court  was  this  inscription  :  “  Egypt — Soudan — the 

OLDEST  PEOPLE  OF  THE  WOULD  SENDS  ITS  MORNING  GREETING  TO 

the  youngest  nation.”  Entering,  the  visitor  was  confronted  with 
a  bust  of  Rameses  the  Great  and  a  model  of  the  Pyramid  of  Gizeh. 
Then  came  a  gorgeous  display  of  the  caparisons  and  gold-studded 
harness  of  the  steeds  of  the  modern  Pharaohs;  then  cabinets  of 
ebony,  costly  and  quaint;  and  then  an  exhibit  of  Arabic  books  and 
manuscripts.  The  court  of  Spain  was  richly  hung  with  Spanish  tro¬ 
phies  and  curtains  of  velvet.  Within  were  the  portraits  of  those  dar¬ 
ing  adventurers,  Cortez,  De  Leon,  De  Soto,  and  Pizarro.  The  articles 
displayed  were  typical  of  the  country  and  people.  Scarfs  and  shawls, 
silks  and  woolens,  porcelain  tiles  and  glassware,  chemicals  and  fire¬ 
arms,  were  the  chief  products  exhibited. 

Opposite  the  departments  allotted  to  Sweden  stood  the  court  of 
Japan.  The  contents  surpassed  description.  The  display  of  bronzes 
attracted  universal  attention  and  universal  praise.  The  porcelains 
were,  beyond  comparison,  the  finest  of  the  whole  Exposition — finest 
in  quality  and  in  the  immense  variety  of  the  exhibit.  Richness  of 
coloring — vivid  hues  of  scarlet,  green,  and  gold — prevailed  every¬ 
where.  Lacquered  ware  of  every  variety,  superb  cabinets,  and  silken 
screens  embroidered  with  figures  infinite,  curious  faces,  and  Japanese 
costumes,  made  up  a  display  which  astonished  the  Western  mind  with 
the  profusion  of  Eastern  art. 

China  did  not  half  so  well — yet  well.  About  the  whole  display 
were  the  anticipated  characteristics  of  overdone  conservatism.  Here 
was  the  expected  array  of  drawings  without  perspective  and  designs, 
consisting  wholly  of  color.  Here  was  a  pagoda  painted  in  fantastic 
hues,  and  here  that  China  ware — a  rich  profusion  of  plates  and  vases — 
for  which  the  Celestial  empire  has  had  immemorial  fame.  Here,  too, 
were  the  beautiful  silks,  and  cloths  with  gold  embroidery,  and  elab¬ 
orate  bedsteads  carved  with  dragons’  heads,  and  woven  forms  untam¬ 
able  in  tapestry  and  screen.  The  polite  and  impassive  man  or  the 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION 


605 


almond  eyes  and  cue — manager  of  the  exhibit — walked  among  the 
trophies  of  his  civilization  and  did  reverence  before  a  wooden  image 
of  Fo. 

The  Russian  court  was  placed  between  the  sections  of  Spain  and 
Austria.  An  iron  statue  of  the  inspired  barbarian,  Peter  the  Great, 
stood  like  a  grim  sentinel  to  guard  the  treasures  of  his  empire.  Much 
fine  silverware,  of  excellent  design  and  workmanship,  was  displayed 
as  the  exhibit  of  Moscow.  A  magnificent  piece  in  RepoussZ ,  called 
The  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  elicited  universal  praise.  St.  Peters¬ 
burg  had  sent  a  similar  collection,  and  also  a  unique  group  of  bronzes 
illustrative  of  the  life  and  manners  of  the  Russian  peasants.  Another 
section  contained  a  superb  chandelierj  together  with  statuettes,  cas¬ 
kets,  cabinets,  and  mantels.  The  exhibit  of  Russian  furs  was  unsur¬ 
passed  ;  and  the  display  of  embroidered  cloths,  velvets,  and  silks  was 
well  calculated  to  excite  the  jealousy  of  more  favored  lands. 

The  section  of  Portugal  was  found  in  the  rear  of  the  court  of 
Egypt.  Glassware,  porcelain,  and  pottery  constituted  a  large  part  of 
the  exhibit.  The  life,  costumes,  and  manners  of  the  Portuguese  peas¬ 
antry  were  here  represented  by  groups  of  statuary  in  plaster.  The 
Azores  made  a  beautiful  display  of  phantom  ships  and  flower-baskets 
woven  of  the  fiber  of  the  fig-tree.  Along  the  south  wall  of  the  sec¬ 
tion  was  placed  a  fine  collection  of  geological  and  topographical  maps 
and  charts  illustrating  the  physical  aspect  of  Portugal.  The  exhibit 
of  raw  silk,  cotton  goods,  blankets,  and  embroidery,  was  exceptionally 
good. 

Of  the  African  kingdoms — after  Egypt — the  best  and  only  dis¬ 
plays  were  made  by  the  Orange  Free  State  and  Tunis.  The  court 
of  the  latter  was  located  in  the  rear  of  the  sections  of  Denmark  and 
Turkey,  and  was  almost  exclusively  occupied  with  the  personal  ex¬ 
hibit  made  by  the  Dey.  The  collection  consisted  of  articles  illustra¬ 
tive  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Bedouins,  and  of  antiquities 
from  the  ruins  of  Carthage.  The  court  of  the  Orange  Free  State 
occupied  the  southwestern  angle  of  the  building,  and  was  wholly 
devoted  to  the  governmental  exhibit  made  by  the  authorities  of  that 
country.  An  unexpected  array  of  minerals,  native  woods,  ivory, 
grains,  mohair,  and  wool,  composed  the  chief  part  of  the  collection. 
But  the  cases  containing  the  wealth  of  the  feathery  races  of  South¬ 
eastern  Africa,  from  the  infinitesimal  humming-birds  of  Madagascar 
to  the  straggling  descendants  of  the  dinornis,  were  of  still  greater 
interest  and  beauty. 

No  department  in  the  Main  Building  was  more  admired  and 


'  606 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


praised  than  the  court  of  Brazil.  Dom  Pedro  and  his  queen  had  no 
cause  of  shame  in  the  presence  of  their  national  exhibit.  The  Bra¬ 
zilian  pavilion  was  located  between  the  courts  of  the  Netherlands  and 
Belgium,  and  was  characterized  throughout  by  elegant  magnificence 
of  structure  and  contents.  At  the  entrance  was  a  brilliant  display  of 
flowers  and  designs  delicately  woven  from  the  plumage  of  Brazilian 
birds.  Topographical  maps  and  photographs  illustrated  the  physical 
aspect  of  the  country;  while  the  splendid  display  of  tropical  woods, 
together  with  the  finest  of  coffees,  yams,  ginger,  and  rice,  revealed 
the  true  riches  of  the  empire. 

The  minor  South  American  States  were  also  fairly  represented. 
The  pavilion  of  Peru  was  tastefully  ornamented ;  the  contents,  of 
value  and  interest.  Gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  copper,  iron,  and  lead, 
were  the  principal  minerals  exhibited;  coffee,  pepper,  cinnamon,  co¬ 
coa,  caoutchouc,  and  cinchona,  the  chief  vegetable  products.  The 
court  of  Chili  was  of  similar  sort,  and  contained  some  fine  specimens 
of  silk  and  worsted-work;  but  the  most  interesting  part  was  the  case 
filled  with  the  stuffed  skins  of  Chilian  wild  animals.  The  exhibit  of 
the  Argentine  Confederation  was  chiefly  of  ores — gold,  silver,  copper, 
and  lead.  The  display  also  embraced  fine  specimens  of  building- 
stone,  quartz,  and  plumbago.  The  manufactures  were,  for  the  most 
part,  of  leather ;  and  handicraft  was  mainly  illustrated  in  a  collection 
of  native  weapons. — Far  Hawaii,  also,  had  a  pavilion  of  considerable 
interest,  containing  a  collection  of  birds,  shells,  and  sea-weed;  fans, 
ferns,  and  feather- work. 

Mexico,  with  her  pseudo-Latin  civilization  -and  anarchic  repub¬ 
licanism,  had  pitched  her  court  next  to  that  of  the  United  States. 
The  pavilion  was  Aztec  in  its  style,  with  hints  of  a  more  modern 
date.  The  exhibit  was  principally  historic,  consisting  of  antiquities 
and  remains.  The  display  of  manufactures  embraced  some  fine  silks 
and  elegant  leather  goods.  Here  were  effigies  of  Mexican  cavaliers, 
formidable  as  Quixote  in  armor.  Here  were  native  wines  and  me¬ 
dicinal  plants,  and  here  a  fine  collection  of  ores — silver,  galena,  and 
iron.  But  the  exhibit  in  its  entirety  was  neither  striking  nor  ex¬ 
tensive. 

In  the  Carriage  Annex  the  observer  found  much  to  instruct  and 
amuse.  For  here  were  the  ridiculous  vehicles  which  the  fathers  made 
their  journeys  in — old  Virginia  or  Concord  coaches,  heavy  enough 
for  a  fortification.  But  here,  in  contrast,  was  the  full  triumph  of 
modern  art  in  the  combination  of  the  ornate  and  the  useful.  All 
things  elegant  and  luxurious  of  silver-palace  car  or  private  carriage 


GRANT’ S  ADMINISTRATION 


607 


studded  with  gold,  and  all  things  prosy  of  spokes  and  hubs  and  har¬ 
ness,  were  here  displayed  in  profusion.  Here  again  Brazil,  compet¬ 
ing  with  Pullman  and  Woodruff,  presented  a  splendid  coach  from 
the  Rio  Janeiro  Railway.  Here  Canadian  sleighs  and  sledges  were 
contrasted  with  the  diminutive  coaches  of  Italy  and  the  substantial 
vehicles  of  Old  England. — And  so  the  rambler,  passing  under  the 
western  arches  of  the  Main  Building,  found  himself  in  the  open  air, 
facing  the  Bartholdi  Fountain. 

The  way  across  the  beautiful  esplanade  led  to  Machinery  Hall. 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  MACHINERY  HALL. 


Entering  at  the  southeastern  portal  of  that  great  edifice,  the  observer 
came  at  once  into  the  department  of  the  German  Empire.  Immedi¬ 
ately  before  him  stood  the  famous  Krupp  guns,  gigantic  twelve  hun¬ 
dred  pounders,  black  and  terrible  as  the  Miltonic  artillery.  Several 
rifled  cannon  of  smaller  caliber  were  set  in  contrast;  and  just  across 
the  aisle  was  a  pyramid  of  iron-ore,  showing  the  material  out  of  which 
the  great  guns  were  cast.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  battery  was 
exhibited  a  brick-making  machine  from  Berlin.  Near  the  southeast¬ 
ern  angle  of  the  building,  the  Gas  Motor  Factory  of  Deutz  displayed 
a  peculiar  engine  in  which  the  piston  is  propelled  by  the  explosion 
of  gas.  The  best  steam-engines  exhibited  in  the  German  section  were 
from  the  works  of  Leipsic. 


608 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  department  of  France  embraced  the  northeastern  division  of 
the  ground-floor.  Near  the  entrance  thereto  was  placed  an  elegant 
pavilion  in  which  were  illustrated  the  processes  of  working  in  brass 
and  copper.  The  confectioners’  section,  where  bon-bons  were  made 
and  sold,  came  next,  and  then  the  department  of  Parisian  soaps  and 
cosmetics.  In  this  part  also  stood  the  silk-looms  of  Lyons,  and  fur¬ 
ther  to  the  north  a  set  of  machines  illustrating  the  processes  of  li¬ 
thography.  An  apparatus  for  the  manufacture  of  beet-sugar  was  also 
exhibited,  and  an  ice-making  machine  from  Paris.  The  rest  of  the 
French  contrivances  had  respect,  for  the  most  part,  to  fashionable 
wants  and  the  avocations  of  polite  society. 

Further  westward  was  placed  the  section  of  Belgium.  Chaudron 
of  Brussels  led  the  exhibit  with  an  effective  and  tremendous  machine 
for  boring  wells.*  Car-wheels  and  axles  from  Louvain,  a  trip-ham¬ 
mer  and  steam  shears  from  Marcinelle,  and  models  of  machinery  for 
the  manufacture  of  stearine,  were  the  next  attractive  features  of  the 
display.  A  splendid  exhibit  of  wool-carding  apparatus  was  presented 
as  the  contribution  of  Venders;  and  the  city  of  Ghent  added  a  superb 
horizontal  engine,  built  for  the  mint  at  Brussels. 

The  Northern  nations  had  contributed  little  in  the  way  of  ma¬ 
chinery  :  Denmark  nothing  at  all.  Sweden  made  a  small  but  respect¬ 
able  display  in  the  way  of  trip-hammers,  stationary  engines,  one  small 
locomotive,  a  fire-engine,  and  several  sewing-machines.  The  con¬ 
tribution  of  Norway  consisted  of  some  odd-looking  machinery  for 
working  in  wood  and  metal.  The  Russian  display  was  almost  wholly 
of  artillery — partly  good,  partly  indifferent  in  its  quality.  In  the  same 
vicinity  was  the  fine  exhibit  made  by  Brazil,  consisting  of  models  of 
dry  docks  and  men-of-war;  military  and  naval  enginery;  arms,  ac¬ 
couterments,  and  munitions;  stationary,  locomotive,  and  fire-engines; 
pumps,  pin-making  apparatus,  and  machinery  employed  in  the  Impe¬ 
rial  mint. 

The  best  of  the  exhibits  made  by  foreign  nations  was  that  of 
Great  Britain.  Two  of  the  Rochester  traction-engines,  standing  near 
the  eastern  entrance  to  the  hall,  were  much  wondered  at  and  praised. 
So,  also,  the  fine  carding-machine  just  opposite.  Manchester  made  a 
fine  display  of  steam  hammers,  circular  saws,  and  enginery  of  coinage 
and  stamping  dies.  The  armor-plate  exhibited  here  was  the  best  ever 
produced,  ranging  from  nine  inches  to  twenty-two  inches  in  thickness, 

*  It  is  clear  that,  in  respect  to  machines  for  upland  excavation,  the  Americans  have 
much  to  learn.  That  whole  line  of  contrivance,  beginning  with  the  plow  and  ending 
with  the  dredging-machine,  is  subject  to  great  and  radical  improvements. 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


609 


seemingly  impenetrable.  The  Applebys  of  London  exhibited  two  of 
their  tremendous  cranes — giants  after  their  kind.  English  sewing- 
machines — mostly  of  the  hand-power  pattern — were  plentifully  dis¬ 
played.  In  the  sections  near  by,  the  spinning  and  winding  of  cotton 
tnread  was  illustrated,  and  further  on,  the  delicate  looms  for  weaving 
silken  badges  were  in  operation.  Gadd  of  Manchester  exhibited  an 
engine  capable  of  printing  calicoes  in  eight  colors  at  one  impression. 
An  effective  system  of  railway  switching  and  signaling  was  shown  by 
Brierly  and  Reynolds  of  London.  In  an  adjoining  square  stood  a 
fine  model  of  an  Inman  steamship,  and  east  of  this  a  Walter  printing- 
press  in  operation.  Farther  on,  Tait  and  Watson  of  London  displayed 
a  collection  of  machines,  including  a  sugar-mill,  a  valveless  engine, 
and  centrifugal  drying-pans. — Across  the  aisle  was  the  exhibit  of  Can¬ 
ada,  New  Brunswick,  and  Nova  Scotia, — embracing  turbine  wheels,  a 
set  of  railway  signals,  quartz-mills  from  Halifax,  Toronto  marbles, 
fire-engines,  sewing-machines,  and  Indian  canoes. 

Of  the  American  department — three-fourths  of  the  whole  in  ex¬ 
tent — the  greatest  trophy  was  the  Corliss  vertical  engine,  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  central  aisle.  The  platform  was  fifty-six  feet  in 
diameter;  the  stroke  of  the  piston,  ten  feet;  the  weight  of  the  fly¬ 
wheel,  a  hundred  and  twelve  thousand  pounds.  It  required  twenty 
tubular  boilers  of  large  capacity  to  furnish  the  proper  amount  of 
steam.  The  periphery  of  the  fly-wheel  was  geared  with  cogs  into  the 
underground  line  of  shafting,  and  the  power  applied  was  equivalent 
to  that  of  fourteen  hundred  horses;  but  the  movements  of  the  great 
engine  were  smooth  and  noiseless. 

From  the  central  station,  the  observer,  glancing  down  the  south 
transept,  had  a  full  view  of  the  Hydraulic  Annex.  Here  pumps  of 
every  grade  and  fashion  were  pouring  their  torrents  into  a  vast  tank 
having  a  capacity  of  sixty-three  thousand  cubic  feet  of  water.  An 
interesting  display  of  steel  ware  was  made  in  a  section  near  by,  and 
further  on,  an  exhibit  of  metal  piano-frames  by  the  Steinways.  Here 
the  process  of  making  nails  and  tacks  was  illustrated,  and  there  a 
machine  was  cutting  corks.  On  this  hand  was  an  extensive  collec¬ 
tion  of  files  and  screws,  and  on  that  a  pyramid  of  grindstones.  Far¬ 
ther  on,  to  the  west,  was  an  exhibit  of  rolled  iron,  and  next,  a  large 
display  of  axles  and  machinists’  tools.  A  huge  brick-making  ma¬ 
chine,  capable  of  moulding  four  thousand  bricks  in  an  hour,  was  fairly 
matched  with  a  mammoth  planing  machine,  weighing  a  hundred  and 
sixty-two  thousand  pounds,  and  having  a  traverse  of  forty-four  feet, 
in  an  adjacent  section,  paper  envelopes  were  made  by  an  automatic 

39 


610 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


apparatus  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  per  minute.  Worees- 
ter,  Massachusetts,  contributed  a  collection  of  edged  tools,  dies,  and 
presses;  and  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  a  machine  for  spinning  silk.  On 
the  central  aisle  model  steamers,  men-of-war,  yachts,  and  life-boats- 
were  exhibited.  Next  came  the  sections  occupied  with  Hoe  and  Bul¬ 
lock  printing-presses;  then  the  book-binding,  stereotyping,  and  elec¬ 
trotyping  display,  and  then  the  splendid  roller-drum  book-press  of 
Cottrell  and  Babcock,  New  York.  A  type-writer  stood  near  by,  and 
farther  on  was  a  section  where  all  the  steam-  and  sailing-vessels  owned 
in  the  ports  of  Massachusetts  were  exhibited  by  models. 

In  the  department  of  confections  the  American  display  rivaled 
that  of  France.  Close  to  the  bon-bon  section  were  placed  some  fine 
wheat-cleaning  and  centrifugal  sugar-drying  apparatuses.  Then  came 
an  old  Virginia  tobacco  factory,  where  all  the  processes  of  making 
were  exhibited.  And  the  colored  people,  as  they  wrought,  made  the 
hall  resound  with  the  weird  plantation  melodies  of  the  Southland. 
Farther  east  the  manufacture  of  India-rubber  shoes  of  all  sorts  and 
sizes  was  illustrated  by  the  actual  processes  of  the  art.  Then  came 
the  glass-blowers’  exhibit,  and  then  an  excellent  display  of  wall¬ 
paper  by  the  Howells  of  Philadelphia.  A  collection  of  washing-  and 
wringing-machines  caught  the  attention  for  a  moment,  and  then  the 
observer  found  himself  before  the  huge  sugar-refining  apparatus  ex¬ 
hibited  by  the  Colwell  Iron  Works  of  New  York.  The  Wharton 
automatic  switch  was  exhibited  near  by,  and  then  came  a  splendid 
display  of  common  and  platform  scales.  Mining  machinery  was 
shown  by  the  Dickinson  Company  of  Scranton,  and  American  loco¬ 
motives — unsurpassed  by  any  in  the  world — by  the  Baldwin  Works 
and  the  Pennsylvania  Railway.  In  the  adjacent  section  the  Westing- 
house  air-brake  and  the  Henderson  hydraulic-brake  were  exhibited 
in  sharp  competition.  The  Backus  water-motor  here  attracted  much 
attention,  as  did  also  an  odd  hydraulic-ram  near  the  western  entrance. 
The  department  of  American  power-looms — rivaling  those  of  the  best 
European  factories — was  constantly  thronged  with  visitors,  and  the 
section  where  Waltham  watches  were  made  was  a  similar  scene  of 
eager  interest.  The  Pyramid  Pin  Company  of  New  Haven  exhibited 
a  quaint  little  machine  for  sticking  pins  in  papers.  A  powerful  hy¬ 
draulic  cotton-press  was  shown  by  the  Taylor  Iron  Works  of  Charles¬ 
ton,  and  a  magnificent  collection  of  wire  ropes  and  cables  by  the 
Roeblings  of  Trenton. 

The  display  of  railway  bars — iron  and  steel — was,  for  the  most 
part,  made  by  the  works  of  Pittsburgh.  Among  the  western  sections 


GRANT’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


611 


of  the  hall  some  fine  ditching  and  draining  enginery  was  exhibited; 
and  near  by  was  the  display  of  American  knitting-machines.  Of  sew¬ 
ing-machines  the  exhibit  was  unrivaled.  The  competition  reminded 
the  observer  of  that  among  the  piano-fortes  in  the  Main  Building. 
Every  form  of  patent,  from  the  original  Howe  to  the  most  recent  in¬ 
novation,  was  duly  praised  by  its  group  of  advocates  and  admirers. 
The  American  Steamship  Company  exhibited  their  vessels  by  models, 
and  eastward  from  their  section  stood  a  handsome  pavilion  contain¬ 
ing  an  unlimited  assortment  of  saws.  The  department  of  fire-engines 
and  extinguishers  was  adjacent;  and  near  by,  the  famous  Weimar 
blowing-engine  and  an  apparatus  for  charging  blast-furnaces  were 
displayed. 

Many  relics  of  old  machinery  were  exhibited  in  various  parts  of 
the  hall.  Chief  of  these  antiquated  contrivances  was  a  section  of  the 
first  steam-engine  ever  used  in  the  United  States,-— an  odd  piece 
of  mechanism  of  the  Cornish  pattern,  which  was  brought  to  America 
in  1753  and  set  in  operation  in  a  copper-mine  near  Newark,  New 
Jersey.  The  first  saw-maker’s  anvil,  imported  in  1819,  was  exhibited 
near  by.  In  another  section  were  several  pieces  of  excellent  work¬ 
manship  from  the  mechanical  department  of  Cornell  University.  An 
automatic  shingle-machine,  having  a  working  capacity  of  twenty-five 
thousand  shingles  per  day,  was  an  attractive  object  in  an  adjoining 
division;  and  in  the  same  space  the  work  of  dovetailing,  moulding, 
carving,  and  paneling  by  machinery  was  illustrated.  Then  came  the 
work  of  barrel-making,  shown  by  the  actual  processes ;  then  an  ex¬ 
hibit  of  scroll-saws  in  operation;  then  blast-furnaces  by  models,  steam 
drills,  gas  apparatus  of  every  variety,  and  a  machine  for  crushing  an¬ 
thracite  coal. — Taken  all  in  all,  the  exhibit  of  .American  machinery 
was  the  finest  display  of  the  kind  ever  made  by  man. 

On  his  way  from  the  western  entrance  of  Machinery  Hall  to  the 
Government  Building  of  the  United  States,  the  observer  would  hardly 
fail  to  pause  and  admire  the  Roman  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Fount¬ 
ain,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  outdoor  works  of  Fairmount  Park. 
Thence  a  brief  walk  northward  on  Belmont  Avenue  brought  him  to 
the  edifice  erected  by  Congress  for  the  exhibition  of  the  functions  of 
the  American  Government  in  times  of  peace,  and  its  resources  in  war. 
The  building  itself  has  already  been  described.  Without,  to  the  east, 
stood  a  model  monitor,  having  the  same  dimensions  and  appearance 
as  the  original.  In  the  same  vicinity  a  huge  Rodman  twenty-inch 
gun  and  others  hardly  less  formidable  were  exhibited.  On  the  south, 
also,  many  pieces  of  heavy  artillery  were  displayed,  together  with  shot, 


612 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


shells,  and  projectiles  of  various  kinds.  Here,  too,  were  the  boats 
Faitli  and  Advance,  used  by  De  Haven  and  Kane  in  their  Arctic 
voyages.  Near  by,  two  postal  cars,  for  the  fast-mail  service  of  the 
United  States,  were  exhibited  by  the  Post-office  Department.  On  the 
north,  the  War  Department  made  a  display  of  pontoons,  bridge  trains, 
and  army  wagons.  Within,  the  south  division  of  the  principal  tran¬ 
sept  was  occupied  with  the  Centennial  Post-office.  Here  the  mails 
were  regularly  received  and  distributed  with  systematic  precision.  '"'The 
subordinate  sections  of  this  department .  were  named  respectively  the 
divisions  of  Topography,  of  Books  and  Blanks,  of  Mail  Equipment, 
and  of  Stamps.  In  the  last  section  a  machine  of  unimaginable  inge¬ 
nuity  was  displayed,  having  an  automatic  capacity  to  cut,  fold,  gum, 
stamp,  count,  and  pack,  the  Government  envelopes. 

Another  large  display  in  the  Government  Building  was  made 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Agricultural  Bureau.  The  subordinate  di¬ 
visions  of  this  exhibit  were  of  Statistics,  Chemistry,  Botany,  Micros¬ 
copy,  Entomology,  and  Horticulture.  In  the  first  named  of  these 
sections  were  large  outline  maps  of  the  United  States,  showing  the 
areas  of  forest-  and  farming-lands,  the  various  products  and  capaci¬ 
ties  of  soils,  the  distribution  of  animals,  etc.  In  the  department  of 
chemistry  was  a  fine  and  well-arranged  exhibit  of  the  earths,  together 
with  illustrations  of  the  processes  of  growth,  fermentation,  distilla¬ 
tion,  and  the  like,  as  well  as  the  methods  of  manufacturing  vegetable 
products.  In  the  botanical  division  the  various  woods  of  the  United 
States  were  exhaustively  exhibited.  The  collection  was  very  exten¬ 
sive  and  valuable,  embracing  sections  of  nearly  every  species  of  wood 
growing  between  Central  America  and  Canada,  and  from  Passama- 
quoddy  to  the  Golden  Gate.  The  microscopic  section  was  occupied 
with  a  series  of  charts  and  drawings  illustrative  of  vegetable  diseases. 
The  entomological  division  was  chiefly  devoted  to  an  exhibit  of  insect¬ 
eating  birds  and  of  what  creatures  soever  prey  upon  the  farmer’s  fruits 
and  grains.  In  the  horticultural  section  a  display  was  made  of  those 
plants  which  have  an  economic  and  cc^omercial  value,  such  as  corn, 
tobacco,  cotton,  and  flax. 

The  exhibit  made  by  the  Department  of  the  Interior  was  com¬ 
posed  chiefly  of  the  well-known  treasures  of  the  Patent  Office  and  the 
National  Museum  at  Washington.  In  addition  to  these,  special  dis¬ 
plays  were  made  by  the  Land  and  Indian  offices,  and  by  the  Bureaus 
of  Education  and  Pensions.  Here,  also,  was  exhibited  a  complete  set 
of  the  census  reports  from  1790  to  1870,  inclusive.  But  surpassing 
all  in  interest  and  value  was  the  magnificent  exhibit  made  by  the 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


613 


Smithsonian  Institution.  This  extraordinary  display  embraced,  first 
of  all,  a  classified  collection  of  the  animals  of  America.  These  ani¬ 
mals  were  grouped  according  to  the  relation  which  they  bear  to  man, 
as  useful  or  injurious;  and  the  exhibit  included  all  those  contrivances 
and  implements  which  man  employs  in  capturing  them  when  wild,  or 
subjecting  and  controlling  them  when  domesticated.  The  collection 
illustrative  of  the  fishery  resources  of  the  United  States  was  equally 
complete  and  full  of  interest.  In  the  department  of  American  eth¬ 
nology  an  extensive  exhibit  was  made  of  aboriginal  implements  and 
contrivances  peculiar  to  the  primitive  modes  of  life.  The  last  branch 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT  BUILDING. 

of  the  Smithsonian  contribution  was  that  illustrating  the  mineral  re¬ 
sources  of  the  United  States — a  collection  of  great  extent  and  value. 

The  first  section  under  the  auspices  of  the  Treasury  Department 
was  devoted  to  the  exhibition  of  the  money,  money-making,  and  med¬ 
als  of  the  national  mint.  The  special  display,  made  by  the  Light¬ 
house  Board,  of  lanterns,  reflectors,  sea-signals,  and  electrical  and 
calcium  lights,  fairly  rivaled  the  great  exhibit  of  similar  apparatus 
made  in  the  government  building  of  France.  The  whole  collection 
was  of  the  highest  order,  and  gave  token  that  no  branch  of  humani¬ 
tarian  science  is  making  more  rapid  strides  than  that  which  apper¬ 
tains  to  the  perfection  of  light-houses  and  the  safety  of  mariners. 

The  Navy  Department  made  an  exhibit  of  torpedoes,  and  of  the 


614 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


methods  of  using  them  in  naval  warfare.  The  collection  embraced  all 
of  the  patterns  of  that  terrible  engine,  from  the  original  as  invented 
by  Fulton,  to  the  more  modern  forms  produced  by  Ericsson  and  Lay. 
Another  section  was  devoted  to  marine  arms  and  armor,  shot,  shells, 
munitions,  uniforms,  and  what  weaponry  soever  is  peculiar  to  men* 
of-war.  The  Naval  Observatory  exhibited — besides  its  own  publica¬ 
tions — a  fine  collection  of  photographs  and  chronometers.  Here,  too, 
were  found  most  of  the  precious  relics  of  the  Arctic  explorations,  froir 
the  voyage  of  De  Haven  to  that  of  Hall. 

The  exhibit  made  by  the  War  Department  was  still  larger  ana 
more  complete.  In  this  division  was  arranged  the  splendid  display 
of  the  Signal  Service  under  direction  of  General  Albert  J.  Meyer, 
chief  signal  officer  of  the  army.  Here  were  exhibited  all  of  the  del¬ 
icate  instruments  and  tentative  apparatus  peculiar  to  the  half-formed 
science  of  meteorology ;  and  here  the  methods  of  observing  and  re¬ 
cording  the  multiform  and  many  times  capricious  phenomena  of  earth, 
air,  and  sky,  were  fully  illustrated.  The  Engineering  Corps  also  con¬ 
tributed  an  interesting  exhibit,  chiefly  composed  of  maps  and  draw¬ 
ings  illustrative  of  the  coast,  lake,  and  river  improvements  of  the 
United  States  during  the  past  century.  The  section  of  the  Ordnance 
Service  was  devoted  to  the  display  of  fire-arm  manufacture  as  the 
same  is  carried, on  at  the  Government  Armory  at  Springfield,  Massa¬ 
chusetts.  The  making  of  cartridges  was  also  fully  illustrated  by  the 
actual  processes.  Next  came  the  exhibits  made  by  the  Post  Hospital 
and  the  Laboratory — full  of  interest  after  their  kind — and,  last  of  all, 
the  model  light-house  standing  at  the  northeast  angle  of  the  building, 
without,  and  not  far  off  the  tremendous  fog-horn  called  the  Siren. 

In  the  extensive  exhibits  of  Agricultural  Hall — varied  and  full 
of  interest,  as  they  were — there  was,  of  course,  a  less  display  of  hu¬ 
man  skill  and  a  greater  revelation  of  the  beneficence  of  nature.  For 
here  the  products  exhibited  were,  for  the  most  part,  the  offspring  of 
the  ground — the  fruits  of  air,  water,  and  sunshine.  In  this  vast  hall, 
the  agency  of  man  extended  but  little  further  than  the  modification  and 
utilization  of  the  gratuitous  riches  of  the  world.  The  display,  there¬ 
fore,  was  in  a  large  measure  limited  to  the  collection  and  exhibition 
of  things  uncommon  and  prodigious. — A  brief  summary  of  the  objects 
of  principal  interest  in  the  various  departments  of  the  hall  may  here 
suffice. 

The  products  of  the  United  States  occupied  more  space  than  did 
those  of  all  other  nations  combined.  And  the  general  superiority  of 
American  exhibits  over  those  of  foreign  lands  was  noticeable  from  the 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


615 


first.  In  the  northeastern  division  of  the  hall  were  placed  the  sec¬ 
tions  of  agricultural  implements,  plows  being  a  specialty.  The  ex¬ 
hibit  made  by  Speer  and  Sons  of  Pittsburgh,  as  well  as  that  by  Oliver 
Ames  and  Sons  of  North  Easton,  Massachusetts,  was  specially  varied 
and  excellent.  In  a  section  to  the  north  were  shown  rakes  and 
threshers  of  the  most  approved  patents,  and  in  the  same  collection  a 
specimen  of  Foust’s  hay-lifting  machine,  which  called  forth  many 
commendations.  Near  by  stood  the  superb  plows  manufactured  by 
the  Oliver  Chilled-Plow  Company  of  South  Bend,  Indiana.*  Far¬ 
ther  on  was  another  collection,  by  the  Higganum  Plow  Company  of 
Connecticut;  and  then  came  a  section  of  gang-plows,  exhibited  by 
Collins  and  Company  of  New  York. 

In  the  department  of  reapers  and  mowers  all  the  great  makers 
were  fully  represented.  The  Sweepstakes,  Harvester,  McCormick, 
Champion,  and  Buckeye  machines  were  specially  conspicuous  in  the 
exhibit.  The  Union  Corn  Planter,  from  the  shops  of  Peoria,  Illi¬ 
nois,  attracted  much  attention,  and  the  superb  Westinghouse  steam- 
thresher  was  greatly  praised.  An  excellent  reaper,  called  the  Planet, 
was  .shown  by  the  Wayne  Agricultural  Works  of  Richmond,  Indiana. 
Slosser’s  self-loading  excavator — a  powerful  ditch-digging  machine — 
stood  close  by;  and  near  the  eastern  entrance  was  exhibited  one  of 
the  well-known  Adams  Power  Cornshellers. 

Grain-drills  next  attracted  attention,  especially  the  display  made 
by  the  Farmers’  Friend  Company  of  Dayton,  Ohio.  In  the  south  end 
of  the  central  transept  several  excellent  cider-mills  were  exhibited  in 
operation — that  of  Boomer  and  Boschert  leading  the  collection.  Farm 
scales  were  shown  by  the  Howe  Manufacturing  Company,  and  farm 
saw-mills  by  Harbert  and  Raymond  of  Philadelphia.  In  this  vicin¬ 
ity  two  models  of  stables — one  of  wood,  and  the  other  of  iron — were 
exhibited,  and  also  some  fine  horse-powers  from  Racine,  Wisconsin. 

The  observer  next  found  himself  in  other  scenes,  amid  the  Amer¬ 
ican  wine-growers’  exhibit,  near  the  northern  entrance.  The  Califor¬ 
nia  display  was  first  in  excellence  and  extent.  After  the  vintage  of 
the  Pacific  Slope  came  the  fine  exhibits  of  Ohio,  Missouri,  and  New 
York.  South  of  the  wine  collection,  at  the  bisection  of  the  nave  and 
transept,  stood  a  large  bronze  fountain,  throwing  high  its  cooling 
waters ;  and  at  the  four  angles  round  about  was  set  the  display  of 
canned  fruits  and  meats,  hops,  malts,  and  spices.  Here,  too,  was  a 

*  One  plow  exhibited  by  this  firm  was  perhaps  the  finest  ever  made.  The  metallic 
parts  were  plated  with  nickel,  and  the  rosewood  frame  was  splendidly  embossed  with 
agricultural  emblems. 


616 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


varieties  of  edible  fishes,  out  of  the  fresh  and  salt  waters  of  the  United 
States,  were  exhibited  alive  in  a  series  of  aquaria. 

The  northwestern  courts  of  the  building  were  occupied  with  the 
tobacconists’  pavilions.  The  display  was  very  extensive,  embracing 
every  variety  and  caprice  of  manufacture.  North  of  the  tobacco  sec¬ 
tion  the  Delta  Moss  Company  of  New  Orleans  exhibited  a  tree  bear¬ 
ing  a  rich  array  of  Southern  moss ;  and  the  prepared  product  was 
shown  in  bales  near  by.  A  huge  evaporator  for  drying  fruits,  and  a 
massive  road-roller  driven  by  steam,  next  caught  the  attention  ;  and 
then  came  the  sections  set  apart  for  the  general  display  of  the  woods, 
grains,  vegetables,  and  fruits  of  the  various  States — perhaps  the  larg¬ 
est  and  most  imposing  collection  of  such  articles  ever  brought  to¬ 
gether.  In  the  court  of  New  Hampshire  were  exhibited,  along  with 


splendid  exhibit  of  starches,  chief  of  which  was  the  fine  perfumed 
starch  manufactured  by  Erkenbrecher  of  Cincinnati.  Here,  more¬ 
over,  the  appetite  of  whatsoever  creatures  live  by  bread  was  provoked 
by  the  bountiful  display  of  that  article.  Close  by,  in  the  middle  of 
the  avenue,  stood  a  huge  windmill,  purposely  old-fashioned,  thirty 
feet  in  height,  dated  1776.  Next  came  the  zoological  exhibit,  com¬ 
posed  of  stuffed  animals  and  birds,  but  more  especially  of  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  museum  of  plaster  casts  prepared  by  Professor  Henry  A.  Ward 
of  Rochester  University.  Along  the  western  wall  of  the  building  all 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  AGRICULTURAL  HALL. 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


617 


other  wonders,  two  enormous  swine,  stuffed,  stupid,  and  prodigious 
as  nature  and  taxidermy  could  make  them.  Farther  on  was  the  fish 
and  fishery  exhibit  of  Massachusetts,  and  farther  still,  the  silk-worm 
display  of  California.  South  of  the  central  transept  the  rich  soils  of 
Iowa  were  exhibited  in  large  glass  cylinders;  and  beyond  was  placed 
a  fine  collection  of  the  minerals  of  Nevada. — Such  fvere  the  objects 
of  chief  interest  in  the  departments  allotted  to  the  United  States. 

The  exhibit  of  Great  Britain  occupied  the  southeast  division  of 
the  hall.  First  of  all,  the  display  of  condiments  was  equal  to  the 
expectancy  of  the  most  accomplished  epicure.  Equally  commendable 
were  the  exhibits  of  preserved  meats,  patent  coffees  and  teas,  prepara¬ 
tions  of  milk,  sugar,  and  the  like,  presented  by  the  Colonial  Produce 
Company  of  London.  An  adjoining  section  contained  a  full  assort¬ 
ment  of  the  famous  English  ales ;  and  farther  south  was  placed  the 
department  of  British  agricultural  machinery,  embracing  some  fine 
road-wagons,  portable  engines,  and  the  smaller  implements  peculiar 
to  field,  orchard,  and  garden.  Last  of  all  came  a  display  of  mill¬ 
stones,  tiles,  and  ornaments  in  terra  cotta. 

The  Canadian  section,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  hall,  was 
well  filled  with  interesting  products.  And  the  exhibit  was  specially 
well  arranged.  The  front  line  of  cases  was  occupied  with  an  exten¬ 
sive  display  of  root  vegetables,  pulse,  and  cereals.  In  the  next  line, 
secondary  products,  such  as  wool,  feathers,  and  pelts,  were  shown  ; 
and  in  the  third  tier  of  cases,  prepared  animal  and  vegetable  mate¬ 
rials — cured  fish,  flour,  salt,  pickles,  and  cheese — were  displayed.  Of 
agricultural  implements  the  list  was  varied  and  extensive.  Plows, 
rivaling  the  best  of  the  American  collection,  were  exhibited  by  Spar- 
dle  of  Stratford,  Ontario,  and  by  Boss  of  Chatham.  Fine  threshing- 
machines,  adjustable  platform  reapers,  and  turnip-drills  of  superior 
pattern,  were  the  other  objects  of  chief  interest  in  the  collection. — 
British  Columbia,  also,  made  a  creditable  display  of  her  products, 
consisting  chiefly  of  wheat  and  oats,  woods,  barks,  and  woolen  goods 
of  Indian  manufacture. 

France  displayed  her  vintage.  The  exhibit  was  complete,  em¬ 
bracing  the  whole  list  of  vinous  liquors  from  claret  to  brandy.  In 
the  same  section  were  shown  the  unrivaled  chocolates  manufactured 
by  Menier  and  Company  of  Paris.  Vilmorin  and  Andrieux  of  the 
same  city  exhibited  the  products  of  their  famous  flower-gardens;  and 
Strasbourg  displayed  her  preserved  fruits,  sardines,  and  condiments. 
The  process  of  manufacturing  mineral  waters  was  illustrated  by  Ga- 
zaubon  of  Paris,  and  near  by  was  shown  the  method  of  bottling  wine,. 


618 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Millstones,  crucibles,  cements,  and  artificial  stone,  were  displayed  in 
another  department;  and  last  of  all,  the  fine  cocoons  and  raw  silks 
for  which  Southern  France  is  so  justly  celebrated. 

Along  the  south  wall  of  the  building  was  arranged  the  exhibit 
of  the  German  Empire.  Here,  again,  the  display  of  wines  was  pre¬ 
eminent.  The  vintage  of  the  Rhine  elicited  most  praise.  Nor  did 
Gambrinus  the  king  look  down  displeased  from  the  florid  labels  of 
the  Bavarian  and  Prussian  beer-mugs.  The  exhibit  of  smoking-  and 
chewing-tobacco  was  next  in  extent  and  importance;  after  that,  the 
display  of  confections.  Then  came  a  palm-tree  with  the  mowing 
scythes  of  Wurtemberg  for  its  branches;  then  specimens  of  curled 
hair  out  of  the  shops  of  Frankfort,  and  then  some  beautiful  tufts  of 
wool  from  the  sheepcotes  of  Silesia. 

The  products  of  Austria  and  Hungary  were  displayed  together. 
The  cereals  of  the  different  parts  of  the  empire  were  well  exhibited. 
Vienna  sent  a  fine  collection  of  canned  fruits,  Pesth  her  boxes  of 
nuts,  and  Prague  her  offering  of  wine  and  raisins.  Flax,  and  wool, 
and  hemp,  were  the  staples  of  the  Hungarian  section,  and  leather  of 
the  exhibit  of  Bohemia. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  central  transept  lay  the  court  of  Russia. 
And  the  display  was  unexpectedly  complete  and  well  arranged.  The 
strictly  agricultural  element  predominated  throughout  the  whole  ex¬ 
hibit,  only  a  small  space  being  devoted  to  wines  and  liquors.  Wheat, 
oats,  rye,  and  barley — all  of  the  finest  quality — constituted  the  major 
part  of  the  display,  and  gave  token  of  abundant  wealth  in  the  al¬ 
most  sunless  fields  of  the  Muscovite.  The  fiber-producing  plants,  of 
many  and  superior  kinds,  were  shown  ;  and  excellent  candied  fruits 
and  confections — the  contribution  of  Poland — completed  one  of  the 
most  interesting  divisions  of  the  hall. 

Among  the  best  of  the  exhibits  made  by  the  Southern  nations, 
was  that  of  Spain,  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  central  transept, 
adjoining  the  Russian  court.  Here,  again,  the  true  agricultural  idea 
was  maintained,  and  the  wine  and  liquor  exhibit  given  a  secondary 
rank.  The  display  of  Spanish  cereals,  fruits,  pulse,  and  nuts,  was  set 
in  glass-encased  panels,  around  the  sides  of  the  court,  presenting  a 
fair  summary  of  the  field  and  garden  products  of  the  kingdom  The 
exhibit  of  wools  was  among  the  finest  of  the  Exposition,  and  the  col¬ 
lection  of  wines  admirable  after  its  kind.  Specimens  of  the  gum-  and 
resin-bearing  trees  of  the  Philippine  Islands  were  exhibited  in  an 
adjoining  section  ;  and  near  by,  Havana  displayed  her  cigars  and 
chocolates.  The  space  allotted  to  Portugal  was  well  filled  with  her 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


HID 

products,  the  exhibit  being  similar  to  that  of  Spain,  and  equally 
meritorious. 

The  Italian  court  occupied  the  southeast  division  of  the  hall. 
The  collection  embraced  specimens  of  all  those  products  for  which 
the  peninsula  has  been  immemorially  famous.  Here  were  grains,  and 
fruits,  and  nuts ;  olive-oil  and  raisins ;  oranges,  figs,  and  lemons ; 
citrons,  pomegranates,  and  liquorice ;  and  wine — such  as  the  Latin 
wits  and  poets  quaffed  when  Britain  belonged  to  the  Druids. 

The  court  of  the  Netherlands  joined  that  of  Austria  on  the  south. 
The  Dutch  display  was  arranged  with  much  skill  and  tastefulness ; 
and  neither  Gambrinus  nor  the  grape  was  the  be-all  and  the  end-all 
of  the  exhibit.  But  the  collection  was  as  intensely  national  as  those 
of  Germany.  The  products  were  mostly  shown  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Gulderland  and  Zealand  agricultural  societies.  The  various 
sections  presented  a  full  array  of  grains,  plants,  and  pulse,  as  well  as 
the  more  valuable  woods,  especially  those  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  dyes.  Fine  specimens  of  the  famous  Holland  cheese  and  flour 
were  shown,  and  in  the  sections  to  the  west  an  assortment  of  choc¬ 
olates  and  cod-liver  oil.  The  Dutch  fishing  interests  were  also  well 
illustrated  with  tackles,  seines,  and  boats.  The  beet-sugar  makers  of 
Arnhem  made  a  fine  display  of  their  product,  as  did  also  the  manu¬ 
facturers  of  those  peculiar  pungent  beers,  gins,  and  heavy  liquors, 
which  are  so  popular  in  Holland. 

In  the  court  of  Norway  the  section  of  greatest  interest  was  that 
containing  the  exhibit  of  her  fisheries.  The  collection  of  fishing  ves¬ 
sels  and  apparatus  was  extensive  and  complete.  Cured  specimens  of 
nearly  all  the  fishes  known  in  the  Norwegian  marts  were  included  in 
the  display.  The  space  devoted  to  agricultural  implements  contained 
some  rude  but  characteristic  machines  and  tools  from  the  fields  and 
shops  of  the  North.  But  the  display  of  leather  was  excellent,  and 
that  of  the  waterfowl  of  Norway  especially  interesting. — Similar  in 
sort  were  the  exhibits  made  by  Sweden  and  Denmark. 

In  the  Japanese  court  the  principal  product  displayed  was  tea- — 
a  large  and  varied  collection.  Here,  again,  the  fishing  interest  was 
well  represented,  nets  and  tackle  being  a  specialty.  Then  came  Illus¬ 
trations  of  the  silk  culture,  by  the  actual  processes,  from  the  worm  to- 
the  web.  The  woods  of  Japan  were  displayed  to  good  advantage  as 
were  also  the  grains  and  vegetables  of  the  empire.— No  exhibit  of  their 
agricultural  resources  was  made  by  the  other  nations  of  the  East. 

Among  the  South  American  States,  Brazil  here — as  elsewhere — • 
was  preeminent.  Before  the  Brazilian  court  stood  a  much  admired 


620 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


rustic  pavilion  so  flecked  on  post  and  rafter  with  tufts  of  fleecy  cotton 
as  to  look  like  the  greatcoat  of  St.  Nicholas.  Within  was  the  coffee 
exhibit — a  full  and  complete  display  of  the  leading  industry  of  the 
empire.  Leaf-tobacco  was  also  shown,  and  near  by  was  an  unsur¬ 
passed  collection  of  the  tropical  woods  for  which  Brazil  is  famous. 
In  a  section  farther  on  were  exhibited  fine  Brazilian  sugars,  rivaling 
those  of  Cuba  and  the  United  States.  Last  of  all  came  the  display  of 
the  silk  interest  of  Brazil,  beginning  with  the  mild-mannered  worm 
peculiar  to  that  country,  and  ending  with  the  finished  fabric. — Vene¬ 
zuela  and  the  Argentine  Republic  also  made  small  but  interesting  ex¬ 
hibits  of  their  resources,  ranging  from  feathers,  waxes,  and  native 
gums  to  leather- work,  silk,  and  liquors.  Here,  too,  Liberia  made  a 
display  of  her  resources  and  industries. 

Entering  the  Mauresque  doorways  of  the  Horticultural  Building, 
the  rambler  stopped  to  admire  the  Foley  Fountain  in  the  center  of 
the  hall.  Around  him  was  the  luxuriance  of  the  tropics.  Fragrance 
bathed  the  air,  and  silence  sat  like  a  plumed  but  songless  bird  on 
all  the  motionless  leaves  of  this  green  world  of  wonders.  Here  was 
the  great  central  conservatory,  filled  with  the  choicest  plants  and 
richest  flowers  culled  out  of  every  clime  where  sunshine  and  air  are 
woven  into  leaf  and  petal.  Here  were  the  date-tree  and  the  palm, 
fern,  and  cactus,  lemon  shrub  and  banana — a  wilderness  of  blossoms 
and  fruits,  cool  and  silent  as  the  bowers  visited  in  dreams. 

Along  the  sides  of  the  main  conservatory  were  the  green-houses 
for  the  propagation  of  plants.  The  floors  were  sunk  ten  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  main  hall,  and  the  aisle  in  each  was  a  hundred  feet 
in  length.  Passing  up  and  down  these  avenues,  the  observer  found 
on  either  side  an  indescribable  array  of  whatever  the  hand  of  nature 
has  done  of  quaint  or  beautiful  in  moss,  or  fern,  or  flower.  No  ex¬ 
tended  account  will  here  be  attempted  of  the  variety  and  beauty  of  this, 
the  kingdom  of  the  plants. — The  collections  of  Horticultural  Hall  were 
the  floral  offering  of  the  United  States — a  wreath  for  the  altar  of  Inde¬ 
pendence.  But  the  leaves  of  the  garland  were  gathered  from  all  climes. 

No  structure  of  Fairmount  Park  was  more  characteristic  of  the 
epoch  than  the  Woman’s  Pavilion.  The  building  and  its  contents 
illustrated  one  of  the  grandest  tendencies  ot  American  civilization — 
the  complete  emancipation  of  woman.  In  ancient  times  her  chains 
were  forged;  the  Middle  Age  re-riveted  them  upon  her;  the  Modern 
Fra — even  the  Reformatian — has  mocked  her  with  the  semblance  and 
the  show  of  liberty.  America  sets  her  free  and  lifts  her  to  the  seat  of 


nonor. 


GRANT'S  ADMTNISTRA  TIOX. 


621 


The  collections  of  the  Pavilion  were  rich  and  varied.  The 
southeast  division  was  set  apart  for  the  display  of  woman’s  inven¬ 
tions.  The  contrivances  were  mostly  of  such  sort  as  appertain  to 
domestic  economy  and  the  improvement  of  home.  Now  and  then, 
however,  some  capricious  apparatus  of  fashion,  invented  in  the  realm 
of  whim,  attracted  the  gaze  of  the  curious.  Photographs  of  such 
benevolent  institutions  as  are  under  the  conduct  of  women  formed  an 
interesting  exhibit,  as  did  also  the  worsted  and  silk  embroideries 
which  were  displayed  in  an  adjoining  court.  The  art  collection  em¬ 
braced  some  creditable — even  excellent — specimens  of  drawing,  a  fair 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  HORTICULTURAL  HALL. 


display  of  paintings,  and  several  commendable  pieces  of  statuary. 
In  the  center  of  the  hall  was  an  elegant  printing  office,  where  The 
New  Century  for  Women  was  published  and  distributed  during  the 
Exposition. 

The  southwestern  quarter  was  occupied  by  foreign  exhibitors. 
Here,  too,  the  display  of  woman’s  work  was  varied  and  of  a  high  or¬ 
der  of  merit.  The  royal  ladies  of  the  Old  World  had  contributed 
much  to  the  excellence  and  interest  of  the  exhibit.  Queen  Victoria’s 
School  of  Art  and  Needlework  made  some  splendid  offerings  of  em¬ 
broidery.  Many  contributions  of  similar  sort  were  presented  by  the 
women  of  France,  Sweden,  and  Canada.  Egypt  had  its  section  of 
artistic  designs  in  gold  and  silver  thread-work;  even  the  queen  of 
Tunis  had  heard  of  Independence  and  sent  some  superb  gold-em¬ 
broidered  velvets  as  a  token  of  her  good  will.  The  Japanese  exhibit 


622 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


was  composed  for  the  most  part  of  silken  screens,  writing  desks,  and 
cabinets,  delicately  ornamented  after  the  style  of  the  country.  The 
Brazilian  women,  also,  had  honored  the  pavilion  with  some  beautiful 
specimens  of  gold  lace,  shell  work,  and  silk  and  worsted  embroideries. 

But  it  was  among  the  art  treasures  of  Memorial  Hall  that  the 
stranger  in  Fairmount  Park  tarried  longest:  and  then  came  again 
and  again.  For  the  variety  was  wellnigh  infinite — the  pageant  ever 
new\  Here  were  the  bright  ideals  which  flit  for  a  moment  across  the 
vision  of  genius,  and  in  that  moment  are  made  immortal.  Here  was 
a  scene  where  the  human  imagination  had  transfused  itself  into  the 
radiant  imagery  of  the  canvas  and  the  imperishable  forms  of  marble. 
Here,  for  a  season,  the  scales  fell  from  the  sordid  eyes  of  Utility, 
and  the  gaze  was  lifted  up  in  the  serener  air  of  the  True  and  the 
Beautiful. 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  exhibits  in  the  Art  Gallery,  Italy  was 
given  the  preference.  The  main  hall,  before  the  southern  entrance, 
was  set  apart  for  her  treasures.  Here  the  best  of  the  Italian  sculp¬ 
tors  were  represented  by  their  works.  Caroni  of  Florence  exhibited 
his  Africaine  and  several  other  fine  pieces  of  statuary.  The  Boy 
Franklin  from  the  studio  of  Zocchi  and  Washington  and  his  Hatchet 
from  that  of  Romanetti  attested  how  much  American  legends  are 
loved  in  Italy;  and  a  colossal  bust  by  Gaurnerio  of  Milan  showed  the 
heroic  estimate  placed  upon  the  Father  of  his  Country  in  that  land. 
The  humorous  in  art  was  well  represented  in  The  Forced  Prayer  by 
the  same  noted  artist.  The  Milanese  sculptor,  Baroaglio,  was  repre¬ 
sented  by  several  fine  pieces,  chief  of  which  was  a  colossal  statue 
called  Flying  Time.  Hardly  less  attractive  were  the  Berenice  by 
Peduzzi,  and  Sunshine  and  Storm  by  Popatti.  The  Florentine  Torelli 
presented  Eva  St.  Clair  as  a  specimen  of  his  work ;  and  Ropi  of 
Milan  contributed  a  bust  of  Garibaldi.  The  Night  of  October  1  \th 
was  the  name  of  a  piece  by  D’Amore,  illustrating  the  discovery  of 
Guanahani;  while  a  number  of  child-statues  were  shown  as  the  work 
of  the  Milanese  sculptor  Pereda.  A  Miltonic  Lucifer  from  the  studio 
of  Corti  was  a  work  of  the  highest  order  of  merit,  as  was  also  the 
beautiful  Madonna  by  Romanelli.  A  Psyche  by  Pagani  attracted 
much  attention;  and  a  Bacchus  by  Braga  was  greatly  praised. 

Of  Italian  paintings — mostly  copies  from  the  famous  prouuctions 
of  the  old  masters — the  collection  was  large  and  attractive.  One  of 
the  finest  of  the  exhibit  was  Galileo  before  the  Inquisition, after  Ra¬ 
phael.  The  original  pictures,  mostly  of  the  Renaissance,  were  of  va¬ 
rious  degrees  of  merit,  the  Columbus  in  Chains  by  Fumigalli  deserving 


GRANT'S  A  D MIN  IS  TRA  TION 


623 


special  praise. — Nor  must  mention  be  omitted  of  the  famous  Cas- 
tellani  Museum  of  Antiquities,  which  was  exhibited  in  the  northeast¬ 
ern  quarter  of  the  hall — a  display  unsurpassed  in  interest  by  any  other 
of  the  whole  Exposition.  The  exhibit  embraced  one  of  the  rarest, 
most  valuable,  and  best  classified  collections  of  ancient  and  mediaeval 
gems,  classic  busts,  anti  personal  ornaments,  now  in  existence.  The 
museum  was  under  the  care  of  Professor  Castellani  himself,  and  the 
section  was  the  especial  haunt  of  scholars  and  antiquaries. 

The  American  exhibit  in  Memorial  Hall  was  divided  between  the 


ROTUNDA  OF  MEMORIAL  HALL. 


main  edifice  and  the  annex.  The  collection  was  ve:v  extensive,  em¬ 
bracing  several  thousand  works  in  painting  and  statuary.  The  chief 
display  of  paintings  was  made  in  the  great  north  corridor  of  the  main 
hall  Here  were  exhibited  a  vast  number  of  pieces,  ranging  from 
second-class  and  mediocrity  to  the  highest  productions  of  genius.  The 
eastern  end  of  the  corridor  was  wholly  occupied  with  Rothermel’s 
immense  painting  of  The  Battle  of  Gettysburg.  Page’s  Farragut  in 
Mobile  Bay  was  also  exhibited  as  a  historic  sketch  ;  and  as  an  alle¬ 
gorical  work,  Thorpe’s  Westward  the  Star  of  Empire  takes  its  Way  was 
shown.  Here,  also,  were  exhibited  six  of  Bierstadt’s  famous  land¬ 
scapes — splendid  scenes  from  the  Pacific  coast.  Then  came  a  num- 


624 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


berless  array  of  portraits,  landscapes,  sketches,  and  ideal  works,  by 
well-known  American  artists  and  new  aspirants  for  fame,  among 
whose  productions,  though  furnishing  abundant  room  for  comment 
and  criticism,  it  would  be  invidious,  within  this  narrow  limit,  to  dis¬ 
criminate. 

Of  American  statuary,  also,  a  large  exhibit  was  made — chiefly  in 
the  central  hall.  Under  the  dome  was  set  a  fine  group  in  terra  cotta, 
being  the  allegory  of  America  from  the  Albert  Memorial  in  Hyde 
Park,  London.  Not  far  off  stood  Connelly’s  Thetis  with  the  Infant 
Achilles ,  much  and  justly  admired.  Story’s  Medea  gave  proof  of  that 
artist’s  genius;  and  Margaret  Foley’s  Cleopatra  was  a  work  of  great 
beauty.  Several  busts  of  Americans  by  Americans,  attested  the  skill 
ot  the  artists,  especially  that  of  Charles  Sumner  by  Preston  Powers. 
In  the  northwest  corridor  was  exhibited  The  Dying  Cleopatra — a  work 
of  remarkable  beauty  and  power — by  Edmonia  Lewis,  the  colored 
sculptress. 

Too  much  praise  could  hardly  be  bestowred  upon  the  British  col¬ 
lection  of  paintings.  It  was  generally  conceded  that  the  exhibit,  both 
in  the  merit  of  the  works  themselves  and  in  the  admirable  grouping 
which  had  been  effected  by  the  managers,  wTas  the  best  of  the  Ex¬ 
position.  If  any  doubt  existed  as  to  whether  the  first  artists  had 
contributed  their  choicest  works  to  the  American  collection,  no  such 
doubt  existed  in  respect  to  the  genius  of  England.  For  here  was 
' The  Battle  of  Naseby  by  Sir  John  Gilbert;  a  Summer  Moon  by  Fred¬ 
erick  Leighton  ;  The  Railway  Station  by  Powell ;  Armitage’s  Julian 
the  Apostate;  Sir  Edwin  Landseer’s  Lions  and  Marriage  of  Griselda ; 
Maclise’s  Banquet  Scene  in  Macbeth;  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence’s  Three 
Partners  of  the  House  of  Baring;  William  Powell  Frith’s  Marriage 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales ;  West’s  Death  of  Wolfe;  and  a  vast  number  of 
landscapes,  sketches,  portraits,  drawings,  wTater-colors,  pencilings  and 
crayon-work — making  a  collection  so  complete  and  meritorious  as  to 
awaken  the  pride  of  every  Briton. 

The  art  department  of  France  was  hardly  representative  of  the 
genius  of  that  country.  Still,  the  collection  embraced  many  pieces 
deserving  of  high  praise.  Among  the  best  was  Rizpali  protecting  the 
Bodies  of  her  Sons,  by  George  Becker ;  The  Conspiracy  of  the  Medici, 
by  Louis  Adan  ;  and  The  Death  of  Ccesar,  by  Clement.  Hillemacher’s 
Napoleon  I.  with  Goethe  and  Wieland,  and  Niger’s  Josephine  in  1814, 
were  notable  pieces  of  portraiture.  Leda  and  the  Swan ,  by  Jules 
Saintin,  and  The  First  Step  in  Crime,  by  Pierre  Antigua,  received 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


625 


many  commendations,  and  Duran’s  exquisite  portrait  of  Mademoi¬ 
selle  Croixette  of  the  Theatre  Frai^ais  was  universally  praised. 

In  the  German  collection  the  most  striking  picture  was  Steffeck’s 
Crown  Prince  in  the  Front  of  Battle.  Louis  Braun  and  Count  Harras 
each  contributed  a  Surrender  of  Sedan — striking  sketches  of  that  his¬ 
toric  event.  The  Arrest  of  Luther,  likewise  by  Harras,  was  a  picture 
of  great  merit,  as  was  also  Elizabeth  signing  the  Death  Warrant  of  Mary 
Stuart,  by  Julius  Schrader.  In  the  way  of  humorous  pictures,  After 
the  Church  Festival  was  exhibited  by  Ferdinand  Meyer,  and  the  Village 
Gossips  by  Meyer  of  Bremen.  Nor  should  mention  be  omitted  of 
The  Flight  of  Frederick  V.  from  Prague,  by  Faber  du  Tour — one  of 
the  best  historic  pieces  in  Memorial  Hall.  Another  work  of  the 
same  sort,  and  almost  equally  meritorious,  was  Briicke’s  Discovery  of 
America.  Last  of  all — exhibited  in  a  separate  corridor — was  Wag¬ 
ner’s  great  painting,  A  Scene  in  the  Circus  Maximus  at  Pome.  In  the 
way  of  portraits,  that  of  Pauline  Lucca  by  Begas,  and  of  George  Ban¬ 
croft  by  Gustave  Richter,  were  worthy  of  special  praise. 

In  the  eastern  gallery  was  placed  the  collection  of  Austria.  Here 
was  John  Makart’s  magnificent  picture,  entitled  Venice  Paying  Hom¬ 
age  to  Catharine  Comoro — a  historic  study  of  great  interest.  As  speci¬ 
mens  of  figure-painting  Ernest  Lafitte  contributed  a  Girl  of  Upper 
Austria,  and  Aloysius  Schonn  a  Siesta  of  an  Oriental  Woman.  Of 
similar  sort  were  the  two  fine  pictures,  A  Page  and  A  Girl  with  Fruit, 
by  Canon  of  Vienna — works  in  imitation  of  Rembrandt.  Friedlan- 
der  was  represented  in  the-  collection  by  Tasting  the  Wine ,  and  Muller 
by  an  English  Garden  at  Palermo. — Several  fine  pieces  of  statuary 
were  shown  as  a  part  of  the  Austrian  exhibit.  The  principal  of  these 
were  the  busts  of  Francis  Joseph,  Maximilian  I.,  and  Charles  V.  To 
this  collection  also  belonged  The  Freedman,  by  Pezzicar — a  bronze 
statue  emblematical  of  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  by  Lincoln. 

In  the  Spanish  department  The  Landing  of  Columbus  was  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  two  paintings — the  first  by  Gisbert,  and  the  second  by  Puebla. 
Here  also  was  shown  a  Christ  on  the  Cross  by  Murillo.  Columbus 
before  the  Monks  of  La  Pabida  was  the  title  of  a  large  and  striking 
work  by  Gano.  But  the  painting  most  esteemed  in  the  Spanish  ex¬ 
hibit  was  a  superb  production  called  The  Burial  of  St.  Lorenzo,  by 
Alejo  Vera  of  Rome. — The  Portuguese  painters  and  sculptors  were 
not  represented  in  the  collections  of  the  hall. 

The  Northern  nations  —  Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark  —  made  a 
creditable  showing  of  their  art.  The  Swedish  collection  was  ar- 


40 


626 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ranged  along  the  eastern  wall  of  the  western  gallery,  and  was  com¬ 
posed  of  several  fine  and  some  commonplace  productions.  One  of 
the  best  was  The  Burning  of  the  Royal  Palace  at  Stockholm — a  paint¬ 
ing  by  Hockert.  Then  came  The  Winter  Day,  The  First  Snow,  and 
The  Poor  People’s  Burying  Ground,  by  Baron  Hermelin,  the  Swedish 
art  commissioner  at  the  Exposition.  A  fine  work  called  Dark  Mo¬ 
ments  was  exhibited  by  Baron  Cederstrom,  and  Sigurd  Ring  by  Se- 
verin  Nilsson.  Several  other  legends  of  the  Vikings  were  represented 
in  the  works  of  Winge,  exhibited  near  by;  while  a  Market  Day  in 
Dusseldorf  illustrated  the  genius  of  August  Jernberg. — The  Norwe¬ 
gian  collection  was  made  up  of  two  fine  pieces  by  Professor  Gude ; 
one  excellent  picture  entitled  A  Scene  in  Romsdalsfiord,  by  Norman ; 
The  Hardengerfiord,  from  the  studio  of  Thurman ;  and  several  pro¬ 
ductions  of  less  conspicuous  merit. — The  Danish  group  embraced  The 
Discovery  of  Greenland  in  A.  D.  1000,  by  Pasmussen ;  Two  Greenland 
Pilots,  by  the  same  artist;  and  A  Midsummer  Night  under  Iceland’s 
Rough  Weather,  by  Wilhelm  Melby. 

The  Belgian  pictures  constituted  a  notable  collection.  Here,  first 
of  all,  was  Aidumn  on  the  Meuse,  by  Asselberg — a  work  of  great  ex¬ 
cellence;  as  was,  also,  Rome  from  the  Tiber,  by  Bossuet.  De  Keyser’s 
Dante  and  the  Young  Girls  of  Florence  attracted  much  admiration. 
Then  came  The  Sentinel  at  the  Gate  of  the  Harem,  by  St.  Cyr ;  Sunday 
at  the  Convent,  by  Meerts ;  Xavier  Mellery’s  Woman  of  the  Roman 
Campagna ;  Mols’s  Dome  of  the  Invalides ;  Smits’s  War;  Stallaert’s 
Cave  of  Diomede;  and  After  the  Rain,  by  Van  Luppen.  The  Desde- 
mona  of  ATm  Kiersbilck,  and  The  Deception  by  Jean  Portaels,  were 
works  deserving  the  highest  praise. 

Next  in  interest  was  the  art  exhibit  of  the  Netherlands.  Nor 
did  the  collection  in  its  entirety  suffer  by  comparison  with  the  best 
at  the  Exposition.  Here  again  the  observer  was  constantly  reminded 
of  the  nationality — both  of  the  artist  and  his  work.  Every  thing 
was  distinctly  marked  with  the  characteristics  of  Lowland  life,  method, 
and  manners.  First  in  the  display  were  four  large  pieces  by  Altmann 
of  Amsterdam  —  all  excellent  paintings — entitled  respectively  The 
Banquet  of  the  Civic  Guards,  The  Five  Masters  of  the  Drapers,  The 
Masters  of  the  Harlem  Guild,  and  The  Young  Bull — a  copy  from  Paul 
Potter.  Then  came  Roster’s  View  on  the  Yo,  Bust’s  Amsterdam  in  the 
Sixteenth  Century,  and  A  Landscape  on  the  Mediterranean  Coast  by 
Hilverdink.  The  other  principal  pieces  of  the  collection  were  Four 
Weeks  after  St.  John’s  Day  by  Huybers,  Bosboom’s  Church  of  Trier, 
and  -Mesdag’s  Evening  on  the  Beach.  Besides  these,  many  minor 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


627 


paintings  in  the  exhibit  testified  of  the  genius  of  the  Lowland 
artists. 

In  the  eastern  galleries  of  the  annex  were  placed  a  few  meritor¬ 
ious  pictures  by  the  painters  of  Brazil  and  Mexico.  But  the  collec¬ 
tions  were  comparatively  unimportant.  Among  the  Brazilian  produc¬ 
tions  the  best  were  The  Defense  of  Cabrito  and  The  Battle  of  Humaita — 
both  scenes  from  the  recent  war  with  Paraguay.  In  the  Mexican 
gallery  the  most  interesting  pieces  were  The  Valley  of  Mexico  by  Val- 
esquez,  and  portraits  of  Bartholomew  de  las  Casas  and  Donna  Isabella 
of  Portugal. — Such  is  a  brief  survey  of  the  art  treasures  of  Memorial 
Hall. 

During  the  months  of  early  summer,  every  day  brought  its 
throng  to  Fairmount  Park.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  rose  with 
the  occasion.  The  fame  of  the  great  Exposition  spread  through  all 
the  land.  Success  had  crowned  the  enterprise.  As  the  Anniversary 
of  Independence  drew  near  preparations  were  made  for  an  elaborate 
celebration  at  Philadelphia.  The  day  came.  Countless  multitudes 
thronged  the  streets.*  The  city  was  alive  with  flags  and  banners. 
Battery  answered  battery  with  thunderous  congratulation.  The  scene 
was  set  in  Independence  Square,  in  the  rear  of  the  old  Hall,  on  the 
very  spot  where  liberty  was  proclaimed  a  century  ago.  Platforms 
were  erected  and  awnings  spread  above  them,  where  four  thousand  in¬ 
vited  guests  could  be  seated  to  witness  the  ceremonies.  The  people 
crowded  into  the  open  space  to  the  south  until  the  whole  square  wa* 
a  sea  of  upturned  faces.  Senator  Ferry  of  Michigan,  acting  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  was  the  presiding  officer.  General 
Hawley  and  other  members  of  the  Centennial  Commission  acted  as  his 
assistants.  Dom  Pedro  II.  and  Prince  Oscar  of  Sweden  sat  near  by, 
and  distinguished  citizens  of  many  nations  were  present.  At  ten 
o’clock  the  exercises  were  formally  opened.  Centennial  hymns  were 
sung,  and  the  national  airs  were  played  by  the  finest  bands  of  the 
country.  Richard  Henry  Lee,  grandson  of  him  who  offered  the  fa¬ 
mous  Resolution  of  Independence,  then  read  the  Declaration  from  the 
original  manuscript.  Other  music  followed ;  and  then  came  the  read¬ 
ing  of  The  National  Ode  by  Bayard  Taylor.  Last  of  all  came  The 
Centennial  Oration  by  William  M.  Evarts  of  New  York.  The  throng 
receded,  and  the  ceremonies  were  at  an  end.  But  the  pageant  was  re¬ 
vived  at  night  with  a  display  of  fireworks  and  a  brilliant  illumination 
of  the  city. 

•It  was  estimated  that  on  the  night  of  the  3d  of  July  there  were  fully  two  hum 
-died  and  fifty  thousand  strangers  in  Philadelphia. 


628 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  daily  attendance  at  the  Exhibition  grounds  during  the  sum¬ 
mer  varied  from  live  thousand  to  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  thou¬ 
sand.  And  the  interest  in  the  Centennial  was  intensified  near  its 
close.  The  whole  number  of  visitors  attending  the  Exposition,  as 
shown  by  the  registry  of  the  gates,  was  nine  million  seven  hundred 
and  eighty-six  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-one.  The  daily  average 
attendance  was  sixty-one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty-eight. 
The  grounds  were  open  for  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  days,  and  the 
total  receipts  for  admission  were  three  million  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-one  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-eight  dollars. 

On  the  10th  of  November — in  accordance  with  the  purpose  of  the 
Centennial  Commissioners — the  International  Exhibition  of  1876  was 
formally  closed.  At  two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  the  President  of 
the  United  States  attended  by  General  Hawley,  Director-General 
Goshorn — upon  whom  for  his  successful  management  of  the  Exposi¬ 
tion  too  great  praise  can  hardly  be  bestowed — other  members  of  the 
Commission,  and  distinguished  foreigners — ascended  the  platform,  and 
the  ceremonies  began.  Theodore  Thomas’s  magnificent  orchestra 
again  furnished  music  worthy  of  the  occasion.  A  hundred  thousand 
people  were  present  to  witness  the  closing  exercises.  Brief  addresses 
were  delivered  by  the  Honorable  Daniel  J.  Morrell  of  Pennsylvania 
and  the  Honorable  John  Welch,  president  of  the  Board  of  Finance. 
The  history  of  the  Exposition  and  of  its  management  was  then  re¬ 
counted  in  appropriate  orations  by  Major  Goshorn  and  General  Haw¬ 
ley.  The  hymn  America  was  sung  by  the  audience,  led  by  the  or¬ 
chestra  ;  and  then  President  Grant  arose  and  said: — 

“I  DECLARE  THE  INTERNATIONAL  EXHIBITION  CLOSED.” 

The  valves  of  the  great  Corliss  engine  were  shut,  and  the  work 
was  done.  In  its  general  character  and  results  the  Exposition  had 
outranked  all  of  its  predecessors,  and  had  left  an  impress  upon  the 
minds  of  the  American  people  likely  to  endure  for  a  generation  and 
then  become  a  patriotic  tradition  with  posterity.* 

*  Since  the  close  of  the  Exhibition  steps  have  been  taken  to  secure  as  far  as  practi¬ 
cable  the  permanency  of  the  Centennial  display.  Machinery  Hall  has  been  purchased 
by  the  Common  Council  of  Philadelphia,  and  is  to  stand  intact.  The  Main  Building 
also,  has  been  sold  by  auction,  and  the  purchasers  have  decided  that  it  shall  remain  as  a 
permanent  Exposition  hall.  The  Woman’s  Executive  Committee  have  voted  that  their 
Pavilion  shall  also  stand  in  its  present  state.  The  authorities  of  Great  Britain,  Ger¬ 
many,  and  Prance  have  given  their  respective  Government  Buildings  to*  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  as  permanent  ornaments  of  the  grounds  and  as  tokens  of  international 
good  will ;  and  it  seems  not  unlikely  that  the  principal  features  of  the  delightful  park, 
where'  so  many  thousand  people  have  spent  the  holiday  hours  of  the  Centennial  sum¬ 
mer,  will  be  preserved  as  they  were  during  the  Exposition. 


SIOUX  INDIANS  IN  BATTLE  WITH  EMIGRANTS 


GRANT 'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


629 


During  the  last  year  of  President  Grant’s  administration  the 
country  was  disturbed  by  a  war  with  the  Sioux  Indians.  These 
fierce  savages  had,  in  1867,  made  a  treaty  with  the  United  States 
agreeing  to  relinquish  all  the  territory  south  of  the  Niobrara,  west  of 
the  one  hundred  and  fourth  meridian,  and  north  of  the  forty-sixth 
parallel  of  latitude.  By  this  treaty  the  Sioux  were  confined  to  a 
large  reservation  in  southwestern 
Dakota,  and  upon  this  reservation 
they  agreed  to  retire  by  the  1st  of 
January,  1876.  Meanwhile,  how¬ 
ever,  gold  was  discovered  among 
the  Black  Hills  —  a  region  the 
greater  part  of  which  belonged,  by 
the  terms  of  the  treaty,  to  the 
Sioux  reservation.  But  no  treaty 
could  keep  the  hungry  horde  of 
gold-diggers  and  adventurers  from 
overrunning  the  interdicted  dis¬ 
trict.  This  gave  the  Sioux  a  good 
excuse  for  gratifying  their  native  SCENE  0F  THE  SI0UX  WAR>  1876- 

disposition  by  breaking  over  the  limits  of  the  reservation  and  roam¬ 
ing  at  large  through  Wyoming  and  Montana,  burning  houses,  steal¬ 
ing  horses,  and  murdering  whoever  opposed  them. 

The  Government  now  undertook  to  drive  the  Sioux  upon  their 
reservation.  A  large  force  of  regulars,  under  Generals  Terry  and 
Crook,  was  sent  into  the  mountainous  country  of  the  Upper  Yellow¬ 
stone,  and  the  savages  to  the  number  of  several  thousand,  led  by 
their  noted  chieftain  Sitting  Bull,  were  crowded  back  against  the  Big 
Horn  Mountains  and  River.  Generals  Custer  and  Reno,  who  were 
sent  forward  with  the  Seventh  Cavalry  to  discover  the  whereabouts 
of  the  Indians,  found  them  encamped  in  a  large  village  extending 
for  nearly  three  miles  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Little  Horn.  On 
the  25th  of  June,  General  Custer,  without  waiting  for  reinforcements, 
charged  headlong  with  his  division  into  the  Indian  town,  and  was 
immediately  surrounded  by  thousands  of  yelling  warriors.  Of  the 
details  of  the  struggle  that  ensued  very  little  is  known.  For  General 
Custer  and  every  man  of  his  command  fell  in  the  fight.  The  conflict 
equaled,  if  it  did  not  surpass,  in  desperation  and  disaster  any  other 
Indian  battle  ever  fought  in  America.  The  whole  loss  of  the  Sev¬ 
enth  Cavalry  was  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  killed,  and  fifty -two 

wounded.  General  Reno,  who  had  been  engaged  with  the  savages 

•  • 


630 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


at  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  held  his  position  on  the  bluffs  of  the 
Little  Horn  until  General  Gibbon  arrived  with  reinforcements  and 
saved  the  remnant  from  destruction. 

Other  divisions  of  the  army  were  soon  hurried  to  the  scene  of 
hostilities.  During  the  summer  and  autumn  the  Indians  were  beaten 
in  several  engagements,  and  negotiations  were  opened  looking  to  the 
removal  of  the  Sioux  to  the  Indian  Territory.  But  still  a  few  des¬ 
perate  bands  held  out  against  the  authority  of  the  Government;  be¬ 
sides,  the  civilized  Nations  of  the  Territory  objected  to  having  the 
fierce  savages  of  the  North  for  their  neighbors.  On  the  24th  of  No¬ 
vember,  the  Sioux  were  decisively  defeated  by  the  Fourth  Cavalry, 
under  Colonel  McKenzie,  at  a  pass  in  the  Big  Horn  Mountains.  The 
Indians  lost  severely,  and  their  village,  containing  a  hundred  anti 
seventy-three  lodges,  was  entirely  destroyed.  The  army  now  went 
into  winter-quarters  at  various  points  in  the  hostile  country;  but 
active  operations  were  still  carried  on  by  forays  and  expeditions  during 
December  and  January.  On  the  5th  of  the  latter  month,  the  sav¬ 
ages  were  again  overtaken  and  completely .  routed  by  the  division 
of  Colonel  Miles. 

Soon  after  this  defeat,  the  remaining  bands,  under  Sitting  Bull  and 
Crazy  Horse,  being  able  to  offer  no  further  serious  resistance,  escaped 
across  the  border  and  became  subject  to  the  authorities  of  Canada. 
Here  they  remained  until  the  following  autumn,  when  the  Govern¬ 
ment  opened  negotiations  with  them  for  their  return  to  their  reserva¬ 
tion  in  Dakota.  A  commission,  headed  by  General  Terry,  met  Sitting 
Bull  and  his  warriors  at  Fort  Walsh,  on  the  Canadian  frontier.  Here 
a  conference  was  held  on  the  8th  of  October.  Full  pardon  for  past 
offenses  was  offered  to  the  Sioux  on  condition  of  their  peaceable  re¬ 
turn  and  future  good  behavior.  But  the  irreconcilable  Sitting  Bull 
and  his  savage  chiefs  rejected  the  proposal  with  scorn;  the  conference 
was  broken  off,  and  the  Sioux  were  left  at  large  in  the  British  domin¬ 
ions  north  of  Milk  River.* 

The  excitement  occasioned  by  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  the 
Sioux,  and  even  the  interest  felt  in  the  Centennial  celebration,  was  soon 
overshadowed  by  the  agitation  of  the  public  mind,  attendant  upon  the 
twenty-third  Presidential  election.  Before  the  close  of  J une  the  national 
conventions  were  held  and  standard-bearers  selected  by  the  two  leading 
political  parties.  General  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  of  Ohio  and  William 

*  The  result  of  the  Fort  Walsh  conference  was  by  no  means  distasteful  to  the  Govern¬ 
ment.  By  formally  refusing  to  return  to  their  reservation,  the  Indians  virtually  re¬ 
nounced  all  relations  with  the  United  States,  and  the  authorities  were  thus,  bv  an  unex* 
pected  stroke  of  good  fortune,  freed  from  the  whole  complication.  Canada  can  hardly 
be  congratulated  on  such  an  accession  to  her  population! 


GRANT'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


631 


A.  Wheeler  of  New  York,  were  chosen  as  candidates  by  the  Repub¬ 
licans  ;  Samuel  J.  Tilden  of  New  York  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  of 
Indiana,  by  the  Democrats.  A  third — the  Independent  Green¬ 
back — party  also  appeared,  and  presented  as  candidates  Peter  Cooper 
of  New  York  and  Samuel  F.  Cary  of  Ohio.  The  canvass  began  early 
and  with  great  spirit.  The  battle-cry  of  the  Democratic  party  was 
Reform — reform  in  the  public  service  and  in  all  the  methods  of  ad¬ 
ministration.  For  it  was  alleged  that  many  of  the  departments  of 
the  Government  and  the  officers  presiding  therein  had  become  cor¬ 
rupt  in  practice  and  in  fact.  The  Republicans  answered  back  with 
the  cry  of  Reform, — averring  a  willingness  and  an  anxiety  to  correct 
public  abuses  of  whatsoever  sort,  and  to  bring  to  condign  punishment 
all  who  dared  to  prostitute  the  high  places  of  honor  to  base  uses.  To 
this  it  was  added  that  the  nationality  of  the  United  States,  as  against 
the  doctrine  of  State  sovereignty,  must  be  upheld,  and  that  the  rights 
o t  the  colored  people  of  the  South  must  be  protected  wim  ..uuuimial 
safeguards.  The  Independent  party  echoed  the  cry  of  Reform — mon¬ 
etary  reform  first,  and  all  other  reforms  afterwards.  For  it  was  al¬ 
leged  by  the  leaders  of  this  party  that  the  measure  of  redeeming  the 
national  legal-tenders  and  other  obligations  of  the  United  States  in 
gold — which  measure  was  advocated  by  both  the  other  parties — was 
a  project  unjust  to  the  debtor-class,  iniquitous  in  itself,  and  impossi¬ 
ble  of  accomplishment.  And  it  was  further  argued  by  the  Independ¬ 
ents  that  the  money-idea  itself  ought  to  be  revolutionized,  and  that 
a  national  paper  currency  ought  to  be  provided  by  the  Government, 
and  be  based,  not  on  specie,  but  on  a  bond  bearing  a  low  rate  of 
interest,  and  interconvertible,  at  the  option  of  the  holder,  with  the 
currency  itself.  But  the  advocates  of  this  theory  had  only  a  slight 
political  organization,  and  did  not  succeed  in  securing  a  single  elect¬ 
oral  vote.  The  real  contest  lay — as  it  had  done  for  twenty  years — 
between  the  Republicans  and  the  Democrats.  The  canvass  drew  to  a 
close.  The  election  was  held,  the  general  result  was  ascertained,  and 
both  parties  claimed  the  victory!  The  election  was  so  evenly  balanced 
between  the  two  candidates,  there  had  been  so  much  irregularity  in 
the  voting  and  subsequent  electoral  proceedings  in  the  States  or 
Florida,  Louisiana,  South  Carolina,  and  Oregon,  and  the'  powers  of 
Congress  over  the  votes  of  such  States  were  so  vaguely  defined,  under 
existing  legislation,  that  no  certain  declaration  of  the  result  could  be 
made.  The  public  mind  was  confounded  with  perplexity  and  excite¬ 
ment  ;  and  more  than  once  were  heard  the  ominous  threatenings  of 
civil  war. 


43 


632 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


When  Congress  convened  in  December,  the  whole  question  ot 
the  disputed  presidency  came  at  once  before  that  body  for  adjust¬ 
ment.  The  situation  was  seriously  complicated  by  the  political 
complexion  of  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  the 
former  body  the  Republicans  had  a  majority  sufficient  to  control 
its  action ;  while  in  the  House  the  Democratic  majority  was  still 
more  decisive  and  equally  willful.  The  debates  began  and  seemed 
likely  to  be  interminable.  The  question  at  issue  was  as  to  whether 
the  electoral  votes  of  the  several  States  should,  at  the  proper  time,  be 
opened  and  counted  by  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  immemorial  and  constitutional  usage  in  such  cases,  or 
whether,  in  view  of  the  existence  of  duplicate  and  spurious  returns 
from  some  of  the  States,  and  of  alleged  gross  irregularities  and  frauds 
in  others,  some  additional  court  ought  to  be  constituted  to  open  and 
count  the  ballots.  Meanwhile  the  necessity  of  doing  something  became 
more  and  more  imperative.  The  great  merchants  and  manufacturers 
of  the  country  and  the  boards  of  trade  in  the  principal  cities  grew 
clamorous  for  a  speedy  and  peaceable  adjustment  of  the  difficulty. 
The  spirit  of  compromise  gained  ground;  and  after  much  debating  in 
Congress  it  was  agreed  that  all  the  disputed  election  returns  should  be 
referred  to  a  Joint  High  Commission,  consisting  of  five  members  to 
be  chosen  from  the  United  States  Senate,  five  from  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  five  from  the  Supreme  Court.  The  judgment  of 
this  tribunal  should  be  final  in  all  matters  referred  thereto  for  de¬ 
cision.  The  Commission  was  accordingly  constituted.  The  counting 
was  begun  as  usual  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  the  House  of 
Representatives.  When  the  disputed  and  duplicate  returns  were 
reached  they  were  referred,  State  by  State,  to  the  Joint  High  Commis¬ 
sion  ;  and  on  the  2d  of  March,  only  two  days  before  the  time  for  the  in¬ 
auguration,  a  final  decision  was  rendered.  The  Republican  candidates 
were  declared  elected.  One  hundred  and  eighty-five  electoral  votes 
were  cast  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  for 
Tilden  and  Hendricks.  The  greatest  political  crisis  in  the  history  of 
the  country  passed  harmlessly  by  without  violence  or  bloodshed. 


CHAPTER  LXIX. 

HA  YES’S  ADMINISTRATION,  1877-1881. 


RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  nineteenth  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  born  in  Delaware,  Ohio,  on  the  4th  day  of  October. 
1822.  His  ancestors  were  soldiers  of  the  Revolution.  His  primary 
education  was  received  in  the  public  schools.  Afterwards,  his  studies 

were  extended 
to  Greek  and 
Latin  at  the 
Norwalk 
Academy;  and 
in  1837  he 
became  a  stu¬ 
dent  at  W  ebb’s 
preparatory 
school,  at  Mid¬ 
dletown,  Con¬ 
necticut.  In 
the  following 
year,  he  en- 
tered  the 
Fresh  man 
class  at  Ken¬ 
yon  College, 
and  in  1842 
was  graduated 
from  that  in¬ 
stitution  with 

PRESIDENT  HAYES.  ,  ,  .  , 

tne  highest 

honors  of  his  class.  Three  years  after  his  graduation,  he  completed 
his  legal  studies  at  Harvard  University,  and  soon  afterward  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  first  at  Marietta,  then  at  Fremont, 
and  finally  as  city  solicitor,  in  Cincinnati.  Here  he  won  distinguished 
reputation  as  a  lawyer.  During  the  Civil  War  he  performed  much 
honorable  service  in  the  Union  cause,  rose  to  the  rank  of  major 


834 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


general,  and  in  1864,  while  still  in  the  field,  was  elected  to  Congress. 
Three  years  later  he  was  chosen  governor  of  his  native  State,  and 
was  reelected  in  1869,  and  again  in  1875.  At  the  Cincinnati  conven¬ 
tion  of  1876,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  nominated  for  the  presi¬ 
dency  over  several  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  nation. 

In  his  inaugural  address,  delivered  on  the  5th  of  March,*  President 
Hayes  indicated  the  policy  of  his  administration.  The  patriotic  and 
conciliatory  utterances  of  the  address  did  much  to  quiet  the  bitter 
spirit  of  partisanship  which  for  many  months  had  disturbed  the 
country.  The  distracted  South  was  assured  of  right  purposes  on  the 
part  of  the  new  chief-magistrate ;  a  radical  reform  in  the  civil  service 
was  avowed  as  a  part  of  his  policy ;  and  a  speedy  return  to  specie 
payments  was  recommended  as  the  final  cure  tor  the  deranged  finances 
of  the  nation.  The  immediate  effect  of  these  assurances — so  evidently 
made  in  all  good  faith  and  honesty — was  to  rally  around  the  incipient 
administration  the  better  part  of  all  the  parties  and  to  introduce  a  new 
“Era  of  Good  Feeling”  as  peaceable  and  beneficent  in  its  character 
as  the  former  turbulence  had  been  exciting  and  dangerous. 

On  the  8th  of  March,  the  President  named  the  members  of  his 
cabinet.  Here,  again,  he  marked  out  a  new  departure  in  the  policy 
of  the  government.  For  the  cabinet,  though  exceptionably  able  and 
statesmanlike,  was  noticeably  non-partisan  in  its  character.  As  secre¬ 
tary  of  state  ’William  M.  Evarts,  of  New  York,  was  chosen;  John 
Sherman,  of  Ohio,  was  named  as  secretary  of  the  treasury;  George  W. 
McCrary,  of  Iowa,  secretary  of  war;  Richard  W.  Thompson,  of 
Indiana,  secretary  of  the  navy;  Carl  Schurz,  of  Missouri,  secretary  of 
the  interior;  Charles  E.  Devens,  of  Massachusetts,  attorney-general; 
and  David  M.  Key,  of  Tennessee,  postmaster-general.  These  nomina¬ 
tions  were  duly  ratified  by  the  Senate ;  and  the  new  administration 
and  the  new  century  of  the  republic  were  ushered  in  together. 

In  the  summer  of  1877  occurred  the  great  labor  disturbance 
known  as  the  Railroad  Strike.  For  several  years  the  mining 
districts  of  the  country  had  been  vexed  with  disputes  and  outbreaks 
having  their  origin  in  the  question  of  wages.  The  manufacturing 
towns  and  cities  had  witnessed  similar  troubles,  and  the  great  cor¬ 
porations  having  control  of  the  lines  of  travel  and  commerce  were 
frequently  brought  to  a  stand-still  by  the  determined  opposition  of 
their  employes.  The  -workingmen  and  the  capitalists  of  the  country 

*The  4th  of  March  fell  on  Sunday.  The  same  thing  has  happened  in  the  following 
years:  1753,  1781,  1821  (Monroe’s  inauguration,  second  term),  1849  (Taylor’s  inaug¬ 
uration),  1877  (Hayes’s  inauguration);  and  the  same  will  hereafter  occur  as  follows: 
1917,  1945,  1973,  2001,  2029,  2057,  2085,  2125,  2153. 


HA  YES'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


635 


had  for  some  time  maintained  towards  each  other  a  kind  of  armed 
neutrality  alike  hurtful  to  the  interests  of  both.  In  the  spring  of  this 
year,  the  managers  of  the  great  railways  leading  from  the  seaboard 
to  the  West  declared  a  reduction  of*  ten  per  cent  in  the  wages  of  their 
workmen.  This  measure,  which  was  to  take  effect  at  the  middle  of 
July,  was  violently  resisted  by  the  employes  of  the  companies,  and 
the  most  active  steps  were  taken  to  prevent  its  success.  The  workmen 
of  the  various  roads  entered  into  combinations,  and  the  officers  stood 
firm.  On  the  16th  of  July,  the  employes  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  left  their  posts  and  gathered  such  strength  in  Baltimore  and 
.  at  Martinsburg,  West  Virginia,  as  to  prevent  the  running  of  trains 
and  set  the  authorities  at  defiance.  The  militia  was  called  out  by 
Governor  Matthews  and  sent  to  Martinsburg,  but  was  soon  dispersed 
by  the  strikers  who,  for  the  time,  remained  masters  of  the  line.  The 
President  then  ordered  General  French  to  the  scene  with  a  body  of 
regulars,  and  the  blockade  of  the  road  was  raised.  On  the  20th  of 
the  month,  a  terrible  tumult  occurred  in  Baltimore;  but  the  troops 
succeeded  in  scattering  the  rioters  of  whom  nine  were  killed  and 
many  wounded. 

Meanwhile  the  strike  spread  everywhere.  In  less  than  a  week 
the  trains  had  been  stopped  on  all  the  important  roads  between  the 
Hudson  and  the  Mississippi.  Except  in  the  cotton-growing  States  the 
insurrection  was  universal.  Travel  ceased,  freights  perished  en  route, 
business  was  paralyzed.  In  Pittsburgh  the  strikers,  rioters,  and  dan¬ 
gerous  classes  gathering  in  a  mob  to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand, 
obtained  complete  control  of  the  city  and  for  two  days  held  a  reign 

of  terror  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  country.  The  lawless 

violence  and  madness  of  the  scene  recalled  the  fiery  days  of  the 

French  Revolution.  The  Union  Depot  and  all  the  machine  shops 

and  other  railroad  buildings  of  the  city  were  burned.  A  hundred  and 
twenty-five  locomotives,  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  cars  laden 
with  valuable  cargoes,  were  destroyed  amid  the  wildest  havoc  and 
uproar.  The  insurrection  was  finally  suppressed  by  the  regular  troops 
and  the  Pennsylvania  militia,  but  not  until  nearly  a  1  undred  lives  had 
been  lost  and  property  destroyed  to  the  value  of  more  than  three  mill¬ 
ions  of  dollars. 

On  the  25th  of  the  month,  a  similar  but  less  terrible  riot  occurred 
at  Chicago.  In  this  tumult  fifteen  of  the  insurgents  were  killed  by 
the  military  of  the  city.  On  the  next  day,  St.  Louis  was  for  some 
hours  in  peril  of  the  mob.  San  Francisco  was  at  the  same  time  the 
scene  of  a  dangerous  outbreak  which  was  here  directed  against  the 


636 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  ST  A  TES. 


Chinese  immigrants  and  the  managers  of  the  lumber  yards.  Cincin¬ 
nati,  Columbus,  Louisville,  Indianapolis,  and  Fort  Wayne  were  for 
a  while  in  danger,  but  escaped  without  serious  loss  of  life  or  property. 
By  the  close  of  the  month,  the  alarming  insurrection  was  at  an  end. 
Business  and  travel  flowed  back  into  their  usual  channels;  but  the 
sudden  outbreak  had  given  a  great  shock  to  the  public  mind,  and 
revealed  a  hidden  peril  to  American  institutions. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  war  had  broken  out  with  the  Nez  Perc6 
Indians  of  Idaho.  This  tribe  of  natives  had  been  known  to  the  Gov¬ 
ernment  since  1806,  when  the  first  treaty  was  made  with  them  by  the 
explorers,  Lewis  and  Clarke.  Afterwards,  missionary  stations  were 
established  among  them,  and  the  nation  remained  on  friendly  terms 
until  after  the  war  with  Mexico.  In  1854  the  authorities  of  the 
United  StaUs,  purchased  a  parr  of  the  Nez  Perc6  territory,  large  reser¬ 
vations  being  made  in  North-western  Idaho  and  North-eastern  Oregon ; 
but  some  of  the  chiefs  refused  to  ratify  the  purchase  and  remained  at 
large.  This  was  the  beginning  of  difficulties. 

The  war  began  with  the  usual  depredations  by  the  Indians.  Gen¬ 
eral  Howard,  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  marched 
against  them  with  a  small  force  of  regulars;  but  the  Nez  Perc6s,  led 
by  their  noted  chieftain  Joseph,  fled  first  in  this  direction,  and  then  in 
that,  avoiding  battle.  During  the  greater  part  of  the  summer  the  pur¬ 
suit  continued;  still  the  Indians  could  not  be  overtaken.  In  the  fall 
they  were  chased  through  the  mountains  into  Northern  Montana,  where 
they  were  confronted  by  other  troops  commanded  by  Colonel  Miles. 

The  Nez  Perc6s,  thus  hemmed  in,  were  next  driven  across  the 
Missouri  River,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Musselshell,  and  were  finally 
surrounded  in  their  camp,  north  of  the  Bear  Paw  Mountains.  Here, 
on  the  4th  of  October,  they  were  attacked  by  the  forces  of  Colonel 
Miles.  A  hard  battle  was  fought,  and  the  Indians  were  completely 
routed.  Only  a  few,  led  by  the  chief  White  Bird,  escaped.  All 
the  rest  were  either  killed  or  made  prisoners.  Three  hundred  and 
seventy-five  of  the  captive  Nez  Perc6s  were  brought  back  to  the 
American  post  on  the  Missouri.  The  troops  of  General  Howard  had 
made  forced  marches  through  a  mountainous  country  for  a  distance  of 
sixteen  hundred  miles! — The  campaign  was  crowned  with  complete 
success. 

During  the  year  1877,  the  public  mind  was  greatly  agitated 
concerning  the  Remonetization  of  Silver.  By  the  first  coinage 
regulations  of  the  United  States,  the  standard  unit  of  value  was  the 
American  Silver  Dollar,  containing  three  hundred  and  seventy -one 


HA  YES'S  A  D MINIS  TEA  TION. 


637 


and  one- fourth  grains  of  pure  silver.  From  the  date  of  the  adoption 
of  this  standard,  in  1792,  until  1873,  the  quantity  of  pure  metal  in  this 
standard  unit  had  never  been  changed,  though  the  amount  of  alloy 
contained  in  the  dollar  was  several  times  altered.  Meanwhile,  in  1849, 
a  gold  dollar  was  added  to  the  coinage,  and  from  that  time  forth  the 
standard  unit  of  value  existed  in  both  metals.  In  the  years  1873- 
’74,  at  a  time  when,  owing  to  the  premium  on  gold  and  silver,  both 
metals  were  out  of  circulation,  a  series  oi  acts  were  adopted  by  Con¬ 
gress  bearing  upon  the  standard  unit  of  value,  whereby  the  legal- 
tender  quality  of  silver  was  first  abridged  and  then  abolished.  These 
enactments  were  completed  by  the  report  of  the  Coinage  Committee  in 
1874,  by  which  the  silver  dollar  was  finally  omitted  from  the  list  of 
coins  to  be  struck  at  the  national  mints.  The  general  effect  of  these 
acts  was  to  leave  the  gold  dollar  of  twenty-three  and  twenty-two- 
hundredths  grains  the  single  standard  unit  of  value  in  the  United 
States. 

In  January  of  1875,  the  Resumption  Act  was  passed  by  Con¬ 
gress,  whereby  it  was  declared  that  on  the  1st  of  January,  1879,  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  should  begin  to  redeem  its  outstand¬ 
ing  legal-tender  notes  in  coin.  As  the  time  for  resumption  drew  near, 
and  the  premium  on  gold  fell  off,  the  question  was  raised  as  to  the 
meaning  of  “coin”  in  the  act  for  resuming  specie  payments;  and  now, 
for  the  first  time  the  attention  of  the  people  at  large  was  aroused  to 
the  fact  that  by  the  acts  of  1873-’74,  the  privilege  of  paying  debts  in 
silver  had  been  taken  away,  and  that  after  the  beginning  of  1879  ail 
obligations  must  be  discharged  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gold 
dollar  only.  A  great  agitation  followed.  The  cry  for  the  remonetiza¬ 
tion  of  silver  was  heard  everywhere.  The  question  reached  the  Gov¬ 
ernment,  and  early  in  1878  a  measure  was  passed  by  Congress  for  the 
restoration  of  the  legal-tender  quality  of  the  old  silver  dollar,  and  pro¬ 
viding  for  the  compulsory  coinage  of  that  unit  at  the  mints  at  a  rate 
of  not  less  than  two  millions  of  dollars  a  month.  The  President  re¬ 
turned  the  bill  with  his  objections,  but  the  veto  was  crushed  under  a 
tremendous  majority;  for  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  members  of  Con¬ 
gress,  without  respect  to  party  affiliations,  gave  their  support  to  the 
measure,  and  the  old  double  standard  of  values  was  restored. 

In  the  summer  of  1878,  several  of  the  Gulf  States  were  scourged 
with  a  Yellow  Fever  Epidemic,  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the 
country.  The  disease  made  its  appearance  in  New  Orleans  in  the 
latter  part  of  May,  and  from  thence  was  quickly  scattered  among  the 
other  towns  along  the  Mississippi.  Unfortunately,  the  attention  of 


638 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  ST  A  TES. 


•  the  people  in  the  Gulf  country  had  been  but  little  given  to  sanitary 
precautions,  and  the  Southern  cities  were  nearly  all  in  a  condition  to 
invite  the  presence  of  the  scourge.  The  terror  soon  spread  from  town 
to  town,  and  the  people  began  to  fly  from  the  pestilence.  The  cities 
of  Memphis  and  Grenada  became  a  scene  of  desolation.  At  Vicks- 
burgh  the  ravages  of  the  plague  were  almost  equally  terrible;  and 
even  in  the  parish-towns  remote  from  the  river,  and  as  far  north  as 
Nashville  and  Louisville,  the  horrors  of  the  scourge  were  felt.  All 
summer  long  the  disease  held  on  unabated.  The  h  lpless  populations 
along  the  Lower  Mississippi  languished  and  died  by  thousands.  A 
regular  system  of  contributions  was  established  in  the  Northern  States, 
and  men  and  treasure  were  poured  out  without  stint  to  relieve  the 
suffering  South.  The  efforts  of  the  Howard  Association  at  New  Or¬ 
leans,  Memphis,  and  elsewhere,  were  almost  unequaled  in  heroism 
and  sacrifice.  After  more  than  twenty  thousand  people  had  fallen 
victims  to  the  plague,  the  grateful  frosts  of  October  came  at  last  and 
ended  the  pestilence. 

By  the  XVIIIth  Article  of  the  Treaty  of  Washington,*  it  was 
agreed  th?t  the  right  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  in  cer¬ 
tain  sea-fisheries  which  had  hitherto  belonged  exclusively  to  the  sub¬ 
jects  of  Great  Britain,  should  be  acknowledged  and  maintained.  It 
was  conceded,  moreover,  that  the  privilege  of  taking  fish  of  every 
kind  —  except  shell-fish  —  on  the  sea-coasts  and  shores,  and  in  the 
bays,  harbors,  and  creeks  of  the  provinces  of  Quebec,  Nova  Scotia, 
New  Brunswick,  Prince  Edward’s  Island,  and  the  islands  thereunto 
adjacent,  without  restriction  as  to  distance  from  the  shore,  should  be 
guaranteed  to  American  fishermen,  without  prejudice  or  partiality. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  government  of  the  United  States  agreed  to 
relinquish  the  duties  which  had  hitherto  been  charged  on  certain 
kinds  of  fish  imported  by  British  subjects  into  American  harbors. 
Several  other  concessions  of  minor  importance  were  mutually  made 
by  the  contracting  parties;  and  in  order  to  balance  any  discrepancy 
that  might  appear  in  the  aggregate  of  such  concessions,  and  to  make 
the  settlement  of  a  vexed  question  full,  fair,  and  final,  it  was  further 
agreed  that  any  total  advantage  to  the  United  States  arising  from 
the  treaty,  might  be  compensated  by  a  sum  in  gross  to  be  paid  by  the 
American  government  to  Great  Britain.  And  in  order  to  determine 
what  such  sum  should  be,  a  Commission  was  provided  for,  the  same 
to  consist  of  one  commissioner  to  be  appointed  by  the  Queen,  one 
•y  the  President,  and  a  third  (provided  the  Queen  and  the  Presi- 


*  See  page  556. 


HA  YES’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


639 


dent  should  not  agree  on  a  third)  by  the  Austrian  ambassador  at 
the  Court  of  St.  James!*  Accordingly,  in  the  summer  of  1877,  the 
Commission  was  constituted,  and  the  sittings  began  at  Halifax.  But 
little  attention  was  given  to  the  proceedings  of.  the  body  until  No¬ 
vember,  when  the  country  was  startled  by  the  announcement  that 
by  the  casting  vote  of  Mr.  Delfosse,  Belgian  minister  to  the  United 
States,  who  had  been  named  as  third  commissioner  by  the  Austrian 
ambassador  at  London,  an  award  of  five  millions  ,of  dollars  had  been 
made  against  the  American  government !  The  decision  was  received 
with  general  surprise,  both  in  the  United  States  and  in  Europe ; 
and  for  awhile  it  seemed  probable  that  the  arbitration  might  be 
renounced  as  iniquitous.  It  was  decided,  however,  that  the  award, 
whether  just  or  unjust,  would  better  stand;  and  accordingly,  in 
November,  1878,  the  amount  was  paid  —  not  without  great  popular 
dissatisfaction — to  the  British  government. 

The  year  1878  witnessed  the  establishment  of  a  resident  Chinese 
embassy  at  Washington.  For  twenty  years  the  great  and  liberal  treaty 
negotiated  by  Anson  Burlingame  had  been  in  force  between  the  United 
States  and  China.  Under  the  protection  of  this  compact,  the  commer¬ 
cial  relations  of  the  two  countries  had  been  vastly  extended,  and  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  institutions,  manners,  and  customs  prevalent  in  the  Celes¬ 
tial  Empire  so  widely  diffused  as  to  break  down  in  some  measure  the 
race-prejudice  existing  against  the  Mongolians.  The  enlightened 
policy  of  the  reigning  emperor  had  also  contributed  to  establish  more 
friendly  intercourse  with  the  United  States,  and  to  promote  such 
measures  as  should  make  that  intercourse  lasting.  The  idea  of  send¬ 
ing  resident  ambassadors  to  the  American  government  had  been  en¬ 
tertained  for  several  years.  The  emperor  had  been  assured  that  the 
people  of  China  —  more  particularly  her  ministers  —  would  be  received 
with  all  the  courtesy  shown  to  the  most  favored  nation.  The  officers 
chosen  by  the  imperial  government  as  its  representatives  in  the  United 
States  were  Chen  Lan  Pin,  minister  plenipotentiary,  Yung  Wing, 
assistant  envoy,  and  Yung  Tsang  Siang,  secretary  of  legation.  On 
the  28th  of  September  the  embassy  was  received  by  the  President. 

A  strange  and  inexplicable  provision.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  came  to  pass  tliat  the 
man  who  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  held  the  power  of  appointing,  and  who  did  appoint, 
ihe  umpire  in  the  Halifax  Commission,  was  Count  Von  Beust,  a  Bourbon  of  the  Bour¬ 
bons  in  politics,  a  Saxon  renegade,  an  upholder  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg  by  choice, 
and  a  hater  of  all  republican  institutions.  It  thus  happened  that  a  question  which  had 
proved  too  much  for  the  Joint  High  Commission  itself,  was  remanded  for  settlement  to 
a  political  adventurer  temporarily  resident  in  London  I  To  understand  the  proceeding 
•equires  the  wisdom  of  a  —  statesman ! 


640 


HISTOR  Y  OF  THE  UNITED  STA  TES. 


The  ceremonies  of  the  occasion  were  among  the  most  novel  and  in¬ 
teresting  ever  witnessed  in  Washington.  The  speech  of  Chen  Lan 
Tin  was  equal  in  dignity  and  appropriateness  to  the  best  efforts  of  a 
European  diplomatist.  Addressing  the  President  the  Chinese  minister 
said : 

“Mr.  President:  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor  of  China,  in  ap¬ 
pointing  us  to  reside  at  Washington  as  ministers,  instructed  us  to 
present  your  Excellency  his  salutations,  and  to  express  his  assurances 
of  friendship  for  you  and  the  people  of  the  United  States.  His 
Majesty  hopes  that  your  administration  may  be  one  of  signal  success, 
and  that  it  may  bring  lasting  peace  and  prosperity  to  the  whole 
country.  On  a  former  occasion  the  Chinese  government  had  the 
honor  to  send  an  embassy  to  Washington  on  a  special  mission,  and 
the  results  were  most  beneficent.  His  Majesty  cherishes  the  hope 
that  this  embassy  will  not  only  be  the  means  of  establishing  on  a 
firm  basis  the  amicable  relations  of  the  two  countries,  but  may  also 
be  the  starting-point  of  a  new  diplomatic  era  which  will  eventually 
unite  the  East  and  West  under  an  enlightened  and  progressive  civil¬ 
ization.” 

The  history  of  modern  times  contains  many  pleasing  evidences 
of  the  growing  estimate  placed  by  civilized  states  upon  the  value  ©f 
human  life.  In  the  legislation  of  Congress  several  important  acts 
bear  witness  to  the  general  interest  felt  in  the  United  States  on  the 
subject  of  better  protection  for  those  who  are  exposed  by  land  and  sea. 
The  question  of  affording  adequate  succor  to  shipwrecked  sailors  has 
especially  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  government,  and  many  meas¬ 
ures  have  been  proposed  with  a  view  of  giving  greater  security  to 
“  them  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships.”  During  the  last  session  of 
the  Forty-fifth  Congress  a  bill  was  brought  forward  by  S.  S.  Cox,  of 
New  York,  for  the  reorganization  of  the  Life-Saving  Service  of 
the  United  States,  under  the  patronage  and  control  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  This  service  had  existed  as  a  private  enterprise  since  1871. 
The  plan  proposed  and  adopted  June  18,  1878,  embraced  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  regular  stations  and  light-houses  on  all  the  exposed  parts  of 
the  Atlantic  coast  and  along  the  great  lakes.  Each  station  was  to  be 
manned  by  a  band  of  surfmen  experienced  in  the  dangers  peculiar  to 
the  shore  in  times  of  storms,  and  drilled  in  the  best  methods  of  rescue 
and  resuscitation.  Boats  of  the  most  approved  pattern  —  capable  of  sur¬ 
viving  any  storm  that  ever  lashed  the  sea  —  were  provided  and 
equipped.  A  hundred  appliances  and  inventions  suggested  by  the 
wants  of  the  service  —  life-cars  with  hawsers,  and  mortars  for  firing 


HA  YES'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


641 


shot-lines  into  vessels  foundering  at  a  distance  from  the  shore  —  were 
supplied  and  their  use  skillfully  taught  to  the  brave  men  who  were 
employed  at,  the  stations.  The  success  of  the  enterprise  has  been  so 
great  as  to  reflect  the  highest  credit  on  its  promoters.  The  number  of 
lives  saved  through  the  direct  agency  of  the  service  reaches  to  thou¬ 
sands  annually,  and  the  amount  of  human  suffering  and  distress  alleviated 
by  this  beneficent  movement  is  beyond  computation.  So  carefully  are 
the  exposed  coasts  of  the  United  States  now  guarded  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  for  a  foundering  ship  to  be  driven  within  sight  of  the  shore 
without  at  once  beholding  through  the  darkness  of  the  otherwise  hope¬ 
less  night  the  sudden  glare  of  the  red-light  signal  flaming  up  from  the 
beach,  telling  the  story  of  friends  near  by  and  rescue  soon  to  come. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1879,  the  Resumption  of  Specie  Pay¬ 
ments  was  formally  accomplished  by  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States.  For  more  than  seventeen  years,  owing  to  the  disorders  arising 
from  the  Civil  War,  gold  and  silver  coin  had  been  at  a  premium 
over  the  legal-tender  notes  of  the  Government.  During  this  whole 
period  the  monetary  affairs  of  the  Nation  had  been  in  a  state  of  dis¬ 
traction.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  monetary  unit  had  been  so  fluctu¬ 
ating  as  to  render  legitimate  business  almost  impossible.  The  actual 
purchasing  power  of  a  dollar  could  hardly  be  predicted  from  one 
week  to  another.  Resulting  from  this,  a  spirit  of  rampant  specula¬ 
tion  had  taken  possession  of  most  of  the  market  values  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  The  lawful  transactions  of  the  street,  carried  forward  in  obedi¬ 
ence  to  the  plain  principles  of  political  economy,  suffered  shipwreck, 
while  'parvenu  statesmen  gave  lectures  on  the  nature  of  debt  and  the 
evils  of  overproduction!  After  the  passage  of  the  Resumption  Act, 
in  1875,  owing  to  the  steady  and  rapid  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
the  monetary  unit,  the  debtor  classes  of  the  country  entered  a  period 
of  great  hardship;  for  their  indebtedness  constantly  augmented  in  a 
ratio  beyond  the  probability,  if  not  the  possibility,  of  payment.  It 
was  an  epoch  of  financial  ruin  and  bankruptcy,  which  was  only 
checked,  but  not  ended,  by  the  abrogation  of  the  Bankrupt  Act,  in 
1878.  With  the  near  approach  of  Resumption,  however,  a  certain 
degree  of  confidence  supervened ;  and  the  actual  accomplishment  of 
the  fact  was  hailed  by  many  as  the  omen  of  better  times. 

The  presidential  election  of  1880  was  accompanied  with  the  usual 
excitement  attendant  upon  great  political  struggles  in  the  United 
States.  The  congressional  elections  of  1878  had  generally  gone 
against  the  Republican  party,  insomuch  that  in  both  houses  of  the 
Forty-sixth  Congress  the  Democrats  had  a  clear  majority.  It  was 

41 


642 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


therefore  not  unreasonable  to  expect  that  in  the  impending  contest  for 
the  presidency  the  Democratic  party  would  prove  successful.  The 
leaders  of  this  party  were  hopeful  of  success  and  entered  the  campaign 
with  renewed  zeal  and  energy.  The  Republican  national  convention 
was  held  in  Chicago  on  the  2d  and  3d  of  June.  A  platform  of  prin¬ 
ciples  was  adopted  largely  retrospective.  The  history  of  the  party 
during  the  twenty  years  of  its  supremacy  in  the  government  was 
recited  as  the  best  reason  why  its  lease  of  power  should  be  continued 
by  the  people.  The  platform  reaffirmed  and  emphasized  the  doctrine 
of  nationality  as  opposed  to  the 'theory  of  states’  rights;  declared  in 
favor  of  popular  education;  advocated  a  system  of  discriminating  duties 
in  favor  of  American  industries;  called  on  Congress  to  limit  Chinese 
immigration;  avoided  the  question  of  finance;  complimented  the 
administration  of  President  Hayes;  and  arraigned  the  Democratic 
party  as  unpatriotic  in  its  principles  and  fraudulent  in  its  practices. 
Upon  this  platform  —  after  the  greater  part  of  two  days  had  been  con¬ 
sumed  in  balloting — General  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  was  nom¬ 
inated  for  President,  and  Chester  A.  Arthur,  of  New  York,  for  Vice- 
President. 

The  Democratic  national  convention  assembled  in  Cincinnati,  on 
the  22d  of  June.  The  platform  of  principles  declared  adherence  to  the 
doctrines  and  traditions  of  the  party;  opposed  the  tendency  to  central¬ 
ization  in  the  government ;  adhered  to  gold  and  silver  money  and 
paper  convertible  into  coin;  advocated  a  tariff  for  revenue  only;  pro¬ 
claimed  a  free  ballot;  denounced  the  administration  as  the  creature  of 
a  conspiracy;  opposed  the  presence  of  troops  at  the  polls;  compli¬ 
mented  Samuel  J.  Tilden  for  his  patriotism;  declared  for  free  ships 
and  an  amendment  to  the  Burlingame  treaty  as  against  Chinese  im¬ 
migration;  and  appealed  to  the  acts  of  the  Forty-sixth  Congress  as 
proof  and  illustration  of  Democratic  economy  and  wisdom.  After 
adopting  this  platform  the  convention  nominated  for  the  presidency 
General  Winfield  S.  Hancock,  of  New  York,  and  for  the  vice- presi¬ 
dency  William  H.  English,  of  Indiana. 

Meanwhile  the  National  Greenback  party  had  held  a  convention 
in  Chicago,  on  the  9th  of  June,  and  nominated  as  standard-bearers 
General  James  B.  Weaver,  of  Iowa,  for  President,  and  General  Benja¬ 
min  J.  Chambers,  of  Texas,  for  Vice-President.  The  platform  of 
principles  declared  in  favor  of  the  rights  of  the  laborer,  as  against  the 
exactions  of  capital;  denounced  monopolies  and  syndicates;  proclaimed 
the  sovereign  power  of  the  government  over  the  coinage  of  metallic 
and  the  issuance  of  paper  money;  advocated  the  abolition  of  tht 


HA  YES'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


643 


National  banking  system  and  the  substitution  of  legal-tender  currency; 
declared  for  the  payment  of  the  bonded  debt  of  the  United  States  as 
against  all  refunding  schemes;  denounced  land-grants;  opposed 
Chinese  immigration  and  an  increase  of  the  standing  army;  favored 
the  equal  taxation  of  all  property  and  unrestricted  suffrage;  demanded 
reform  in  the  methods  of  congressional  proceedings;  and  appealed  for 
support  to  the  sense  of  justice  in  the  American  people. 

The  canvass  had  not  progressed  far  until  it  became  evident  that 
the  contest  lay  between  the  Republican  and  the  Democratic  party,  and 
that  the  long-standing  sectional  division  into  North  and  South  was 
likely  once  more  to  decide  the  contest  in  favor  of  the  former.  That 
part  of  the  Democratic  platform  which  declared  for  a  tariff  for  revenue 
only,  alarmed  the  manufacturing  interests  and  consolidated  them  in 
support  of  the  Republican  candidates.  The  banking  and  bond-hold¬ 
ing  classes  rallied  with  great  unanimity  to  the  same  standard,  and  the 
old  war  spirit,  aroused  at  the  appearance  of  a  “ solid  South”  insured  a 
solid  North  against  the  Democracy.  The  election  resulted  in  the  choice 
of  Garfield  and  Arthur.  Two  hundred  and  fourteen  electoral  votes, 
embracing  those  of  all  the  Northern  States  except  New  Jersey,  Nevada, 
and  four  out  of  the  five  votes  of  California,  were  cast  for  the  Republican 
candidates,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  votes,  including  those  of 
every  Southern  State,  were  given  to  Hancock  and  English.  The  can¬ 
didates  of  the  National  party  secured  no  elect*.  1  Wes,  though  the 
popular  vote  given  to  Weaver  and  Chambers  aggregated  307,000  as 
against  81,000  cast  for  Cooper  and  Cary  in  1876. 

The  administration  of  President  Hayes  and  the  last  session  of  the 
Forty-sixth  Congress  expired  together  on  the  4th  of  March,  1881. 
The  closing  session  had  been  chiefly  occupied  with  the  matter  of 
refunding  the  national  debt.  About  seven  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  dollars  of  five  and  six  per  cent,  bonds  became  due  during  the  year; 
and  to  provide  for  the  payment  or  refunding  of  this  large  sum  was  the 
most  important  matter  claiming  the  attention  of  Congress.  Late  in 
the  session  a  bill  was  passed  by  that  body  providing  for  the  issuance 
by  the  government  of  new  bonds  of  two  classes,  both  bearing  three 
per  cent. ;  the  first  class  payable  in  from  five  to  twenty  years,  and  the 
second  class  in  from  one  to  ten  years.  The  latter  bonds  were  to  be 
issued  in  small  denominations,  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  a  popular 
loan.  One  provision  of  the  bill  required  the  national  banks  holding 
five  and  six  per  cent,  bonds  to  surrender  the  same  —  the  bonds  having 
fallen  due  —  and  to  receive  instead  the  new  three  per  cents.  This 
clause  of  the  law  aroused  the  antagonism  of  the  banks,  and  by  every 


644 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


possible  means  they  sought  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  bill.  On  the 
last  day  of  the  session,  the  measure  having  been  adopted  by  both 
houses  of  Congress,  the  act  was  laid  before  the  President  for  his 
approval,  which  was  withheld.  A  veto  message  was  returned  to  Con¬ 
gress  ;  the  advocates  of  the  bill  being  unable  to  command  a  two-third’s 
majority  in  its  favor,  the  bill  failed  to  become  a  law  and  the  session 
closed  without  any  provision  for  the  refunding  of  the  750,000,000 
dollars  of  bonds  falling  due  in  1881. 

Soon  after  retiring  from  the  presidency,  General  Grant  with  his 
family  and  a  company  of  personal  friends,  set  out  to  visit  the  countries 
of  Europe  and  Asia,  and  to  make  a  tour  of  the  world.  Though  the 
expedition  was  intended  to  be  private  it  could  but  attract  the  most 
conspicuous  attention  both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  departure  from 
Philadelphia  on  the  17th  of  May,  1877,  was  the  beginning  of  a  pageant 
which,  in  its  duration  and  magnificence,-  was  never  before  extended  to 
any  citizen  of  any  nation  of  the  earth.  Wherever  the  distinguished  ex- 
President  went  he  was  welcomed  with  huzzas  and  dismissed  with 
plaudits.  First  in  England  —  at  Liverpool,  Manchester,  London  — 
and  afterwards,  in  midsummer,  in  Belgium,  Switzerland,  Prussia, 
and  France,  everywhere  the  GeneraPs  coming  was  announced  by 
the  thunder  of  cannon,  the  thronging  of  multitudes,  and  a  chorus 
of  cheers.  A  short  stay  in  Italy  was  followed  by  a  voyage  to  Alexan¬ 
dria,  and  a  brief  sojourn  in  Egypt.  Thence  the  company  proceeded  to 
Palestine  and  afterwards  to  Greece.  The  following  spring  found  the 
ex-President  and  his  party  again  in  Italy  —  at  Pome,  Florence,  Venice, 
and  Milan;  and  the  summer  carried  them  into  Denmark,  Sweden,  and 
Norway.  The  next  countries  visited  were  Austria  and  Russia,  while 
for  the  winter  the  distinguished  tourists  chose  the  south  of  France  and 
Spain.  Ireland  was  visited,  and  in  January  of  1879  the  company  em¬ 
barked  from  Marseilles  for  the  East.  The  following  year  was  spent  in 
visiting  the  great  countries  of  Asia  —  India  first;  then  Burmali  and 
Siam;  then  China;  and  then  Japan.  In  the  fall  of  1879  the  party 
returned  to  San  Francisco,  bearing  with  them  the  highest  tokens  of 
esteem  which  the  great  nations  of  the  Old  World  could  bestow  upon 
the  honored  representative  of  the  civilization  of  the  New. 

The  census  of  1880  was  undertaken  with  more  system  and  care 
than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  country.  The  work  was  entrusted 
to  the  general  superintendency  of  Professor  Francis  A.  Walker,  under 
whose  direction  the  admirable  census  of  1870  was  conducted.  During 
the  decade  the  same  astounding  progress  which  had  marked  the  pre¬ 
vious  history  of  the  United  States  was  more  than  ever  illustrated.  In 


HAYES'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


every  source  of  national  power,  in  every  element  of  national  vigor,  the 
development  of  the  country  had  continued  without  abatement.  The 
total  population  of  the  states  and  territories  of  the  Union  now  amounted 
to  50,152,866  —  an  increase  since  1870  of  more  than  a  million  inhabit¬ 
ants  a  year!  New  York  was  still  the  leading  state,  having  a  popula¬ 
tion  of  5,083,173.  Nevada  was  least  populous,  showing  an  enumera¬ 
tion  of  but  62,265.  Of  the  11,584,188  added  to  the  population  since 
the  census  of  1870,  2,246,551  had  been  contributed  by  immigration, 
of  whom  about  85,000  annually  came  from  Germany  alone.  The 
number  of  cities  having  a  population  of  over  100,000  inhabitants  had 
increased  during  the  decade  from  fourteen  to  twenty.*  The  center 
of  population  had  moved  westward  about  fifty  miles,  and  now  rested 
at  the  city  of  Cincinnati. 

The  statistics  of  trade  and  industry  were  likewise  of  a  sort  to 
gratify  patriotism,  if  not  to  excite  national  pride.  The  current  of  the 
precious  metals  which  for  many  years  had  flowed  constantly  from  the 
United  States  to  foreign  countries  turned  strongly,  in  1880,  towards 
America.  The  importation  of  specie  during  the  year  just  mentioned 
amounted  to  $93,034,310,  while  the  exportation  of  the  same  during 
the  year  reached  only  $17,142,199.  During  the  greater  part  of  the 
period  covered  by  the  census  abundant  crops  had  followed  in  almost 
unbroken  succession,  and  the  overplus  in  the  great  staples  peculiar  to 
our  soil  and  climate  had  gone  to  enrich  the  country,  and  to  stimulate 
to  an  unusual  degree  those  fundamental  industries  upon  which  national 
perpetuity  and  individual  happiness  are  ultimately  founded. f 


*  The  following  table  will  show  the  population  and  rate  of  increase  in  the  ten  lead¬ 
ing  cities  in  the  United  States,  according  to  the  censuses  of  1870  and  1880: 


City. 

State. 

Population 

Per  cent, 
of  increase. 

New  York  .  .  . 

New  York  .... 

1870 

942,292 

1880 

1,206,590 

28 

Philadelphia  .  . 

Pennsylvania  .  . 

674,022 

846,984 

25 

Brooklyn  .... 

New  York  .... 

396,099 

586,689 

48 

St.  Louis  .... 

Missouri  .... 

310,864 

350,522 

13 

Chicago  .... 

Illinois . 

298,977 

503,304 

72 

Baltimore  .... 

Maryland  .... 

267,354 

333,190 

24 

Boston . 

Massachusetts  .  . 

250,526 

362,535 

44 

Cincinnati  .... 

Ohio . 

216,239 

255,708 

22 

New  Orleans  .  .  . 

Louisiana  .... 

191,418 

216,140 

13 

San  Francisco  .  . 

California  .... 

149,473 

233,956 

56 

t  At  the  date  of  sending  this  edition  to  the  press,  only  the  preliminary  results  of  the 
oensus  of  1880  have  been  given  to  the  public. 


646 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


During  the  administration  of  President  Hayes  several  eminent 
Americans  passed  from  the  scene  of  their  earthly  activities.  On  the 
1st  of  November,  1877,  the  distinguished  Senator  Oliver  P.  Morton, 
of  Indiana,  after  battling  for  many  years  against  the  deadly  en¬ 
croachments  of  paralysis,  died  at  his  home  in  Indianapolis.  His 
death,  though  not  unforeseen,  was  much  lamented.  Still  more 
universally  felt  was  the  loss  of  the  great  poet  and  journalist,  ‘William 
Cullen  Bryant,  who,  on  the  12th  of  June,  1878,  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-four,  passed  from  among  the  living.  For  more  than  sixty 
years  his  name  had  been  known  and  honored  wherever  the  English 
language  is  spoken.  His  life  had  been  an  inspiration,  and  the 
brightest  light  of  American  literature  was  extinguished  in  his  death. 
On  the  19th  of  December,  in  the  same  year,  the  illustrious  Bayard 
Taylor,  who  had  recently  been  appointed  American  minister  to  the 
German  Empire,  died  suddenly  in  the  city  of  Berlin.  His  life  had 
been  exclusively  devoted  to  literary  work  ;  and  almost  every  depart¬ 
ment  of  letters,  from  the  common  tasks  of  journalism  to  the  highest 
charms  of  poetry,  had  been  adorned  by  his  genius.  His  death,  at  the 
early  age  of  fifty-four,  left  a  gap  not  soon  to  be  filled  in  the  shining 
ranks  of  literature.  On  the  1st  day  of  November,  1879,  Senator 
Zachariah  Chandler,  of  Michigan,  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  JRe- 
publican  party,  and  a  great  leader  of  that  party  in  the  times  of  the 
civil  war,  died  suddenly  at  Chicago  ;  and  on  the  24tli  day  of  February, 
1881,  another  senator,  the  distinguished  Matt.  JI.  Carpenter,  of 
Wisconsin,  after  a  lingering  illness,  expired  at  Washington.  One 
by  one  the  strong  men  who  battled  for  the  preservation  of  American 
nationality  in  the  stormy  days  of  the  civil  war  are  passing  or  have 
passed  into  the  land  of .  rest. 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR. 


64? 


CHAPTER  L  X  X . 

ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR,  ; 


TAMES  A.  GARFIELD,  twentieth  President  of  the  United  Stales. 

was  born  at  Orange,  Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio,  November  19th,  1881 
By  the  death  of  his  lather  he  was  left  in  infancy  to  the  sole  care 
of  his  mother  and  to  the  rude  surroundings  of  a  backwoods  home. 

Blest  with  great 
native  energy 
and  an  abundance 
of  physical  vigor, 
the  boy  gathered 
from  country  toil 
a  sound  constitu¬ 
tion,  and  from 
country  schools 
the  rudiments 
of  education. 
In  boyhood  his 
services  were  in 
frequent  demand 
by  the  farmers 
of  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  —  for  he  de- 
veloped  unusual 
skill  as  a  me¬ 
chanic.  After¬ 
wards  he  served 
as  a  driver  and 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.  pilot  Ol  U  Caiial 

boat  plying  the 

Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  canal.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  attended 
the  High  School  in  Chester,  where  he  applied  himself  with  great  dili¬ 
gence,  extending  his  studies  to  algebra,  Latin,  and  Greek.  In  the  fall 
of  1851,  he  entered  Hiram  College,  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  as  student  and  instructor  until  1854.  In  that  year  he  entered 


44 


648 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Williams  College,  from  which,  in  August  of  1856,  he  was  graduated 
with  honor.  He  then  returned  to  Ohio,  and  was  made  first  a  professor 
and  afterwards  president  of  Hiram  College.  This  position  he  held 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  when  he  left  his  post  to  enter  the 
army.  Meanwhile  he  had  studied  law,  imbibed  a  love  for  politics,  and 
been  elected  to  the  Ohio  State  Senate. 

As  a  soldier  Garfield  was  first  made  lieutenant-colonel  and  after¬ 
wards  colonel  of  the  Forty-second  regiment  of  Ohio  volunteers.  Ad¬ 
vancing  with  his  men  to  the  front  he  was  soon  promoted  to  a  brigadier 
generalship,  and  did  good  service  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  He 
was  made  chief  of  staff  to  General  Rosecrans,  and  bore  a  distinguished 
part  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  Soon  afterwards,  while  still  in  the 
field,  he  was,  in  1862,  elected  by  the  people  of  his  district  to  the  lower 
house  of  Congress,  where  he  continued  to  serve  as  a  member  for  seven¬ 
teen  years.  In  1879  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and 
hard  upon  this  followed  his  nomination  and  election  to  the  presidency. 
American  history  has  furnished  but  few  instances  of  a  more  steady  and 
brilliant  rise  from  the  poverty  of  an  obscure  boyhood  to  the  most  dis¬ 
tinguished  elective  office  in  the  gift  of  mankind. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1881,  President  Garfield,  according  to  the 
custom,  delivered  his  inaugural  address.  A  retrospect  of  the  progress 
of  American  civilization  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  was  given 
and  the  country  congratulated  on  its  high  rank  among  the  nations. 
The  leading  topics  of  politics  were  briefly  reviewed,  and  the  policy  of 
the  executive  department  of  the  government  with  respect  to  the  great 
questions  likely  to  engross  the  attention  of  the  people,  set  forth  with 
clearness  and  precision.  The  public  school  system  of  the  United 
States  should  be  guarded  with  jealous  care;  the  old  wounds  of  the 
South  should  be  healed  and  the  heartburnings  of  the  civil  war  be 
buried  in  oblivion;  the  present  banking  system  should  be  maintained; 
the  practices  of  polygamy  should  be  repressed;  Chinese  immigration 
should  be  curbed  by  treaty;  the  equal  rights  of  the  enfranchised  blacks 
should  be  asserted  and  maintained. 

On  the  day  following  the  inauguration  the  President  sent  to  the 
Senate  for  confirmation  the  names  of  the  members  of  his  cabinet. 
The  nominations  were,  for  secretary  of  state,  James  G.  Blaine,  of 
Maine;  for  secretary  of  the  treasury,  William  Windom,  of  Minnesota; 
for  secretary  of  war,  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  of  Illinois;  for  secretary  of  the 
navy,  William  H.  Hunt,  of  Louisiana;  for  secretary  of  the  interior, 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  of  Iowa;  for  attorney-general,  Wayne MacYeagh, 
of  Pennsylvania;  for  postmaster-general,  Thomas  L.  James,  of  New 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR. 


649 


York.  These  nominations  were  promptly  confirmed,  and  the  new 
administration  entered  upon  its  course  with  omens  of  an  auspicious 
future. 

One  of  the  first  issues  which  engaged  the  attention  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  after  Garfield’s  accession  to  the  Presidency,  was  the  question  of 
Reform  in  the  Civil  Service.  This  question  had  been  inherited 
from  the  administration  of  Hayes,  by  whom  several  spasmodic  efforts 
had  been  made  to  introduce  better  methods  in  the  selection  of  men  to 
fill  the  appointive  offices  of  the  United  States.  The  real  issue  was 
whether  the  choice  of  the  officials  of  the  government  should  be  made 
on  the  grounds  of  the  character  and  fitness  of  the  candidate,  or  on  the 
principle  of  distributing  political  patronage  to  those  who  had  best 
served  the  party  —  whether  men  should  be  promoted  from  the  lower 
to  the  higher  grades  of  official  life,  and  retained  according  to  the 
value  and  proficiency  of  the  service  rendered,  or  be  elevated  to  posi¬ 
tion  in  proportion  to  their  success  in  carrying  elections  and  maintain¬ 
ing  the  party  in  power.  The  members  of  Congress  to  whom  the  help 
of  efficient  supporters  in  their  own  districts  and  states  seemed  essential, 
and  by  whom  the  patronage  of  the  government  had  been  dispensed 
since  the  days  of  Jackson,  held  stoutly  to  the  old  order,  unwilling  to 
relinquish  their  influence  over  the  appointing  power.  President 
Hayes,  after  vainly  attempting  to  establish  the  opposite  policy,  aban¬ 
doned  the  field  near  the  close  of  his  administration.  The  national 
Republican  platform  of  1880,  however,  vaguely  endorsed  “  civil  service 
reform”  as  a  principle  of  the  party,  and  some  expectation  existed  that 
President  Garfield  would  follow  the  policy  of  his  predecessor.  With 
the  incoming  of  the  new  administration  the  rush  for  office  was  unpre¬ 
cedented  in  the  previous  history  of  the  country.  The  politicians  and 
place-seekers,  who  claimed  to  have  “carried  the  election,”  swarmed 
into  Washington  and  thronged  the  executive  mansion,  clamoring  for 
office,  until,  for  the  time,  all  plans  and  purposes  of  reform  in  the  civil 
service  were  quite  crushed  out  of  sight  and  forgotten.  As  always 
hitherto,  ambition  for  political  power  and  hunger  for  the  spoils  of 
office  triumphed  over  the  better  sense  of  the  American  people. 

The  prospects  of  the  new  administration  were  soon  darkened 
with  political  difficulties.  A  division  arose  in  the  ranks  of  the  Re¬ 
publican  party,  threatening  the  disruption  and  ruin  of  that  organiza¬ 
tion.  The  two  wings  of  the  Republicans  were  nicknamed  the  “Half- 
breeds  ”  and  the  “  Stalwarts :  ”  the  latter,  headed  by  Senator  Conkling, 
of  Hew  York,  being  the  division  which  had  so  resolutely  supported 
General  Grant  for  the  Presidency  in  the  Chicago  Convention ;  the 


650 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


former,  led  by  Mr.  Blaine,  now  Secretary  of  State,  and  indorsed  by 
the  President  himself,  had  control  of  the  government,  and  were 
numerically  stronger  than  their  opponents.  The  Stalwarts  claimed 
the  right  of  dispensing  the  appointive  offices  of  the  Government,  after 
the  manner  which  prevailed  for  several  preceding  administrations; 
that  is,  the  distribution  of  the  offices  in  the  several  States,  under  the 
name  of  patronage,  by  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  those  States 
in  Congress.  The  President,  supported  by  his  division  of  the  party, 
and  in  general  by  the  reform  element  in  politics,  insisted  on  naming 
the  officers  in  the  various  States  according  to  his  own  wishes  and  what 
he  conceived  to  be  the  fitness  of  things.  ; 

The  chief  clash  between  the  two  influences  in  the  party  occurred 
in  respect  to  the  offices  in  New  York.  The  collectorship  of  customs 
for  the  port  of  New  York  is  the  best  appointive  office  in  the  gift  of 
the  Government.  To  fill  this  position  the  President  appointed  Judge 
William  Robertson,  and  the  appointment  was  bitterly  antagonized  by 
the  New  York  Senators,  Roscoe  Conkling  and  Thomas  C.  Platt,  who, 
failing  to  prevent  the  confirmation  of  Robertson,  resigned  their  seats, 
returned  to  their  State,  and  failed  of  a  reelection.  The  breach  thus 
effected  in  the  Republican  ranks  was  such  as  to  threaten  the  dis¬ 
memberment  of  the  party. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  at  the  adjournment  of  the  Senate 
in  June.  A  few  days  afterward  the  President  made  arrangements  to 
visit  Williams  College,  where  his  two  sons  were  to  be  placed  at  school, 
and  to  pass  a  short  vacation  with  his  sick  wife  at  the  sea-side.  On 
the  morning  of  July  2d,  in  company  with  Secretary  Blaine  and  a  few 
friends,  he  entered  the  Baltimore  depot  at  Washington,  preparatory  to 
taking  the  train  for  Long  Branch,  N.  J.  A  moment  afterward  he  was 
approached  by  a  miserable  political  miscreant  named  Charles  Julius 
Guiteau,  who,  from  behind,  and  unperceived,  came  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  company,  drew  a  pistol,  and  fired  upon  the  chief  magistrate 
of  the  Republic.  The  aim  of  the  assassin  was  too  well  taken,  and  the 
second  shot  struck  the  President  centrally  in  the  right  side  of  the 
back,  inflicting  a  dreadful  wound.  The  bleeding  chieftain  was  quickly 
borne  away  to  the  executive  mansion,  and  the  vile  wretch  who  had  com¬ 
mitted  the  crime  was  hurried  to  prison. 

For  a  week  or  two  the  hearts  of  the  American  people  vibrated 
between  hope  and  fear.  The  best  surgical  aid  was  procured,  and  bul¬ 
letins  were  daily  issued  containing  a  brief  outline  of  the  President's 
condition.  The  conviction  grew  day  by  day  that  he  would  ultimately 
recover.  Two  surgical  operations  were  performed  with  a  view  of  iiu 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  GARFIELD  AND  ARTHUR. 


651 


proving  liis  chances  for  life  ;  but  a  series  of  relapses  occurred,  and  the 
President  gradually  weakened  under  his  sufferings.  As  a  last  hope 
he  was,  on  the  6th  of  September,  carefully  conveyed  from  Washington 
City  to  Elberon,  where  he  was  placed  in  a  cottage  only  a  few 
yards  from  the  surf.  Here,  for  a  brief  period,  hope  again  revived, 
but  the  symptoms  were  aggravated  at  intervals,  and  the  patient  sank 
day  by  day. 

At  half  past  ten  on  the  evening  of  September  19th,  the  anniversary 
of  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  in  which  President  Garfield  had  won  his 
chief  military  reputation,  his  vital  powers  suddenly  gave  way  under  the 
destructive  influence  of  blood  poisoning  and  exhaustion,  and  in  a  few 
moments  death  closed  the  scene.  For  eighty  days  he  had  borne  the 
pain  and  anguish  of  his  situation  with  a  fortitude  and  heroism  rarely 
witnessed  among  men.  The  dark  shadow  of  the  crime  which  had  laid 
him  low  heightened  rather  than  eclipsed  the  luster  and  glory  of  his 
great  and  exemplary  life. 

On  the  day  following  this  deplorable  event  Vice-President 
Arthur  took  the  oath  of  office  in  Hew  York,  and  immediately  repaired 
to  Washington.  For  the  fourth  time  in  the  history  of  the  American 
Republic  the  duties  of  the  presidency  had  been  devolved  by  death 
upon  the  man  constitutionally  provided  for  such  an  emergency.  The 
heart  of  the  people,  however,  clung  for  a  time  to  the  dead  rather  than 
to  the  living  President.  The  funeral  of  Garfield  was  observed  first  of 
all  at  Washington,  whither  the  body  was  taken  and  placed  in  state  in 
the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol.  Here  it  was  viewed  by  tens  of  thousands 
of  people  during  the  22d  and  23d  of  September.  In  liis  life-time  the 
illustrious  dead  had  chosen  as  the  place  of  his  burial  the  Lakeview 
Cemetery,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  thither,  on  the  24th  of  the  month,  the 
remains  were  conveyed  by  way  of  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  dead  Lincoln,  the  funeral  processions  and  ceremonies 
were  a  pageant,  exhibiting  every-where  the  loyal  respect  and  love  of 
the  American  people  for  him  who  had  so  lately  been  their  pride.  On 
the  26th  of  September  his  body  was  laid  in  its  final  resting-place.  The 
day  of  the  burial  was  observed  throughout  the  country  in  great  as¬ 
semblies  gathered  from  hamlet  and  town  and  city,  all  anxious  to  tes¬ 
tify,  by  some  appropriate  word  or  token,  their  sorrow  for  the  great 
national  calamity,  and  their  appreciation  of  the  grand  example  of 
James  A.  Garfield’s  life. 

Chester  A.  Arthur,  called  by  this  sad  event  to  be  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  was  born  in  Franklin  County,  Vermont,  October  5, 1830. 
He  is  of  Irish  descent,  and  was  educated  at  Union  College,  from  which 


652 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


institution  lie  was  graduated  in  1849.  For  a  while  he  taught  school 
in  his  native  State,  and  then  came  to  New  York  City  to  study  law. 
Here  he  was 
soon  admitted 
to  the  bar  and 
rapidly  rose  to 
d  i  stincti  on. 

During  the 
Civil  AYar  he 
was  Quarter¬ 
master-Gener¬ 
al  of  the  State 
of  New  York, 
a  very  impor¬ 
tant  and  try¬ 
ing  o  ffi  c  e, 
which  he  filled 
with  great 
credit  to  him¬ 
self  and  the 
government. 

After  1865  lie 
returned  to 
the  practice  of 
law,  and  was 
appointed  Col¬ 
lector  Of  CllS-  CHKSt'EU  A.  AUTl If II. 

toms  for  the 

port  of  New  York  in  1871.  This  position  he  held  until  July,  1878, 
when  he  was  removed  by  President  Ilayes.  Again  he  returned  to  his 
law  practice,  but  was  soon  called  by  the  voice  of  his  party  to  be  a 
standard-bearer  in  the  presidential  canvass  of  1880.  His  election  to 
the  vice-presidency  followed,  and  then,  by  the  death  of  President 
Garfield,  he  rose  to  the  post  of  chief  honor  among  the  American 
people. 

The  assumption  of  the  duties  of  his  high  office  by  President 
Arthur  was  attended  with  but  little  ceremony  or  formality.  On  the 
22d  of  September  the  oath  of  office  was  again  administered  to  him  in 
the  \Gce-P resident’s  room,  in  the  Capitol,  Chief-justice  AVaite  officiat¬ 
ing.  After  this,  in  the  presence  of  the  few  who  were  gathered  in 
the  apartment,  he  delivered  a  brief  and  appropriate  address,  referring. 


ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  OAIIFIELD  AND  ARTHUR.  655 

in  a  touching  manner,  to  the  death  of  his  predecessor.  Those  present 
. — including  General  Grant,  ex-President  Hayes,  Senator  Sherman,  and 
his  brother  the  General  of  the  army — then  paid  their  respects,  and 
the  ceremony  was  at  an  end. 

In  accordance  with  the  custom,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  as 
constituted  so  recently  by  President  Garfield,  immediately  tendered 
their  resignations.  These  were  not  at  once  accepted,  the  President  in¬ 
stead  inviting  all  of  the  members  to  retain  their  places  as  his  consti 
tutional  advisers.  For  the  time  all  did  so  except  Mr.  Windom,  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  who  was  succeeded  by  Judge  Folger,  of  New 
York.  Mr.  MacVeagh,  the  Attorney  General,  also  resigned  a  short  time 
afterward,  and  the  President  appointed  as  his  successor  lion.  Benjamin 
H.  Brewster,  of  Philadelphia.  The  next  to  retire  from  the  Garfield 
Cabinet  were  Mr.  Blaine,  Secretary  of  State,  and  Mr.  James,  Post¬ 
master  General,  who  were  succeeded  in  their  respective  offices  by  Hon. 
F.  T.  Frelinghuysen,  of  New  Jersey,  and  Hon.  Timothy  A.  Howe,  of 
Wisconsin.  Mr.  Lincoln — so  great  was  the  charm  of  that  illustrious 
name — remained,  as  if  by  common  consent,  at  the  head  of  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  War.  Besides  those  changes  in  his  constitutional  advisers, 
not  much  disposition  to  revolutionize  the  policy  of  the  Government 
was  manifested  by  the  new  administration ;  and  the  people  generally, 
without  respect  to  party  lines,  gave  a  tolerably  cordial  support  to  him 
who  had  been  so  suddenly  called  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  Union. 

From  its  predecessor  the  administration  of  President  Arthur  in¬ 
herited  not  a  few  complications  and  troubles.  The  chief  of  these  was 
the  series  of  important  State  trials  relating  to  the  alleged  Star  Route 
Conspiracy.  Under  the  recent  conduct  of  affairs  in  the  Post-office 
Department  of  the  Government  there  had  been  organized  a  class  of 
fast  mail  routes,  known  as  the  Star  Houtes,  the  ostensible  object  being 
to  carry  the  mails  with  rapidity  and  certainty  into  certain  distant  and 
almost  inaccessible  portions  of  the  Western  States  and  Territories. 
The  law  governing  the  letting  of  mail  contracts  was  of  such  sort  as  to 
restrict  the  action  of  the  Postmaster  General  and  his  subordinates  to 
definite  limits  of  expense ;  but  one  clause  of  the  law  gave  to  the  De¬ 
partment  the  discretionary  power  to  “  expedite  ”  such  mail  routes  as 
seemed  to  be  weaker  and  less  efficient  than  the  service  required.  This 
gave  to  certain  officers  of  the  Government  the  opportunity  to  let  the 
contracts  for  many  mail  lines  at  a  minimum ,  and  then  under  their  dis¬ 
cretionary  power  to  expedite  the  same  lines  into  efficiency  at  exorbitant 
rates — the  end  and  aim  being  to  divide  the  spoils  with  the  contractors. 

This  alleged  Star  Route  conspiracy  to  defraud  the  Government  was 


654 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


unearthed  during  the  Garfield  administration,  and  Attorney-General 
MacYeagh  was  directed  by  the  President  to  prosecute  the  reputed 
conspirators.  Indictments  were  found  by  the  Grand  Jury  against  ex- 
United  States  Senator  S.tephen  W.  Dorsey,  of  Arkansas;  second 
assistant  Postmaster-General  Thomas  J.  Brady,  of  Indiana,  and  several 
others  of  less  note.  Mr.  MacYeagh,  however,  seemed  in  the  conduct 
of  the  Department  of  Justice  to  act  with  little  spirit  and  no  success; 
but  on  the  coming  into  office  of  Attorney-General  Brewster,  matters 
were  quickened  into  sharp  activity,  and  those  indicted  for  conspiracy 
were  brought  to  trial.  After  several  weeks  of  stormy  prosecution  and 
defence,  the  case  went  to  the  jury,  who  brought  in  a  verdict  absurdly 
convicting  certain  subordinates  of  participating  in  a  conspiracy  which 
could  not  have  existed  without  the  guilt  of  their  superiors.  This 
scandal,  occupying  the  public  mind  in  the  summer  of  1882,  contributed 
much  to  the  defeat  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  State  elections  of 
the  November  following — a  defeat  so  general  as  to  remand  by  over¬ 
whelming  majorities  the  control  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
to  the  Democrats. 

It  is  fortunate  that  the  pen  of  history  is  sometimes  occupied  with 
events  of  a  nature  and  tendency  wholly  different  from  the  public 
affairs  of  the  State.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  civiliza 
tion  of  our  times  is  exhibited  in  the  advancement  of  science,  as  illus¬ 
trated  in  the  thousand  applications  of  discovery  and  invention  to  the 
wants  of  mankind.  At  no  other  age  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  the 
practical  knowledge  of  nature’s  laws  been  so  rapidly  and  widely 
diffused  ;  and  at  no  other  epoch  has  the  subjection  of  natural  relations 
to  the  will  of  man  been  so  wonderfully  displayed.  The  old  life  of 
the  human  race  is  giving  place  to  the  new  life,  based  on  science,  and 
energized  by  the  knowledge  that  the  conditions  of  man’s  environment 
are  as  benevolent  as  they  are  immutable. 

Yain  would  it  be  to  attempt  to  enumerate  all  the  ways  in  which  the 
beneficent  work  of  science  has  been  extended  in  our  day  ;  but  perhaps 
a  specification  of  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  recent  applica¬ 
tions  of  scientific  knowledge  may  prove  of  interest  to  the  reader  of 
our  current  history. 

It  has  remained  for  the  present  to  solve  the  problem  of  oral  commu¬ 
nication  between  persons  at  a  distance.  A  knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
sound  and  electricity  has  enabled  the  scientists  of  our  day  to  transmit, 
or  at  least  reproduce,  the  human  voice  at  a  distance  of  hundreds  or  even 
thousands  of  miles.  The  history  of  the  Telephone  will  ever  stand  as 
a  perpetual  reminder  to  after  ages  of  the  inventive  skill  and  scientific 


ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


655 


progress  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  This  instru¬ 
ment,  like  many  similar  inventions,  seems  to  have  been  the  work  of 
several  ingenious  minds  directed  at  nearly  the  same  time  to  the  same 
problem.  The  solution,  however,  may  be  properly  accredited  to  Mr. 
Elisha  P.  Gray,  of  Chicago,  and  Professor  A.  Graham  Bell,  of  the 


Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  It  should  he  mentioned, 
however,  that  Professor  A.  C.  Dolbear,  of  Tufts  College,  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  and  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Edison,  of  Menlo  Park,  New  Jersey, 
have  also  succeeded  in  solving  the  original  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
telephonic  communication,  or  at  least  in  answering  practically  some  of 
the  minor  questions  in  the  way  of  success. 

The  Telephone  may 
be  defined  as  an  instru¬ 
ment  for  the  reproduction 
of  sounds,  particularly  the 
sounds  of  the  human  voice, 
by  the  agency  of  electricity, 
at  long  distances  from  the 
origin  of  the  vocal  disturb¬ 
ance.  It  is  now  well  known 
that  sound  consists  of  a 
wave  agitation,  communi¬ 
cated  through  some  me¬ 
dium  to  the  organ  of-  hear¬ 
ing.  Every  particular  sound 
has  its  own  physical  equiv¬ 
alent  in  the  system  of  waves 
in  which  it  is  written.  The 
only  thing  that  is  necessary 
in  order  to  carry  a  sound  in 
its  integrity  to  any  distance 
is  to  transmit  its  physical 
equivalent,  and  to  redeliver 
that  equivalent  to  some  or¬ 
gan  of  hearing  capable  of  receiving  it.  Upon  this  idea  the  Telephone 
is  created.  Every  sound  which  falls  by  impact  upon  the  sheet-iron  disk 
of  the  instrument  communicates  thereto  a  sort  of  tremor  ;  this  tremor 
causes  the  disk  to  approach  and  recede  from  the  magnetic  pole  placed 
just  behind  the  diaphragm.  A  current  of  electricity  is  thus  induced, 
pulsates  along  the  wire  to  the  other  end,  and  is  delivered  to  the  me¬ 
tallic  disk  of  the  second  instrument,  many  miles  away,  just  as  it  was 


THE  TELEPHONE. 


656 


BISTORT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


produced  in  the  first.  The  ear  of  the  hearer  receives  from  the  second 
instrument  the  exact  physical  equivalent  of  the  sound  or  sounds  which 
were  delivered  against  the  disk  of  the  first  instrument,  and  thus  the 
utterance  is  received  at  a  distance  just  as  it  was  given  forth. 

As  already  said,  the  invention  of  the  Telephone  stands  chiefly  to 
the  credit  of  Professors  Gray  and  Bell.  It  should  be  recorded  that  as 
early  as  1837  the  philosopher  Page  succeeded,  by  means  of  electro¬ 
magnetism,  in  transmitting  musical  tones  to  a  distance.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  1877  that  Professor  Bell,  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology,  at  a  public  lecture  given  at  Salem,  astonished  his 
ludience,  and  the  whole  country  as  well,  by  receiving  and  transmitting 
vocal  messages  from  Boston,  twenty  miles  away.  Incredulity  had  no 
more  a  place,  as  it  respected  the  feasibility  of  talking  to  others  at  a  dis¬ 
tance.  The  experiments  of  Mr.  Gray  at  Chicago,  a  few  days  later  in 
the  same  month,  were  equally  successful.  Messages  were  distinctly 
transmitted  between  that  city  and  Milwaukee,  a  distance  of  eighty-five 
miles ;  nor  could  it  be  longer  doubted  that  a  new  era  in  the  means  of 
communication  had  come.  The  Bell  Telephone,  with  many  modifi¬ 
cations  and  improvements,  has  sprung  into  rapid  use.  Within  reason¬ 
able  limits  of  distance  the  new  method  of  transmitting  intelligence  by 
direct  vocal  utterance  is  rapidly  taking  the  place  of  all  slower  and  less 
convenient  means  of  inter-communication.  The  appearance  of  this 
simple  instrument  is  one  of  the  many  harbingers  of  that  auspicious 
time  when  the  constant  interchange  of  thought  and  sentiment  between 
man  and  man,  community  and  community,  nation  and  nation,  shall 
conduce  to  the  peace  of  the  world  and  the  goodfellowsliip  of  all 
mankind. 

From  the  Telephone  to  the  Phonogkaph  was  but  a  step.  Both  in¬ 
struments  are  based  upon  the  same  principle  of  science.  The  dis¬ 
covery  that  every  sound  has  its  physical  equivalent  in  a  wave  or  agita¬ 
tion  which  affects  the  particles  of  matter  composing  the  material 
through  which  the  sound  is  transmitted,  led  almost  inevitably  to  the 
other  discovery  of  catching  and  retaining  that  physical  equivalent  or 
wave  in  the  surface  of  some  body,  and  to  the  reproduction  of  the 
original  sound  therefrom.  Such  is  the  fundamental  principle  of  the 
interesting,  but  thus  far  little  useful,  instrument  known  as  the  Phono¬ 
graph.  The  same  was  invented  by  Thomas  A.  Edison  in  the  year 
1877.  The  Phonograph  differs  considerably  in  structure  and  purpose 
from  the  Yibrograph  and  the  Phonautograph  which  preceded  it.  The 
iatter  two  instruments  were  made  simply  to  write  sound  vibrations : 
the  former  to  reproduce  audibly  the  sounds  themselves. 


ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


657 


The  Phonograph  consists  of  three  principal  parts :  the  sender,  oi 
funnel-shaped  tube,  with  its  open  mouth-piece  standing  toward  the 
operator ;  the  diaphragm  and  stylus  united  therewith,  which  receive 
the  sound  spoken  into  the  tube  ;  and,  thirdly,  the  revolving  cylinder, 
with  its  sheet-coating  of  tin  foil  laid  over  the  surface  of  the  spiral 
groove,  to  receive  the  indentations  of  the  point  of  the  stylus.  The  mode 
of  operation  is  very  simple.  The  cylinder  is  revolved  and  the  point  of 
the  stylus  when  there  is  no  sound-agitation  in  the  funnel  or  moutli-piece 
makes  a  smooth  continuous  depression  in  the  tin-foil  over  the  spiral 
groove.  But  when  any  sound  is  thrown  into  the  mouth-piece  the  iron 
disk  or  diaphragm  is  agitated  ;  this  agitation  is  carried  through  the 
stylus  and  Mrritten  in  irregular  marks,  dots,  and  peculiar  figures  in  the 
tin-foil  groove.  When  the  utterance  which  is  to  be  reproduced  has 
been  completed  the  instrument  is  stopped,  the  stylus  thrown  back 
from  the  groove,  and  the  cylinder  revolved  backward  to  the  place  of 
starting.  The  stylus  is  now  returned  to  its  place  in  the  groove,  and 
the  cylinder  is  revolved  at  the  same  rate  of  rapidity  as  before.  As  the 
point  of  the  stylus  plays  up  and  down  in  the  indentations  and  through 
the  figures  of  the  tin-foil  produced  by  its  own  previous  agitation,  a 
quiver  exactly  equivalent  to  that  which  was  produced  by  the  utterance 
in  the  mouth-piece  is  now  communicated  backward  to  the  diaphragm, 
and  by  it  is  flung  through  the  mouth-piece  into  the  air.  This  agita¬ 
tion  is,  of  course,  the  exact  physical  equivalent  of  the  original  sound, 
or  more  properly  is  the  sound  itself.  Thus  it  is  that  the  Phonograph 
is  made  to  talk,  to  sing,  to  cry,  to  utter,  in  short,  any  sound  sufficiently 
powerful  to  produce  a  perceptible  tremor  in  the  mouth-piece  and  dia¬ 
phragm  of  the  instrument. 

Some  experiments  have  already  been  made  looking  to  the  utilization 
of  the  Phonograph  as  a  practical  addition  to  the  civilizing  apparatus 
of  our  times.  It  has  been  proposed  to  stereotype  the  tin-foil  record  of 
what  has  been  uttered  in  the  mouth-piece,  and  thus  to  preserve  in  a 
permanent  form  the  potency  of  vanished  sounds.  If  this  could  be 
successfully  and  perfectly  accomplished  the  invention  of  the  Phono¬ 
graph  would,  doubtless,  take  rank  with  the  greatest  of  the  age,  and 
might  possibly  revolutionize  the  whole  method  of  learning.  It  would 
seem,  indeed,  that  nature  has  intended  the  ear ,  rather  than  the  eye ,  as 
the  organ  of  education.  It  seems  to  be  against  the  everlasting  fitness 
of  things  that  the  eyes  of  all  mankind  should  be  strained,  weakened, 
permanently  injured,  in  childhood  with  the  unnatural  tasks  which  are 
imposed  upon  that  delicate  organ.  It  would  seem  to  be  more  in 
accordance  with  the  nature  and  capacities  of  man  and  the  general 
42 


658 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITE!)  STATES. 


character  of  the  external  world  to  reserve  the  eve  for  the  discernment 

V 

and  appreciation  of  beauty,  and  to  impose  upon  the  ear  the  tedious 
and  hard  tasks  'of  education.  The  Phonograph  make  it  possible  to 
read  by  the  ear,  instead  of  by  the  eye  ;  and  it  is  not  beyond  the  range 
of  probability  that  the  book  of  the  future,  near  or  remote,  will  be 
written  in  phonographic  plates  and  made  to  reveal  its  story  to  the 
waiting  ear  rather  than  through  the  medium  of  print  to  the  enfeebled 
and  tired  eye  of  the  reader. 

Perhaps  the  most  marked  and  valuable  invention  of  the  age — the 
one  best  calculated  to  affect  favorably  the  welfare  of  the  people, 
especially  in  great  cities — is  that  of  The  Electric  Light.  The  intro¬ 
duction  of  this  superior  system  of  illumination  marks  an  epoch  more 
interesting  and  important  in  the  history  of  our  country  than  is  any 
political  conflict  or  mere  change  of  rulers.  About  the  beginning  of 
the  last  decade  the  project  of  introducing  the  electric  light  for  general 
purposes  of  illumination  began  to  be  agitated.  It  was  at  once  per¬ 
ceived  that  the  advantages  of  such  lighting  were  as  conspicuous  as 
they  were  obvious.  The  light  is  so  powerful  as  to  render  practicable 
the  performance  of  many  mechanical  operations  as  easily  by  night  as 
by  day.  Again,  the  danger  of  lire  from  illuminating  sources  is  obvi¬ 
ated  by  the  new  system.  The  ease  and  expedition  of  all  kinds  of 
night  employment  are  greatly  enhanced.  A  given  amount  of  illumi¬ 
nation  can  be  produced  much  more  cheaply  by  electricity  than  by  any 
means  of  gas-lighting  or  ordinary  combustion. 

Among  the  first  to  demonstrate  the  feasibility  of  Electric  Lighting 
was  the  philosopher  Gramme,  of  Paris.  In  the  early  part  of  1875  he 
successfully  lighted  his  laboratory  by  means  of  electricity.  Soon 
afterward  the  foundry  of  Ducommun  &  Company,  of  Mulhouse,  was 
similarly  lighted.  In  the  course  of  the  following  year  the  apparatus 
for  lighting  by  means  of  carbon  candles  was  introduced  into  many  -of 
the  principal  factories  of  France  and  other  leading  countries  of 
Europe.  It  may  prove  of  interest  in  this  connection  to  sketcli  briefly 
the  principal  features  of  the  Electric  Light  system,  and  to  trace  in  a 
few  paragraphs  the  development  of  that  system  in  our  own  and  other 
countries. 

Lighting  by  electricity  is  accomplished  in  several  ways.  In  general, 
however,  the  principle  by  which  the  result  is  accomplished  is  one,  and 
depends  upon  the  resistance  which  the  electrical  current  meets  in  its 
transmission  through  various  substances.  There  are  no  perfect  con¬ 
ductors  of  electricity.  In  proportion  as  the  non-conductive  quality  ia 
present  in  a  substance,  especially  in  a  metal,  the  resistance  to  the  pas- 


ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


659 


sage  of  electricity  is  pronounced,  and  the  consequent  disturbance 
among  the  molecular  particles  of  the  substance  is  great.  Whenever 
such  resistance  is  encountered  in  a  circuit,  the  electricity  is  converted 
into  heat ;  and  when  the  resistance  is  great  the  heat  is  in  turn  con¬ 
verted  into  light ;  that  is,  the  substance  which  offers  the  resistance 
glows  with  the  transformed  energy  of  the  impeded  current. 

Upon  this  simple  principle  all  the  apparatus  for  the  production  of 
the  Electric  Light  is  constructed.  Among  the  metallic  substances  the 
one  best  adapted  by  its  low  conductivity  to  such  resistance  and  transfor¬ 
mation  of  force  is  platinum.  The  high  degree  of  heat  necessary  to 
fuse  this  metal  adds  to  its  usefulness  and  availability  for  the  purpose 
indicated.  When  an  electrical  current  is  forced  along  a  platinum  wire 
too  small  to  transmit  the  entire  volume  it  becomes  at  once  heated,  first 
to  a  red  and  then  to  a  white  glow,  and  is  thus  made  to  send  forth  a 
radiance  like  that  of  the  sun.  Of  the  non-metallic  elements  which 
offer  similar  resistance  the  best  is  carbon.  The  infusibility  of  this 
substance  renders  it  greatly  superior  to  platinum  for  purposes  of  the 
Electric  Light. 

As  much  as  seventy  years  ago  it  was  discovered  by  Sir  Humphry 
Davy  that  carbon  points  may  be  rendered  incandescent  by  means  of  a 
powerful  electrical  current.  That  philosopher  in  1809  made  the  dis¬ 
covery  here  referred  to  while  experimenting  with  the  great  battery  of 
the  Royal  Institution  in  London.  He  observed,  rather  by  accident 
than  by  design  or  previous  anticipation,  that  a  powerful  electrical  cur¬ 
rent,  passing  between  two  pointed  bits  of  wood  charcoal,  produces 
tremendous  heat  and  a  light  like  that  of  the  sun.  It  appears,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  philosopher  regarded  the  phenomenon  rather  in  the 
nature  of  an  interesting  display  of  force  than  as  a  suggestion  of  the 
possibility  of  turning  night  into  day. 

For  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  century  the  discovery  made  by  Sir 
Humphry  lay  dormant  among  the  great  mass  of  scientific  facts 
revealed  in  the  laboratory.  In  the  course  of  time,  however,  the 
potency  of  the  new  fact  began  to  be  apprehended.  The  electric  lamp 
in  many  forms  was  proposed  and  tried.  The  scientists  Niardet, 
Wilde,  Brush,  Fuller,  and  many  others  of  less  note  busied  themselves 
with  the  work  of  invention.  Especially  did  MM.  Gramme  and 
Siemens  devote  their  scientific  genius  to  the  work  of  turning  to  good 
account  the  knowledge  now  fully  possessed  of  the  transformability  of 
the  electric  current  into  light. 

The  experiments  of  these  two  distinguished  inventors  seemed  to 
bring  us  to  the  dawn  of  a  new  era  in  artificial  lighting.  The  Russian 


660 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


philosopher  Jablochkoff  carried  the  work  still  further  by  the  practical 
introduction  of  the  carbon  candle.  Other  scientists — Carre,  Foucault, 
Serrin,  Rapieff,  and  Werdermann — had  at  an  earlier  or  later  day 
thrown  much  additional  information  into  the  common  stock  of  knowl¬ 
edge  relative  to  the  illuminating  possibilities  of  electricity.  Finally 
this  accumulated  material  of  science  fell  into  the  hands  of  our  own 
untutored  but  remarkably  brilliant  and  radical  inventor,  Thomas  A. 
Edison,  who  gave  himself  with  the  utmost  zeal  to  the  work  of  remov¬ 
ing  the  remaining  difficulties  in  the  problem.  He  began  his  investiga¬ 
tions  in  this  line  of  invention  in  September  of  1878,  and  in  December 
of  the  following  year  gave  to  the  public  his  first  formal  statement  of 
results.  After  many  experiments  with  platinum,  he  abandoned  that 
material  in  favor  of  the  carbon-arc  in  vacuo.  The  latter  is,  indeed,  the 
essential  feature  of  the  Edison  light.  A  small  semicircle,  or  horse¬ 
shoe,  of  some  substance  reduced  to  the  form  of  pure  carbon,  the  two 
ends  being  attached  to  the  poles  of  the  generating  machine,  or 
“  dynamo,”  as  the  engine  is  popularly  called,  is  enclosed  in  a  glass 
bulb  from  which  the  air  has  been  carefully  withdrawn,  and  is  rendered 
incandescent  by  the  passage  of  an  electric  current.  The  ofchoi'  impor¬ 
tant  features  of  Edison’s  discovery  relate  to  the  divisibility  of  the  cur¬ 
rent  and  its  control  and  regulation  in  volume  by  the  operator.  These 
matters  have  been  so  fully  mastered  ;n  the  Edison  invention  as  to 
render  the  apparatus  as  completely  subject  to  the  management  of  even 
an  unskilled  PPffifpulator  as  are  the  other  varieties  of  illuminating 
it j)jparatus. 

it  were  vain  to  speculate  upon  the  future  of  electric  lighting. 
Doubtless  the  old  systems  of  illumination  are  destined  soon  to  give 
place  altogether  to  the  splendors  of  the  electric  glow.  The  general 
effects  of  the  change  upon  society  will,  no  doubt,  be  as  marked  as  they 
are  salutary.  Darkness,  the  enemy  of  good  government  and  morality  in 
great  cities,  will  in  a  great  measure  be  dispelled  by  the  beneficent 
agent  over  which  the  genius  of  Davy,  Gramme,  Brush,  Edison,  and  a 
host  of  other  explorers  in  the  new  continents  of  science  has  so  nearly 
triumphed.  The  ease,  comfort,  happiness,  and  welfare  of  mankind 
will  be  vastly  multiplied ;  and  we  shall  ever  be  reminded  in  the 
glow  of  the  “  light  of  the  future”  of  that  splendid  fact,  that  the  prog¬ 
ress  of  civilization  depends  in  a  large  measure  upon  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  nature’s  laws  and  the  diffusion  of  that  knowledge  among  the 
people. 

The  last  decade  has  also  been  conspicuous  for  the  number  and 
character  of  the  public  works  which  have  been  projected  or  brought 


ARTHUR'S  ABMINISTRA TWN. 


661 


to  completion  within 
the  period.  In  these 
the  immense  physical 
capacity  of  our  country 
and  people  has  been  am¬ 
ply  illustrated.  Among 
the  most  important  of 
the  enterprises  here  re¬ 
ferred  to  may  be  men¬ 
tioned  the  great  suspen¬ 
sion  bridge  over  the 
strait  known  as  the  East 
Eiver,  between  New 
York  and  Brooklyn. 
The  completion  and  for¬ 
mal  opening  of  this  work, 
which  occurred  on  the 
24th  of  May,  1883,  was 
an  event  of  such  interest 
as  to  evoke  universal  at¬ 
tention  and  elicit  many 
descriptions. 

The  Brooklyn 
Bridge  is  the  longest 
and  largest  structure  of 
the  kind  in  the  world. 
The  design  was  the  work 
of  the  distinguished 
John  A.  Boebling,  the 
originator  of  wire  sus¬ 
pension  bridges,  under 
whose  supervision  and 
that  of  his  son,  Wash¬ 
ington  A.  Roebling, 
the  structure  was  com¬ 
pleted.* 

*  The  personal  history  of 
the  Roeblings,  father  and  son, 
in  connection  with  the  great 
bridge,  is  as  pathetic  as  it  is 
interesting.  The  elder  engineer 
was  injured  while  laying  the 


662 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  East  River  structure  is  what  is  known  as  a  suspension  bridge, 
being  supported  by  four  enormous  wires  or  cables  stretching  from  pier 
to  pier  a  distance  of  1,595  feet.  From  the  main  towers  to  the  anchor¬ 
ages  on  either  side  is  930  feet.  From  the  anchorages  outward  to  the 
termini  of  the  approaches  is,  on  the  New  York  side  a  distance  of  1,562 
feet,  and  on  the  Brooklyn  side  972  feet,  giving  a  total  length  of  bridge 
and  approaches  of  5,989  feet.  The  total  weight  of  the  structure  is 
6,470  tons.  The  estimated  capacity  of  support  is  1,740  tons,  though 
the  ultimate  resistance  is  calculated  at  49,200  tons. 

The  Brooklyn  Bridge  was  first  projected  by  William  C.  Kingsley, 
president  of  the  bridge  trustees,  and  his  predecessor  in  that  office, 
Henry  C.  Murphy ;  the  first  plans  and  estimates  were  prepared  in 
1865.  The  company  for  the  construction  was  organized  two  years 
afterward.  The  capital  was  fixed  at  $5,000,000.  The  enterprise 
was  not  pressed  with  due  vigor  until  1875,  when  the  work  was  taken 
up  by  the  State  of  New  York.  A  Board  of  Managers  was  appointed 
to  bring  the  bridge  to  completion  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible.  Con¬ 
gress  also  patronized  the  enterprise  to  the  extent  of  authorizing  the 
construction  of  the  work,  which  act  was  passed  in  June  of  1869.  The 
formal  opening  of  the  bridge  in  May  of  1883  drew  the  attention  of 
the  whole  nation  to  the  metropolis,  and  proved  bv  the  interest  which 
the  event  excited  that  the  American  people  are  still  able  to  appreciate 
a  great  enterprise  in  art  and  mechanics,  and  to  show  by  such  appre¬ 
ciation  that,  even  in  America,  politics  is  not  the  best  vocation  of 
mankind. 

On  the  whole,  the  administration  of  President  Arthur  proved  to 
be  uneventful.  The  government  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  its  way, 
and  the  progress  of  the  country  was  unchecked  by  serious  calam¬ 
ity.  In  the  domain  of  politics  we  may  note  the  gradual  obliteration  of 
those  sharply  defined  issues  which  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century 
have  divided  the  two  great  parties.  As  a  consequence  there  has  been  a 
healthful  abatement  of  partisan  rancor.  It  is  becoming  every  year  more 
apparent  that  the  questions  at  issue  in  the  political  arena  are  merely 

foundation  of  one  of  the  shore  piers  on  the  22d  of  July,  1869,  and  died  of  lockjaw.  W.  A. 
Roebling  then  took  up  his  father’s  unfinished  task.  He  continued  the  work  of  super¬ 
vision  for  about  two  years,  when  he  was  prostrated  with  a  peculiar  form  of  paralysis  known 
as  the  ‘'caisson  disease,”  from  which  he  never  fully  recovered.  His  mental  faculties, 
however,  remained  unimpaired,  and  he  was  able  to  direct  with  his  eye  what  his  hands  could 
no  longer  touch.  While  thus  prostrated  his  wife  discovered  a  genius  almost  equal  to  that 
of  her  husband  and  her  father-in-law.  The  palsied  engineer,  thus  re-enforced,  continued  for 
five  years  to  furnish  plans  for  the  work  which  had  been  projected  by  his  father.  These 
plans  were  almost  all  drawn  by  his  wife,  who  never  flagged  in  the  great  work  which  had 
fallen  to  her  prostrate  husband.  In  1876  he  was  partly  restored  to  health,  and  lived  to 
hear  the  applause  which  his  genius  and  enterprise  had  merited. 


ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


663 


factitious,  and  that  the  clamor  of  partisanship  is  kept  up  for  the  most 
part  by  those  who  hope  to  gather  the  spoils  of  the  political  battle¬ 
field.  How  much  longer  these  ill-founded  cries  of  alarm  will  serve 
the  purpose  of  holding  the  people  in  line  under  the  old  party  names 
is  a  question  which  none  may  solve  with  certainty.  Meanwhile,  the 
man  who  plows,  or  keeps  the  flock — the  mechanic,  the  artisan,  the 
merchant — will  for  the  present,  no  doubt,  continue  to  come  forth  at 
the  call  of  the  party  leaders  and  vote  as  has  been  his  wont  on  issues 
that  are  more  imaginary  than  real,  and  whose  only  merit  consists  in 
the  fact  that  a  certain  residue  of  patriotism  is  still  the  motive-force  in 
the  average  American  election. 

To  the  general  fact,  that  party  questions  are  no  longer  vital  and  dis¬ 
tinct,  there  is  one  general  exception.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
American  people  are  really  and  sincerely  divided  on  the  question  of 
the  tariff.  Whether  the  true  policy  of  the  United  States  is  that  of  free 
trade  or  of  a  protective  system  is  a  fundamental  issue,  and  the  decision 
is  not  yet.  Ever  and  anon,  from  the  very  foundation  of  the  government 
to  the  present  hour,  this  question  has  obtruded  itself  upon  the  attention 
of  the  people.  It  may  be  well,  therefore,  in  this  connection  to  state 
the  various  views  which  may  be  entertained  on  the  subject. 

First,  we  have  the  doctrine  of  free  trade  pure  and  simple.  The 
theory  is  this :  The  indications  of  profitable  industry  are  founded  in 
nature.  A  rich  soil  means  agriculture ;  a  barren  soil  means  something 
else.  Beds  of  ore  signify  mining ;  veins  of  petroleum,  oil  wells ;  a 
headlong  river,  water-power ;  a  hill  of  silicon,  glass-works  ;  a  forest  of 
pine,  ship  masts  and  coal-tar;  bays,  havens,  and  rivers,  commerce. 
Free  trade  says  that  these  things  are  the  hints  of  the  natural  world  as 
to  how  human  industry  shall  be  exerted.  The  way  to  wealth,  pros- 
perit}^,  happiness,  is  to  follow  nature  whithersoever  she  leads.  To  go 
against  nature  is  to  go  against  self-interest  and  common  sense.  “Let 
alone  ”  is  the  motto  of  the  system — hands  off  and  no  meddling  with 
the  plain  conditions  which  are  imposed  on  man  by  his  environment. 
Let  him  who  lives  in  the  fecund  valley  till  the  soil  and  gather  a  hun¬ 
dred-fold.  Let  him  who  inhabits  the  rocky  upland  by  river-side  or  bed  of 
pent-up  coal  devote  his  energies  to  manufacturing.  Let  each  procure 
from  the  other  by  exchange  the  necessities  and  conveniences  of  life 
which  he  could  not  himself  produce  but  at  a  great  disadvantage.  Let 
the  producer  of  raw  material  send  it  near  or  far  to  the  manufacturer  and 
receive  in  return  the  fabric  which  he  must  wear;  the  food  wherewith 
he  must  sustain  his  life.  Why  should  he  do  otherwise  ?  It  is  intend¬ 
ed  that  men  should  live  together  in  t°mity.  Neighbors  should  be  at 
45 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


664 


peace.  Different  communities  should  not  quarrel.  Nations  should 
not  fight.  The  harmonious  order  of  civilization  requires  a  world-wide 
exchange  of  products.  Men  are  happier  and  richer  when  they  give 
themselves  freely  to  the  laws  of  their  environment,  and  toil  in  those 
fields  of  industry  to  which  both  their  own  dispositions  and  the  benevo¬ 
lent  finger  of  nature  points  the  way. 

All  contrivances  of  law  which  controvert  or  oppose  these  funda¬ 
mental  conditions  of  legitimate  industry  are  false  in  theory  and  per¬ 
nicious  in  application.  If  civil  society  assume  to  direct  the  industries 
of  her  people  against  the  plain  indications  of  nature,  she  becomes  a 
tyrant.  All  laws  which  tend  to  divert  the  industrial  energies  of  a 
nation  from  these  pursuits  which  are  indicated  by  the  natural  sur¬ 
roundings  are  hurtful,  selfish,  self-destructive,  and,  in  the  long  run, 
weakening  and  degrading  to  the  people.  A  tariff  duty  so  laid  as  to 
build  up  one  industry  at  the  expense  of  another  is  a  piece  of  barbarous 
intermeddling  alike  with  the  principles  of  common  sense  and  the  in¬ 
herent  rights  of  man.  If  free  trade  makes  one  nation  dependent  on 
another,  then  it  also  makes  that  other  nation  dependent  on  the  first. 
The  one  can  no  more  afford  to  fight  the  other  than  the  other  can  af¬ 
ford  to  fight  it.  Hence  free  trade.  It  is  beneficent  and  just.  Hence 
a  tariff  for  revenue  only.  It  is  the  true  policy  of  government  rela¬ 
tive  to  the  interests  of  the  people.  Such  is  the  theory  of  the  free 
trader. 

The  first  remove  from  the  doctrine  of  free  trade  proper  is  that  of 
incidental  protection.  The  primary  assumptions  of  this  theory  are 
nearly  identical  with  those  above  presented.  Nearly  all  of  the  propo¬ 
sitions  advanced  by  the  free  trader  are  accepted  as  correct  by  the  inci¬ 
dental  protectionist.  The  latter,  however,  holds  some  peculiar  doc¬ 
trines  of  his  own.  He  claims  that  men — as  the  doctrine  of  free  trade 
teaches — should  labor  according  to  the  indications  of  nature,  and  that 
the  attempt  on  the  part  of  government  to  divert  the  industries  of  the 
people  from  one  channel  to  another  is  contrary  to  right  reason  and 
sound  policy.  But  he  also  holds  that  since  a  tariff  is  the  common 
means  adopted  by  most  of  the  civilized  States  of  the  world  to  produce 
the  revenue  whereby  the  expenses  of  the  State  are  met  and  sustained, 
the  same  should  be  so  levied  as  to  be  incidentally  favorable  to  those 
industries  of  the  people  which  are  placed  at  a  natural  disadvantage. 
He  does  not  hold  that  any  tariff  should  be  levied  with  the  intention 
of  protecting  and  fostering  a  given  industry,  but  that  in  every  case  the 
tax  should  be  laid  for  public  purposes  only — that  is,  with  the  intention 
of  sustaining  the  State ,  and  be  only  incidentally  directed  to  the  pro- 


ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


665 


tection  of  the  weaker  industry.  These  last  assumptions  furnish  the 
ground  of  political  divergence  between  free  traders  proper  and  in¬ 
cidental  protectionists.  The  latter  take  into  consideration  both  the  fun¬ 
damental  conditions  of  the  argument  and  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
industries  of  the  people.  They  claim  that  given  pursuits  may  thus  be 
strengthened  and  encouraged  by  legislative  provisions,  and  that  natural 
and  political  laws  may  be  made  to  co-operate  in  varying  and  increasing 
the  productive  resources  of  the  State. 

The  third  view  as  relative  to  this  question  is  that  of  limited  pro¬ 
tection.  The  fundamental  difference  between  this  theory  and  the 
preceding  is  this :  The  incidental  protectionist  denies,  and  the  limited 
protectionist  affirms,  the  wisdom  of  levying  tariff  duties  with  the  in¬ 
tention  and  purpose  of  protecting  home  industries.  The  limited  pro¬ 
tectionist  would  have  the  legislation  of  the  State  take  particular  cog¬ 
nizance  of  the  character  of  the  industries  of  the  people,  and  would 
have  the  laws  enacted  with  constant  reference  to  the  encouragement 
of  the  weaker — generally  the  manufacturing — pursuits.  The  doctrine 
of  incidental  protection  would  stop  short  of  this ;  would  adopt  the 
theory  of  “  let  alone,”  so  far  as  the  original  purpose  of  legislation  is 
concerned,  but  would  at  the  same  time  so  shape  the  tariff  that  a  needed 
stimulus  should  be  given  to  certain  industries.  The  limited  protec¬ 
tionist  agrees  with  the  free  trader  in  certain  assumptions.  The  former 
as  well  as  the  latter  assents  to  the  proposition  that  the  original  con 
dition  o*  industry  is  found  in  nature — in  the  environment  of  the 
laborer.  But  he  also  urges  that  the  necessity  for  a  varied  industry  is 
so  great  so  important,  to  the  welfare  and  independence  of  a  people  as 
to  justify  the  deflection  of  human  energies  by  law  to  certain  pursuits 
which  could  not  be  profitabl}7  followed  but  for  the  fact  of  protection. 
This  he  makes  a  reason  for  tariff  legislation.  He  would  make  the 
weaker  industry  live  and  thrive  by  the  side  of  the  stronger.  He 
would  modify  the  crude  rules  of  nature  by  the  higher  rules  of  human 
reason.  He  would  not  only  adapt  man  to  his  environment,  but  would* 
adapt  the  environment  to  him.  He  would  keep  in  view  the  strength 
and  dignity  of  the  State,  and  would  be  willing  to  incur  temporary  dis¬ 
advantages  for  the  sake  cf  permanent  good.  In  the  course  of  time, 
when,  under  the  stimulus  of  a  protective  system,  the  industries  of  the 
State  have  become  sufficiently  varied  and  sufficiently  harmonized  with 
original  conditions,  he  would  allow  the  system  of  protective  duties  to 
expire  and  freedom  of  trade  to  supervene,  but  until  that  time  he  would 
insist  that  the  weaker,  but  not  less  necessary,  industries  of  a  people 
should  be  encouraged  and  fostered  by  law.  He  would  deny  the  justice- 


666 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


or  economy  of  tliat  system  which  in  a  new  country,  boundless  in 
natural  resources  but  poor  in  capital,  would  constrain  the  people  to 
bend  themselves  to  the  production  of  a  few  great  staples,  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  which  by  foreign  nations  would  make  them  rich  and  leave 
the  original  producers  in  perpetual  vassalage  and  poverty. 

The  fourth  view  is  embodied  in  the  theory  of  high  protection.  In 
this  the  doctrine  is  boldly  advanced  that  the  assumptions  of  free  trade 
are  specious  and  false.  The  influence  of  man  upon  his  environment 
is  so  great  as  to  make  it  virtually  whatever  the  law  of  right  reason 
would  suggest.  The  suggestion  of  right  reason  is  this :  Every  nation 
should  be  independent.  Its  sovereignty  and  equality  should  be  secured 
by  every  means  short  of  injustice.  In  order  that  a  State  may  be  inde¬ 
pendent  and  able  to  mark  out  for  itself  a  great  destiny,  its  industries 
must  afford  employment  for  all  the  talents  and  faculties  of  man,  and 
yield  products  adapted  to  all  his  wants.  To  devote  the  energies  of  a 
people  to  those  industries  only  which  are  suggested  by  the  situation 
and  environment,  is  to  make  man  a  slave  to  nature  instead  of  nature’s 
master.  It  may  be  sound  reason  for  the  people  inhabiting  a  fertile  valley 
to  devote  themselves  principally  to  agricultural  pursuits ;  but  to  do 
this  to  the  exclusion  of  other  industries  is  merely  to  narrow  the  en¬ 
ergies  of  the  race,  make  dependent  the  laborer,  and  finally  exhaust 
those  very  powers  of  nature  which  for  the  present  seem  to  suggest  one 
pursuit  and  forbid  all  others.  On  the  contrary  it  is  the  duty  of  society 
to  build  up  many  industries  in  every  locality,  whatever  may  be  the  en¬ 
vironment.  If  nature  furnishes  no  suggestion  of  blast  furnaces  and 
iron-works,  then  nature  should  be  constrained  by  means  of  human 
law.  The  production  of  manufactured  products  should  be  so  en¬ 
couraged  by  tariff  duties  as  to  become  profitable  in  all  situations.  Hot 
only  should  every  State,  but  every  community  be  made  comparatively 
independent.  Every  community  should  be  able,  by  its  own  in¬ 
dustries,  to  supply  at  least  the  larger  part  of  its  own  wants.  The 
spindle  should  be  made  to  turn ;  the  forge  made  to  glow ;  the  mill¬ 
wheel  made  to  turn ;  the  engine  made  to  pant ;  and  the  towering  fur¬ 
nace  to  fling  up  into  the  darkness  of  midnight  its  volcanic  glare — all 
this,  whether  nature  has  or  has  not  prepared  the  antecedents  of  such 
activities.  And  this  cannot  be  accomplished,  or  at  least  not  well  accom¬ 
plished,  in  any  other  way  than  by  the  legal  protection  of  those  in¬ 
dustries  which  do  not  flourish  under  the  action  of  merely  natural  laws. 
It  is,  in  brief,  the  theory  of  the  high  protectionist  that  every  commu¬ 
nity  of  men,  by  means  of  its  varied  and  independent  activities — fos¬ 
tered  and  encouraged  by  the  protective  system — should  become  in  the 


667 


ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

body  politic  wliat  the  ganglion  is  in  the  nerve  system  of  man — an  in¬ 
dependent,  local  power,  capable  of  originating  its  own  action  and  di¬ 
recting  its  own  energies. 

There  is  still  a  fifth  position  occasionally  assumed  by  publicists  and 
sometimes  by  nations.  This  is  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  prohib¬ 
itory  tariffs.  The  idea  here  is  that  the  mutual  interdependence  of 
nations  is,  on  the  whole,  disadvantageous,  and  that  each  should  be  ren¬ 
dered  wholly  independent  of  the  other.  If  in  any  State  or  nation  cer¬ 
tain  industrial  powers  and  conditions  are  wanting,  then  those  powers 
and  conditions  should  be  produced  by  means  of  law.  Internal  trade 
is,  according  to  this  doctrine,  the  principal  thing ;  and  commercial  in¬ 
tercourse  with  foreign  States  a  matter  of  secondary  or  even  dubious  ad¬ 
vantage.  If  the  price  of  the  given  home  product  be  not  sufficient  to 
stimulate  its  production  in  such  quantities  as  to  meet  all  the  requirements 
of  the  market,  then  that  price  should  be  raised  by  means  of  legislation, 
and  raised  again  and  again,  until  the  foreign  trade  shall  cease  and  home 
manufacture  be  supplied  in  its  place.  True,  there  are  not  many  who 
now  carry  the  doctrine  of  protection  to  this  extreme ;  but  it  is  also  true 
that  in  the  endeavor  to  prepare  protective  schedules  under  the  system  of 
limited  or  high  protection  it  not  infrequently  happens  that  the  tariff 
is  fixed  at  such  a  scale  as  to  act  as  a  prohibitory  duty,  and  turn  aside 
entirely  the  foreign  commerce  in  the  article  on  which  the  tariff  is  laid. 

Such,  then,  is  the  question  which  from  time  to  time  has  arisen  in 
die  political  history  of  our  country.  The  second  statute  ever  enacted  by 
Congress  under  the  Constitution  was  passed  for  the  purpose  of  “  pro 
viding  a  revenue  and  affording  protection  to  American  industry 
Even  the  very  necessity  which  gave  rise  to  the  Constitution  itself  was 
one  relating  to  commerce  and  interwoven  with  the  tariff.  From  the 
beginning  the  question  would  not  down.  During  the  fourth  and  fifth 
decades  of  the  century  the  leading  political  agitations  were  produced 
by  the  revival  of  the  tariff  issue  in  our  politics.  Every  one  is  acquaint¬ 
ed  with  the  “  American  system  ”  which  was  so  earnestly  promoted  by 
Henry  Clay.  Every  one  knows  that  in  general  the  Whigs  of  the  ante¬ 
bellum  epoch  were  in  favor  of  the  protective  system,  and  that  the  Demo¬ 
crats  opposed  it.  After  the  war  the  question  slumbered  for  a  season. 
In  1880  a  paragraph  in  the  national  platform  of  the  Democratic  party 
was  inserted — not,  indeed,  with  the  intention  of  evoking  an  old  con¬ 
troversy  from  the  shadows  of  oblivion — which  by  declaring  in  favor  of 
“a  tariff  for  revenue  only,”  unexpectedly  precipitated  the  whole  issue, 
and  contributed  to,  if  it  did  not  determine,  the  defeat  of  the  Demo¬ 
cratic  ticket.  Even  in  those  States  where  Democracy  was  in  the  ascend- 

•  A 


668 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ant  the  growth  of  great,  manufacturing  establishments  had  in  the 
meantime  brought  in  a  vast  army  of  artisans,  who,  in  spite  of  all  party 
affiliation,  refused  to  support  a  platform  which,  according  to  their  be¬ 
lief,  was  calculated  to  injure,  if  not  destroy,  the  very  business  in  which 
they  were  engaged.  Both  the  Democrats  and  the  Republicans  during 
the  last  four  years  have  made  a  strenuous  effort  to  align  their  party 
followers  on  this  question,  but  neither  have  been  successful.  Neither 
are  the  Democrats  unanimous  for  free  trade,  nor  are  the  Republi¬ 
cans  unanimous  for  a  system  of  protection.  Perhaps  unanimity  has 
been  more  nearly  attained  in  the  Republican  than  in  the  Democratic 
ranks,  though  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  many  of  the  most  eminent 
and  thoughtful  Republican  leaders,  in  the  East,  are  in  favor  of  free 
trade. 

During  the  whole  of  Arthur’s  administration  this  question  gath¬ 
ered  head,  and  the  white  crests  of  conflicting  tides  were  seen  along 
the  whole  surface  of  the  presidential  contest  of  1884.  The  ultimate 
settlement  of  the  question  will  be  determined  by  self-interest  rather 
than  by  abstract  argument.  When  the  party  in  power,  whatever  that 
party  may  be,  shall  become  convinced  that  the  interest  of  the  United 
States  requires  the  abolition  of  all  protective  duties  and  the  substitution 
therefor  of  a  system  of  tariff  for  revenue  only,  then,  and  not  till  then, 
will  the  English  theory  of  political  economy  take  the  place  of  that 
which  has  thus  far  prevailed  on  this  side  of  the  sea. 

The  quadrennial  agitation  of  the  American  people  relative  to  the 
presidency  began  at  an  early  date  of  Arthur’s  administration.  Hardly 
had  the  crime  of  Garfield’s  murder  been  perpetrated  and  the  presi¬ 
dency  transferred  to  Mr.  Arthur  until  the  issue  of  naming  a  successor 
was  raised  by  the  ever-busy  swarm  of  American  politicians.  The  year 
1882  had  hardly  furnished  a  breathing-time  for  the  subsidence  of  the 
party  passions  of  two  years  before,  until  the  great  army  of  the  inter¬ 
ested  went,  forth  on  an  expedition  to  arouse  the  country  for  another 
contest.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  managers  of  both  the  leading 
political  organizations  have  been  for  some  years  alarmed  lest  through 
the  failure  of  living  issues  the  old  combinations  which  have  divided 
the  country  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  should  go  to  pieces  and  leave 
the  field  to  the  people.  But  thus  far  the  skill  of  partisans  has  been 
sufficient  to  cajole  the  masses  into  the  belief  that  the  old  questions  are 
still  vital,  and  thus  to  keep  alive  the  fires  of  a  well-nigh  extinct  party 
strife. 

During  the  year  1883  many  eminent  men  were  named  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  presidential  office.  Among  those  most  prominently  and 


ARTHUR'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


669 


warmly  advocated  by  the  Republicans  were  James  G.  Blaine,  of 
Maine  ;  George  F.  Edmunds,  of  Vermont ;  President  Arthur,  of  New 
York;  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  of  Connecticut;  John  Sherman,  of  Ohio; 
John  A.  Logan  and  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  of  Illinois  ;  and  General  Will¬ 
iam  T.  Sherman,  of  Missouri.  Among  the  Democrats,  the  statesmen 
most  frequently  urged  for  the  nomination  in  1884  were  General  B.  F. 
Butler,  of  Massachusetts ;  Samuel  J.  Tilden  and  Grover  Cleveland,  of 
New  York ;  Samuel  J.  Randall,  of  Pennsylvania;  Thomas  F.  Bayard, 
of  Delaware ;  Allen  G.  Thurman,  of  Ohio  ;  John  G.  Carlisle,  of  Ken¬ 
tucky;  Joseph  E.  M’Donald  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana. 
Early  in  1884  Chicago  was  selected  as  the  place  of  both  the  national 
conventions.  Meanwhile  the  Greenback-Labor  party  held  its  conven¬ 
tion  at  Indianapolis  in  the  month  of  April,  and  nominated  Gen.  B.  F. 
Butler  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  and  A.  M.  West,  of  Missis¬ 
sippi,  for  the  vice-presidency,  of  the  United  States.  The  Republican 
convention  met  on  the  3d  of  May,  and  after  a  spirited  session  of  three 
days’  duration  brought  its  labors  to  an  end  by  the  nomination  of  James 
G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  for  president,  and  Gen.  John  A.  Logan,  of  Illinois, 
for  vice-president ;  the  Democratic  delegates  assembled  on  the  9th  of 
July,  and  on  the  11th  of  the  month  concluded  their  session  by  the 
nomination  of  Gov.  Grover  Cleveland,  of  New  York,  for  the  first  place, 
and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  for  the  second,  on  the  national 
ticket.  Both  the  Republican  and  Democratic  nominations  were  re¬ 
ceived  with  general  enthusiasm,  but  large  and  powerful  factions  in  both 
parties  refused  to  support  the  nominee ;  nor  could  it  well  be  foreseen  at 
the  opening  of  the  canvass  of  1884  which  party  was  likely  to  come  out 
victorious  in  the  battle  of  the  ensuing  autumn. 

As  the  summer  wore  away  and  the  issues  which  the  political  parties 
had  attempted  to  create  were  discussed  before  the  people,  the  uncer¬ 
tainty  became  still  greater.  When  the  election  drew  nigh  every  thing 
seemed  to  depend  upon  the  electoral  votes  of  New  York  and  Indiana. 
A  close  study  of  the  situation  revealed  the  fact  that  the  latter  State  was 
Democratic,  and  would  so  record  her  vote.  This  fact  narrowed  the 
contest  to  the  great  State  of  New  York.  The  event  proved  favorable 
to  the  Democrats,  though  their  majority  in  the  popular  vote  of  the 
State  was  only  1,142.  This  small  preponderance,  however,  was  suffi¬ 
cient  to  determine  the  result ;  it  gave  the  vote  of  the  Empire  State  to 
Cleveland  and  Hendricks,  assuring  to  them  219  ballots  in  the  Electoral 
College  against  182  votes  for  Blaine  and  Logan. 

The  sequel  of  the  presidential  election  of  this  year  was  less  happy 
than  generally  happens  under  like  circumstances.  It  could  hardly  be 


670 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


expected  that  the  Republican  managers  and  office-holders  long  occupy* 
ing  the  places  of  power  would  abdicate  without  expressions  of  dis¬ 
pleasure.  Mr.  Blaine  himself  soon  after  the  election  delivered  a  speech 
which,  so  far  from  being  pacific  in  its  tone,  wras,  for  the  most  part,  a 
bitter  invective  against  the  South.  The  Republican  newspapers,  espe¬ 
cially  in  the  West,  took  up  the  hue  and  cry,  and  for  a  while  filled  their 
columns  with  such  matter  as  might  well  have  appeared  in  the  first  year 
after  the  Civil  War.  By  degrees,  however,  this  feeling  subsided  and 
near  the  close  of  Arthur’s  administration  the  office-holders  as  a  class 
began  to  trim  their  sails  with  the  evident  hope  that  the  breezes  of 
Civil  Service  Reform,  to  which  the  President-elect  was  pledged,  might 
waft  them  still  farther  on  the  high  seas  of  power  and  emolument. 

Before  the  retirement  of  President  Arthur  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  United  States  was  transferred  from  General  William  T. 
Sherman  to  General  Philip  H.  Sheridan.  The  former  distinguished 
officer,  one  of  the  most  talented  and  eminent  soldiers  of  the  century, 
having  reached  the  age  at  which,  according  to  an  act  of  Congress,  he 
might  retire  from  active  service,  availed  himself  of  the  provision  and 
laid  down  his  command.  The  formal  papers  with  which  he  concluded 
his  official  relations  with  the  army  were  marked  with  the  same  fervor 
and  patriotism  which  had  characterized  all  of  his  utterances  since  the 
time  when  he  gave  his  services  to  the  country  in  the  dark  days  of  dis¬ 
union.  Nor  could  it  be  said  that  the  new  chieftain,  to  whom  the  com¬ 
mand  of  the  American  army  was  now  given,  was  less  a  patriot  and  sol¬ 
dier  than  his  illustrious  predecessor. 

The  recurrence  of  the  birthday  of  Washington,  1885,  was  noted  for 
the  dedication  of  the  great  monument  which  had  been  a-building  for 
so  many  years  at  the  capital.  The  erection  of  such  a  structure  was 
suggested  as  early  as  1799.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1835  that  a  a 
organization  was  effected  with  a  view  to  undertaking  the  work.  For 
many  years  after  the  incipiency  of  the  enterprise  the  building  lagged, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  work  had  been  energized  by  Congress  that  it 
was  brought  to  completion.  The  cost  of  the  completed  monument  was 
about  a  million  fiVe  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  structure  is  the 
highest  in  the  world.  The  shaft  itself,  without  reckoning  the  founda¬ 
tion,  is  five  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  in  height,  being  thirty  feet  higher 
than  the  Cathedral  at  Cologne,  and  seventy-five  feet  higher  than  the 
Pyramid  of  Cheops.  The  structure  is  composed  of  more  than  eighteen 
thousand  blocks  of  stone.  They  are  mostly  of  white  marble  and  weigh 
several  tons  each.  One  hundred  and  eighty-one  memorial  stones,  con¬ 
tributed  by  the  different  States  of  the  Union  and  by  friendly  foreign 


ARTHURS  ADMINISTRATION. 


67  L 


President  of  the  United  States.  The  concluding  ceremonies  were  held 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  where  a  great  throng  had  assembled  to 
honor  the  memory  of  the  Father  of  his  Country.  The  principal  ora¬ 
tion,  written  by  the  Honorable  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  as  well  as  the  less 
formal  addresses  of  the  occasion,  was  well  worthy  of  the  event  and  cal¬ 
culated  to  add  —if  aught  could  add — to  the  fame  of  him  who  was  “  first 
in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.” 


flations,  are  set  at  various  places  in  the  structure.  The  dedication 
occurred  on  Saturday,  the  21st  of  February.  The  ceremonies  were  of 
the  most  imposing  character.  A  procession  of  more  than  six  thousand 
persons  proceeded  from  the  base  of  the  monument  along  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  to  the  Capitol,  while  salutes  were  fired  from  the  batteries  of 
the  Navy  Yard.  At  the  Capitol  the  procession  was  reviewed  by  the 


GENERAL  PHILIP  H.  SHERIDAN. 


67: 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  LXXI. 

CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRATION,  1885-1889. 

ROYER  CLEVELAND,  twenty-second  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  born  at  Caldwell,  New  Jersey,  on  the  18th  of  March, 
1837.  Three  years  afterward  he  was  taken  by  his  father  and  mother 
to  Fayetteville,  near  Syracuse,  New  York.  Here  in  his  boyhood  he 
received  such  limited  education  as  the  schools  of  the  place  afforded. 
For  a  while  in  his  youth  he  was  clerk  in  a  village  store.  Afterward 

the  family  removed  first  to  Clinton 
and  then  to  Holland  Patent.  At 
the  latter  place  his  father  died, 
and  young  Cleveland,  left  to  his 
own  resources,  went  to  New  York 
and  became  a  teacher  in  a  blind 
asylum,  in  which  an  elder  brother 
held  a  like  position.  After  a  short 
time,  however,  the  young  man, 
finding  such  a  pursuit  uncongenial 
to  his  tastes,  went  to  Buffalo  and 
engaged  in  the  study  of  law.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1859, 
and  four  years  afterward  began 
his  public  career  as  assistant  dis¬ 
trict-attorney.  In  1869  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  Erie  County, 
and  in  1881  was  chosen  mayor  of 
Buffalo. 

grover  Cleveland.  Mr.  Cleveland’s  next  promotion 

by  his  fellow-citizens  was  to  the 
governorship  of  New  York,  to  which  position  he  was  elected  in  1882 
by  the  astonishing  majority  of  192,854 — the  majority  being,  perhaps, 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  American  elections.  It  was  while  he 
still  held  this  office  that,  in  July  of  1884,  he  was  called  by  the  Demo¬ 
cratic  national  convention  to  be  the  standard-bearer  of  his  party  in  the 
presidential  contest. 


CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


673 


The  first  duty  of  the  new  chief  executive  was  to  frame  his  cabinet. 
Public  interest  was  not  a  little  excited  with  the  probabilities  of  the 
President’s  choice.  On  the  day  following  the  inauguration  the  nomi¬ 
nations  were  sent  to  the  Senate,  and  were  as  follows  :  for  secretary  of 
state,  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  of  Delaware  ;  for  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
Daniel  Manning,  of 


New  York  ;  for  sec¬ 
retary  of  the  interi¬ 
or,  Lucius  Q.  C.  La¬ 
mar,  of  Mississippi ; 
for  secretary  of  war, 
Vm.  C.  Endicott,  of 
Massachusetts  ;  for 
secretary  of  the  na¬ 
vy,  Wm,  C.  Whit¬ 
ney,  of  New  York; 
for  postmaster-gen- 
oral,  Wm.  F.  Yilas, 
of  Wisconsin  ;  for  at¬ 
torney-general,  Au¬ 
gustus  H.  Garland, 
of  Arkansas.  The 
peculiarity  of  the  ap¬ 
pointments  was  that 
two  of  them  were 
from  NewYork ;  but 
the  prejudice  which 
might  arise  on  this 


account  was  fully 
•counter-balanced  by 
the  high  character 
and  undoubted  abil¬ 
ities  of  the  men 
whom  the  President 
had  chosen  as  the  responsible  advisers  of  his  administration. 

The  most  serious  question  which  confronted  the  new  President, 
was  the  distribution  of  official  patronage.  The  Democratic  party  had 
come  into  power  on  a  platform  distinctly  enunciating  the  doctrine  of 
reform  in  the  civil  service.  From  almost  the  beginning  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  it  had  been  the  custom  of  the  party  in  power  to  distribute 
to  its  own  partisans  all  the  appointive  otfices.  This  usage,  well  estab- 


THOMAS  F.  BAYARD. 


43 


674 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


lished  since  the  days 
of  President  Jackson, 
had  been  the  origin 
and  cause  of  the  great- 


THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS. 

it  became  all  important  that  both 
ate,  at  least  by  professions  of  sym¬ 
pathy,  the  growing  phalanx  of 
civil  service  reformers.  They  it 
was  who,  in  the  late  election,  be¬ 
lieving  in  the  sincerity  of  Mr. 
Cleveland,  had  thrown  their  in¬ 
fluence  in  his  favor  and  thereby 
secured  his  elevation  to  the  pres¬ 
idency.  He  went  into  office 
pledged  to  carry  out  the  views  of 
those  by  whose  suffrages  he  had 
been  raised  to  power.  These 
views,  moreover,  were  his  own, 
and  it  thus  happened  that  the 
new  administration  was  launched 
with  “  Civil  Service  Reform  ”  in-' 
scribed  on  its  pennon.  It  was 


er  part  of  the  abuses 
which  had  existed  in 
the  various .  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  Extreme  party 
men  bad  claimed  al¬ 
ways  that  “to  the  vic¬ 
tors  belong  the  spoils  ” 
of  office.  Gf  late 
years,  however,  the 
best  political  opinion 
of  the  country  has 
turned  with  disgust 
from  the  gross  practice 
of  rewarding  men  for 
mere  party  services  ,* 
and  in  the  evenly  bal¬ 
anced  presidential  con¬ 
tests  of  1880  and  1884 
the  dominant  parties  should  concili- 


george  b.  McClellan. 


CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


675 


soon  seen,  however,  that  the  President  would  have  serious  difficulty 
in  carrying  out  his  purpose.  From  the  day  of  the  inauguration, 

a  great  crowd  of  office-seekers 
thronged  the  capital,  and  the  chief 
magistrate  was  besieged  by  hun¬ 
dreds  and  thousands  of  those  whose 
principal  claims  to  preferment  were 
that  they  had  served  the  party. 
During  the  first  year  of  the  new 
administration  it  was  a  grave  ques¬ 
tion  whether  or  not  the  President 
would  be  able  to  stand  by  the  flag 
of  reform,  or  whether  he  would  be 
driven  to  re-adopt  the  cast-off  policy 
of  satisfying  with  official  appoint¬ 
ments  the  hungry  horde  that  surged 
around  the  presidential  mansion. 

The  last  years  of  the  Republic 
have  been  noted  for  two  circum¬ 
stances,  both  of  historical  interest,  and  both  relating  to  the  Civil  War. 
The  first  of  these  is  the  revival  of  the  memory  of  that  conflict,  in  au¬ 
thoritative  publications,  by  some  of  the  leading  participants.  This 
work,  so  important  to  the  right  understanding  of  the  great  strug¬ 
gle  for  and  against  the  Union, 
was  begun  by  General  William 
T.  Sherman,  who,  in  1875,  pub¬ 
lished  his  Memoirs ,  narrating 
the  story  of  that  part  of  the  war 
in  which  he  had  been  a  leader. 

This  had  been  preceded  by  the 
history  of  the  War  between 
the  States,  by  Alexander  H. 

Stephens,  late  Vice-President  of 
the  Confederacy.  In  1884  Gen¬ 
eral  Grant  began  the  publication 
of  a  series  of  war  articles  in  the 
Century  Magazine ,  which  at¬ 
tracted  universal  attention,  and 
which  led  to  the  preparation  and 
publication  of  his  Memoirs  in 
1885-86.  Similar  contributions 


JOSEPH  HOOKER. 


676  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

by  other  eminent  commanders  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  armies- 
followed  in  succession,  until  a  large  amount  of  able  and  impartial  litera¬ 
ture  was  left  on  record  for  the  instruction  of  after  times. 

The  second  fact  referred  to  is  the  death,  within  the  compass  of  a 
single  year,  of  a  number  of  the  great  Union  generals  who  had  led 
their  armies  to  victory  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  It  was  in  the 
early  summer  of  1885  that  the  attention  of  the  people  was  called 
away  from  public  affairs  by  the  announcement  that  the  veteran  Gen* 

eral  Ulysses  S.  Grant 
had  been  stricken 
with  a  fatal  malady, 
and  that  his  days 
would  be  but  few 
among  the  living. 
The  heart  of  the  Na¬ 
tion  was  greatly  sad¬ 
dened  by  the  intelli- 
ence ;  but  not  even 
the  sympathy  of  a 
great  people  could 
prevail  against  or 
even  postpone  the 
approaching  hour  of 
fate.  The  hero  of 
Vicksburg  and  Ap¬ 
pomattox  sank  under 
the  ravages  of  a  ma¬ 
lignant  cancer,  which 
had  fixed  itself  in 
his  throat,  and,  on 
<$nly  23,  died  at  a  summer  cottage  on  Mount  McGregor,  New 
York.  His  last  days  were  hallowed  by  the  sympathies  of  the  Nation 
which  he  had  so  gloriously  defended.  The  news  of  his  death  passed 
over  the  land  like  the  shadow  of  a  great  cloud.  Almost  every  city 
and  hamlet  showed,  in  some  appropriate  way,  its  emblems  of  grief. 
The  funeral  ceremonies  equaled,  if  they  did  not  surpass,  any  which 
had  ever  been  witnessed.  The  procession  in  New  York  city  was, 
perhaps,  the  most  solemn  and  imposing  pageant  ever  exhibited  in 
honor  of  the  dead.  On  August  8,  the  body  of  General  Grant  was 
laid  to  rest  in  Riverside  Park,  overlooking  the  Hudson.  There,  on 
a  summit,  from  which  may  be  seen  the  great  river  and  the  metropolis 


WINFIELD  S.  HANCOCK. 


CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


677 


of  the  Nation,  is  the  tomb  of  him  whose  courage  and  magnanimity  in 
war  will  forever  give  him  rank  with  the  few  master  spirits  who,  by 
their  heroic  deeds,  have  honored  the  human  race  and  changed  the 
course  of  history. 

Within  less  than  three  months  from  the  funeral  of  Grant  another 


GEORGE  G.  MEADE. 


distinguished  Union  general  fell.  On  the  29th  of  October,  General 
George  B.  McClellan,  first  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
at  one  time  general-in-chief,  subsequently  Democratic  candidate  for 
the  presidency,  and  at  a  later  period  governor  of  New  Jersey,  died 
at  his  home  at  St.  Cloud,  in  that  State.  The  conspicuous  part  which 
ho  had  borne  during  the  first  two  years  of  the  Civil  War,  his  eminent 
abilities  as  a  soldier  and  civilian,  and  his  unblemished  character  as  a 


678 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


man  and  citizen,  combined  to  heighten  the  estimate  of  his  life  and 
services,  and  to  evoke  the  sincerest  expressions  of  national  sorrow  on 
the  occasion  of  his  death. 

After  another  brief  interval  a  third  great  military  leader  fell,  in  the 
person  of  General  Winfield  S.  Hancock.  This  brave  and  generous 
commander  was,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  the  senior  major-general  of 
the  American  army.  Always  a  favorite  with  the  people,  he  had, 
since  the  close  of  the  war,  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  before  the 
public.  In  1880  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  presidency, 
and  though  defeated  by  General  Garfield,  the  defeat  wras  without  dis¬ 
honor.  His  death,  which  occurred  at  his  home  on  Governor’s  Island, 
on  the  9th  of  February,  1886,  was  universally  deplored,  and  the  people 
omitted  no  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  him  who,  in  the  great 
struggle  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  had  been  honored  with 
the  title  of  “  Hero  of  Gettysburg.”  Thus  have  passed  away  the  gal¬ 
lant  generals  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  George  B.  McClellan, 
Ambrose  E.  Burnside,  Joseph  Hooker,  George  G.  Meade,  and 
Winfield  S.  Hancock  have  one  by  one  joined 

“The  innumerable  caravan  that  moves 

To  that  mysterious  realm  where  each  shall  take 

His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death.” 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  1886  still  another,  worthy  to  rank 
among  the  greatest  of  the  Union  commanders  of  the  Civil  War, 
ended  his  career  on  earth.  Late  in  December,  Major-General  John 
A.  Logan,  United  States  Senator  from  Illinois,  fell  sick  at  his  home, 
called  Calumet  Place,  in  Washington  City.  His  disease  was  rheu¬ 
matism,  to  which  he  had  been  subject  at  intervals  since  his  exposure 
and  hardships  in  the  early  Western  campaigns  of  the  war.  After  a 
few  days’  illness  he  became  suddenly  worse,  sank  into  a  comatose  con¬ 
dition,  and  on  the  26th  of  the  month  quietly  breathed  his  last.  His 
military  and  civil  career  had  been  distinguished  in  the  highest  degree. 
At  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  in  1861,  few  men  did  more  than  Logan 
to  strengthen  and  unify  the  Union  sentiment  in  the  wavering  Border 
States.  His  voice  was  a  clarion,  heard  shrill  and  far  above  the  con¬ 
fusion  and  uproar  of  the  times.  Designing  his  seat  in  Congress  he 
joined  the  first  advance  of  the  Union  army,  and  fought  in  the  battle 
of  Bull  Pun.  Without  previous  military  training  he  rose  rapidly  to 
distinction,  and  became  the  volunteer  general  jpar  excellence  of  the 
war.  After  the  close  of  the  conflict  he  returned  to  political  life,  and 
was  chosen  United  States  Senator  from  Illinois.  In  1884  he  wTas 


CLE  V ELAND' 8  ADMIN  18 TEA  TION. 


m 


nominated  for  the  vice-presidency  on  the  Bepublican  ticket  with  James 
G.  Blaine.  That  ticket  being  defeated,  he  resumed  his  duties  in  the 
Senate,  and  remained  at  his  post  until  his  death.  The  ceremonies  of 
his  funeral  and  the  general  voice 
of  the  American  press  indicated 
in  an  unmistakable  manner  the 
enduring  place  which  he  had  mer¬ 
ited  and  won  in  the  affections  of 
the  people. 

In  the  meantime  a  great  civilian 
had  fallen  at  his  post  of  duty.  On 
Nov.  25,  1885,  Vice-President 
'Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  after  what 
was  supposed  to  be  a  trifling  illness 
of  a  single  day,  died  suddenly  at  his 
nome  in  Indianapolis.  The  fatal 
message  came  in  the  form  of  paral¬ 
ysis.  Not  a  moment’s  warning  was 
.given  of  the  approach  of  that  pale 
courier  who  knocks  impartially  at 
the  door  of  the  peasant  and  the 
portal  of  the  great.  The  life  of 
Mr.  Hendricks  had  been  one  of 
singular  purity,  and  the  amenities  of  Ins  character  had  been  for 
many  years  conspicuous  in  the  stormy  arena  of  American  politics. 
The  goodness  and  greatness  of  the  man,  combined  with  his  distinction 
as  governor,  senator,  and  vice-president,  served  to  draw  from  the  peo¬ 
ple  every  evidence  of  public  and  private  respect  for  his  memory. 
The  body  of  the  dead  statesman  was  buried  in  Crown  Hill  Cemetery, 
near  Indianapolis,  the  funeral  pageant  surpassing  in  grandeur  and 
solemnity  any  other  display  of  the  kind  ever  witnessed  in  the  Wes¬ 
tern  States,  except  the  funeral  of  Lincoln. 

The  death  of  the  Vice-President  was  soon  followed  by  that  of 
Horatio  Seymour,  of  New  York.  On  the  12th  of  February,  1880, 
this  distinguished  citizen,  who  had  been  governor  of  the  Empire 
State,  and,  in  1868,  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for  the  presi¬ 
dency  against  General  Grant,  died  at  his  home  in  Utica.  He  had 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-six,  and,  though  for  many  years  living  in 
retirement,  had  never  ceased  to  hold  a  large  share  of  the  attention  of 
his  fellow-citizens.  Still  more  distinguished  in  reputation  and  ability 
was  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  also  of  the  Empire  State,  who  died  at  his  home. 

46 


JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 


680 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


called  Greystone,  at  Yonkers,  near  New  York  City,  on  the  4th  ot 
August,  1886.  Mr.  Tilden  had  lived  to  make  a  marked — perhaps  inef¬ 
faceable — impression  on  the  political  thought  of  the  epoch.  He  had 
acquired  within  the  lines  of  his  own  party  an  influence  and  ascendency 
far  greater  than  that  of  any  other  statesman  of  his  times.  His  intel¬ 
lectual  force  could  not  be  doubted, 
nor  could  it  be  claimed  that  he 
failed  to  apply  his  faculties  assid¬ 
uously  to  the  greatest  political 
questions  of  the  age. 

Mr.  Tilden  was  born  on  the  14th 
of  February,  1814,  and  was  thus 
in  the  73d  year  of  his  age  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  He  had  been  a 
prominent  figure  in  his  native  State 
for  fully  forty  years,  and  had  held 
many  places  of  public  trust  and 
honor.  In  1870-71  he  was  among 
the  foremost  in  unearthing  the 
astounding  frauds  and  robberies 
which  had  been  perpetrated  on  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year  was  sent  to  the  General 
Assembly,  where  his  services  were 
-  samuel  j.  tilden.  in  valuable.  In  1874  he  was  elected 

Governor  of  New  York  by  a  major¬ 
ity  of  more  than  50,000  votes.  In  the  executive  office  he  was  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  thorough-going  who  ever  occupied  the  gubernatorial 
chair  of  the  State.  In  1876  he  was  nominated  for  the  presidency,  and  at 
the  election  of  that  year  received  a  large  majority  of  the  popular  vote, 
only  failing  of  a  majority  in  the  electoral  college  because  of  the  tactics 
of  the  leaders  of  the  party  in  power.  Neither  he  nor  General  Hayes 
was  clearly  elected,  the  Democrats  having  carried  two  or  three  States 
with  the  shot-gun,  and  the  Republicans,  by  the  aid  of  the  Electoral 
Commission,  having  counted  in  the  electoral  votes  of  a  State  or  two 
which  they  did  not  carry  at  all.  After  the  contest  Mr.  Tilden  retired 
to  private  life,  but  continued  to  guide  the  counsels  of  his  party  and  to 
influence  public  opinion  up  to  the  date  of  his  death.  Perhaps  one  of 
his  ablest — as  it  was  his  last — public  paper  was  a  general  letter  on  the 
subject  of  “  The  Coast  and  Harbor  Defenses  of  the  United  States,”  a 
publication  which  clearly  led  to  the  legislation  of  the  Forty-ninth  Con- 


CLEVELAND'S  A  D  MINIS  2  It  A  TL  ON. 


68! 


gress  on  that  important  subject.  Thus,  within  the  space  of  less  than 
eleven  months,  four  of  those  eminent  American  statesmen  who  bad 
been  candidates  of  the  Democratic  party  for  the  presidency  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  distinguished  Vice-President  recently  chosen 
by  that  party  to  the  second  place  of  honor  in  the  Government,  had 
fallen  from  their  places  in  the  ranks  of  the  living. 

To  this  list  of  the  American  great  whose  earthly  activities  have 
recently  ended  in  death  must  still  be  added  the  illustrious  name  of 
Henry  Ward  Beecher.  To  him,  with  little  reservation,  must  be  a&- 
signed  the  first  place  among  our 
orators  and  philanthropists.  Nor 
is  it  likely  that  his  equal  in  most 
of  the  sublime  qualities  of  energy 
and  manhood  will  soon  be  seen 
again  on  the  great  stage  of  life. 

His  personality  was  so  large,  so 
unique,  and  striking,  as  to  consti¬ 
tute  the  man  in  some  sense  sui 
generis.  His  kind  is  rare  in  the 
world,  and  the  circumstances  which 
aided  in  his  development  have 
away.  That  fact  in  Amer¬ 
ican  history — the  institution  of 
slavery — which  brought  out  and 
displayed  the  higher  moods  of 
his  anger  and  stormy  eloquence 
cannot  again  arouse  the  indigna¬ 
tion  of  genius.  The  knight  and 
his  dangerous  foil  sleep  together  in 
the  dust. 

Mr.  Beecher  had  the  happy  fortune  to  retain  his  faculties  unim¬ 
paired  to  the  very  close  of  his  career.  On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of 
March,  1887,  at  his  home  in  Brooklyn,  surrounded  by  his  family,  with 
no  premonition  or  portent,  the  message  came  by  apoplexy.  An  artery 
broke  in  the  magnificent,  heavy  brain,  that  had  been  for  more  than 
forty  years  one  of  the  greatest  batteries  of  thought  and  action  in  the 
world,  and  the  aged  orator,  nearing  the  close  of  his  seventy-fourth 
year,  sank  into  that  deep  sleep  from  which  no  power  on  earth  could 
wake  him.  He  lived  until  the  morning  of  the  8th,  and  quietly  entered 
the  shadows.  The  sentiments  awakened  by  his  death,  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  his  sepulture,  and  the  common  eulogium  of  mankind,  proved 


HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 


682 


HIS  TOBY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


beyond  doubt  the  supreme  place  which  lie  had  occupied  in  the  ad 
miring  esteem,  not  only  of  his  own  countrymen,  but  of  all  the  great 
peoples  of  the  world. 

Another  distinguished  name  to  be  added  to  the  American  necrology 
of  the  decade  is  that  of  Morrison  Remicli  Waite,  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States.  His  death  occurred  at  his  home,  in  Washington  City, 

on  the  23d  day  of  March,  1888. 
The  event  suggests  and  justifies  the 
addition  of  a  few  paragraphs  rela¬ 
tive  to  the  history  and  personnel 
of  that  great  tribunal  over  which 
Judge  Waite  presided  during  the 
last  fourteen  years  of  his  life. 

In  the  formation  of  the  Consti¬ 
tution  of  the  United  States  it  wras 
intended  that  the  three  general  de¬ 
partments  of  the  Government 
should  be  of  correlative  rank  and 

as  developed  and  illustrated  in  the 
actual  working  of  our  national 
system,  has  shown  that  the  execu¬ 
tive  and 

predominate,  naturally,  perhaps  in¬ 
evitably,  over  the  judicial  branch, 
and  that,  in  the  popular  estimate, 
at  least,  the  supreme  court  is  of 
small  importance  as  compared  with  the  presidency  and  the  two  houses  of 
Congress.  This  disesteem  of  the  judiciary  is  not  verified  by  a  broader 
and  more  philosophical  view  of  the  subject.  The  importance, 
especially,  of  the  conservative  opinion  of  our  great  national  court,  in 
determining,  at  least  negatively,  the  final  validity  of  all  legislation  and 
of  all  subordinate  judicial  decisions,  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  supreme  bench,  considered  as  the  only  im¬ 
movable  breakwater  against  the  unscrupulous  and  rampant  spirit  of 
party.  It  is  fortunate,  moreover,  that  the  offices  of  our  chief  justice 
and  of  the  associate  justiceships  are  appointive,  and  are  thus  removed, 
in  great  measure,  from  the  perfidy  of  the  convention  and  the  passion 
of  a  partisan  election.  It  maybe  of  interest  to  glance  for  a  moment 
at  some  of  the  vicissitudes  through  which  the  supreme  court  has  passed 
since  its  organization,  in  1789- 


legislative  departments 


influence.  The  sequel,  however, 


JiORRISOX  REMICH  WAITE, 


CLE  VE LAND'S  AD  MINIS  TRA  TION. 


683 


The  court  was  then  instituted  by  the  appointment  of  John  Jay  as 
chief  justice,*  who  held  the  office  until  1796,  when  he  gave  place  to 
Oliver  Ellsworth.  The  latter  presided  over  the  court  until,  in  1800, 
the  infirmities  of  age  compelled  his  resignation.  Then  came  the  long 
and  honorable  ascendency  of  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall,  who  held  the 
office  from  his  appointment,  in  1801,  to  his  death,  in  1835.  This  was 
the  golden  age  of  the  supreme  court.  From  1835  to  1837  there  was 
an  interregnum  in  the  chief  justiceship,  occasioned  by  the  disagree¬ 
ment  of  President  Jackson  and  the  Senate  of  the  United  States;  but, 
at  the  latter  date,  the  president  secured  the  confirmation  of  Judge 
Roger  B.  Taney  as  chief  justice,  who  entered  upon  his  long  term  of 
twenty-seven  years.  It  was  his  celebrated  decision  in  the  case  of  the 
negro,  Dred  Scott,  relative  to  the  status  of  the  slave  race  in  America, 
that  applied  the  torch  to  that  immense  heap  of  combustibles  whose 
explosion  was  the  Civil  War. 

At  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Taney,  in  1864,  President  Lincoln  ap¬ 
pointed  as  his  successor  Salmon  P.  Chase,  recently  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  and  author  of  most  of  the  great  financial  measures  and  expe¬ 
dients  by  which  the  national  credit  had  been  buoyed  up  and  preserved 
during  the  rebellion.  His  official  term  extended  to  his  death,  in  1873, 
and  covered  the  period  when  the  important  issues  arising  from  the 
Civil  War  were  under  adjudication.  To  Chief  Justice  Chase  fell  also, 
by  virtue  of  his  office,  the  duty  of  presiding  at  the  impeachment  trial 
of  President  Andrew  Johnson.  In  1874  the  appointment  of  Morrison 
R.  Waite  as  chief  justice  was  made  by  President  Grant ;  and  the  death 
of  this  able  jurist  devolved  on  President  Cleveland  and  the  Senate  the 
duty  of  naming  his  successor. 

Chief  Justice  Waite  was  born  at  Lyme,  Connecticut,  on  the  29th 
of  November,  1816.  From  the  public  school  he  was  transferred 
to  Yale  College,  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1837. 
He  then  became  a  student  of  law,  and,  after  completing  his  course, 
removed  to  Ohio,  where  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession 
«t  Maumee  City.  After  serving  one  term,  1849-50,  in  the  Legislature 
of  the  State,  he  removed  to  Toledo,  which  became  henceforth  his 
home,  until  his  duties  as  chief  justice  called  him  to  Washington  City. 
He  had  been  frequently  solicited  to  become  a  candidate  for  office,  but 
had  adhered  to  his  profession  until  1871-72,  when  he  accepted  from 
President  Grant  the  appointment  as  member  of  the  celebrated  Board 
of  Arbitration,  to  sit  at  Geneva,  in  the  adjudication  of  the  Alabama 
Claims.  Here  he  was  associated  with  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Caleb 

*  For  the  organization  of  the  first  supreme  bench  see  page  364. 


684 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Cushing  and  Win.  M.  Evarts:  and,  though  he  was  less  known  to  the 
public  than  they,  he  nevertheless  bore  himself  with  honor  among  his 
colleagues.  Shortly  after  his  return  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Chase 
opened  the  way  for  Mr.  Waite’s  appointment  to  the  highest  and  most 
important  judicial  seat  in  America ;  and  to  this  august  position  he 
brought  a  character,  talents  and  attainments  equal  to  the  responsi¬ 
bilities  of  his  office. 

During  his  occupancy  of  the  supreme  bench  Chief  Justice  Waite 
steadily  rose  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  nation.  He  was  not, 
perhaps,  a  man  of  the  highest  order  of  genius  or  of  the  very  highest 
rank  as  a  jurist.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  office  of  chief  justice  was 
rarely,  if  ever,  more  worthily  borne  than  by  its  latest  occupant.  He 
was  a  man  of  equable  and  judicial  temper,  little  disposed,  if  dis¬ 
posed  at  all,  to  look  beyond  the  supreme  bench  to  a  possibly  higher 
seat.  His  death  was  from  pneumonia,  and  was  so  sudden  as  to  be  an¬ 
nounced  to  the  country  by  the  same  dispatches  which  gave  first  in¬ 
formation  of  his  serious  sickness.  He  died  peacefully,  at  his  home. 
Id  is  funeral  was  held  first  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  afterward  from  his  old  residence  in  Toledo,  at  which  city  his 
remains  were  finally  committed  to  the  tomb- 

The  death  of  Chief  Justice  Waite  made  way  for  the  return  to  tilt 
supreme  judicial  office  in  the  United  States  of  some  member  of  the 
political  party  which  has  long  been  out  of  power.  Since  the  epoch 
of  the  Civil  War  the  court  has  been  filled  almost  exclusively  with 
judges  who,  by  political  affiliation,  have  belonged  to  the  Republican 
party.  The  first  distinctly  Democratic  appointment  which  has  been 
made  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  was  the  recent  one  of  Judge 
Lucius  Q.  C.  Lamar,  who  by  the  nomination  of  President  Cleveland 
was  transferred  from  the  secretaryship  of  the  interior  to  the  supreme 
bench.  It  has  thus  happened,  in  the  vicissitude  of  things,  that  the 
two  political  theories  which  were  opposed  to  each  other  in  the 
war  for  the  Union,  and  are  still  opposed  by  party  name,  have 
become  continent  in  the  high  court  of  the  nation.  This  circumstance 
lias  been  to  some  a  source  of  alarm  and  prejudice ;  but  the  hope  may 
be  well  entertained  that  partisan  dispositions  are  less  potent  and 
dangerous— if  indeed  they  assert  themselves  at  all — on  the  supreme 
bench  of  the  United  States.  Thus  far  in  its  historv  the  court  has,  as 
a  rule,  been  as  pure  in  its  administration  and  methods  as  it  has  been 
great  in  reputation.  The  muddy  waters  of  party  conflict  have  only 
occasionally  reached  as  high  as  the  threshold  of  our  honored  tribunal ; 
and  the  fear  that  it  may  be  otherwise  hereafter  may  hopefully  be  put 


CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRA LION. 


6S5 


aside  as  a  groundless  and  spectral  chimera  of  the  hour.  On  May  1, 
1888,  the  President  appointed  Melville  W.  Fuller,  of  Chicago,  to  the 
vacant  chief  justiceship. 

The  impression  produced  by  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Waite 
had  scarcely  passed  when  the  decease  of  another  citizen,  most  noted 
for  high  character  and  great  talents,  again  called  the  public  attention  to 
the  rapid  disappearance  of  the  nation’s  most  distinguished  represent¬ 
atives.  On  the  18th  of  April,  at  the  Hoffman  House,  New  York 
city,  Hon.  Roscoe  Conkling,  ex-Senator  of  the  United  States,  died 
after  a  brief  and  painful  illness.  A 
local  inflammation  resulting  in  the 
formation  of  a  pus-sack  under  the 
mastoid  bone  of  the  skull  led  to 
the  cutting  of  the  skull  in  hope  of 
saving  Mr.  Conkling’s  life ;  but  he 
succumbed  to  the  fatal  malady  and 
shock  of  the  operation. 

Roscoe  Conkling  was  born  in 
,  N.  Y.,  on  the  30th  of  Octo¬ 
ber,  1829.  After  the  completion 
of  an  academic  course  of  study  he 
went  as  a  student  of  law  to  Utica 
in  1846.  On  reaching  his  majority 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  was 
soon  afterward  appointed  to  the 
office  of  County  Attorney.  From 
the  beginning  of  his  career  his 
great  talents  and  remarkable  force 
of  character  were  manifest.  He 
made  a  profound  impression  first  upon  the  local  and  then  upon  the 
general  society  of  New  York.  In  1858  he  was  Mayor  of  Utica,  and 
in  the  same  year  was  sent  to  the  national  House  of  Representatives. 
He  had  already  become  an  able  politician,  and  was  soon  recognized  as 
the  leader  of  the  Republican  party  in  his  native  State.  His  rise  was 
rapid,  and  his  influence  became  marked  in  the  affairs  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment.  He  served  for  six  years  in  the  lower  House,  and  in  1-866  was 
elected  to  the  Senate.  In  that  body  he  aspired  to  leadership  and  grad¬ 
ually  attained  it,  though  not  without  many  struggles  and  contests  with 
the  great  men  of  the  epoch.  He  was  twice  re-elected  Senator—- in  1812 
and  1878 ;  but  in  his  third  term,  namely,  in  1881,  he  found  himself  in 
such  relations  with  the  Garfield  administration  as  induced  him  to  resign 


ROSCOE  CONKLING. 


686 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


his  seat.  This  step  was  regarded  by  many  as  the  mistake  of  his  polit¬ 
ical  life.  At  any  rate,  he  failed  of  a  re-election,  the  administration 
party  getting  control  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York  and  sending 
another  in  his  place.  After  that  date  Mr.  Conkling  retired  to  private 
life  and  took  up  with  the  greatest  success  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  New  York  city. 

Roscoe  Conkling  was  a  man  of  the  highest  courage  and  stanchest 
convictions.  Pie  never  shone  to  greater  advantage  than  when  leading 
the  forces  of  General  Grant  in  the  Chicago  Convention  of  1880.  He 
was  a  born  political  general.  His  will  and  persistency  and  pride  gave 
him  a  power  which,  if  it  had  been  tempered  with  greater  urbanity, 
could  hardly  have  failed  to  crown  his  life  with  the  highest  honors  of 
the  nation.  His  talents  rose  to  the  region  of  genius,  and  his  presence 
was  magnificent — an  inspiration  to  his  friends,  a  terror  to  his  enemies. 
As  a  summary  of  the  results  of  his  career  it  may  be  said  that  at  the 
time  of  his  death  none  except  his  eminent  rival,  Mr.  Blaine,  might 
justly  contest  with  him  the  proud  rank  of  most  distinguished  private 
citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  spring  of  1886,  had  occurred  one  of  the  most 
serious  labor  agitations  which  had  ever  been  witnessed  in  the  United 
States.  It  were  difficult  to  present  an  adequate  statement  of  the 
causes,  general  and  special,  which  produced  these  alarming  troubles. 
Not  until  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  did  there  appear  the  first 
symptoms  of  a  renewal,  in  the  New  World,  of  the  struggle  which  has 
been  going  on  for  so  long  a  time  in  Europe  between  the  laboring  classes 
and  the  capitalists.  It  had  been  hoped  that  such  a  conflict  would  never 
be  renewed  in  the  countries  west  of  the  Atlantic.  Such  a  hope,  how¬ 
ever,  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  first  well-marked  symptoms 
of  the  appearance  of  serious  labor  strikes  and  insurrections  occurred 
as  early  as  1867.  The  origin  of  these  difficulties  was  in  the  coal  and 
iron  producing  regions  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  some  of  the  great 
manufactories  of  New  England.  For  a  while  the  disturbances  pro¬ 
duced  but  little  alarm.  It  was  not  until  the  great  railroad  strike  of 
1877  that  a  general  apprehension  was  excited  with  respect  to  the 
unfriendly  relations  of  labor  and  capital.  In  the  following  year  much 
uneasiness  existed,  but  the  better  times,  extending  from  1879  to  1882, 
with  the  consequent  favorable  rate  of  wages,  tended  to  remove,  or  at 
least  to  postpone,  the  renewal  of  trouble. 

A  series  of  bad  crops  ensued,  and  the  average  ability  of  the  people 
to  purchase  was  correspondingly  diminished.  The  speculative  mania, 
however,  did  not  cease,  and  the  large  amounts  of  capital  withdrawn 


CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


687 


from  legitimate  production  and  lost  in  visionary  enterprises  still 
further  reduced  the  means  of  employing  labor.  Stagnation  ensued  in 
business;  stocks  declined  in  value;  manufactories  were  closed,  and  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  employment  was  greatly  enhanced. 

While  these  causes,  half-natural,  half-artificial,  were  at  work,  others, 
wholly  fictitious,  but  powerful  in  their  evil  results,  began  to  operate  in 
the  creation  of  strife  and  animosity.  Monopolies  grew  and  flourished 
to  an  extent  hitherto  unknown  in  the  United  States.  On  the  other 
hand,  labor  discovered  the  salutary  but  dangerous  power  of  combina¬ 
tion.  A  rage  for  organizing  ‘took  possession  of  the  minds  of  the 
laboring  men  of  the  country,  and  to  the  arrogant  front  of  monopoly 
was  opposed  the  insurrectionary  front  of  the  working  classes. 

More  serious  still  than  the  causes  here  referred  to  was  the  intro¬ 
duction  into  the  United  States  of  a  large  mass  of  ignorant  foreign 
labor.  The  worst  elements  of  several  European  States  contributed 
freely  to  the  manufactories  and  workshops  of  America,  and  a  class  of 
ideas  utterly  un-American  became  dominant  in  many  of  the  leading 
establishments  of  the  country.  Communistic  theories  of  society  and 
anarchic  views  of  government  began  to  clash  with  the  more  sober 
republican  opinions  and  practices  of  the  people.  To  all  this  must  be 
added  the  evils  and  abuses  which  seem  to  be  incident  to  the  wage 
system  of  labor,  and  are,  perhaps,  inseparable  therefrom.  The  result 
has  been  a  growing  jealousy  of  the  two  great  parties  to  production, 
the  laborer  and  the  capitalist. 

The  opening  of  trade  for  the  season  of  1886  witnessed  a  series  of 
strikes  and  labor  imbroglios  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Such  troubles 
were,  however,  confined  for  the  most  part  to  the  cities  and  towns 
where  labor  was  aggregated.  The  first  serious  trouble  occurred  on 
what  is  known  as  the  G'onld  system  of  railways,  reaching  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  south-west.  A  single  workman,  belonging  to  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  and  employed  on  a  branch  of  the  Texas  Pacific 
Railway,  at  that  time  under  a  receivership,  and  therefore  beyond  the 
control  of  Jay  Gonld  and  his  subordinates,  was  discharged  from  his 
place.  This  action  was  resented  by  the  Knights,  and  the  laborers  on  a 
great  part  of  the  Gould  system  were  ordered  to  strike.  The  move¬ 
ment  was,  for  a  season,  successful,  and  the  transportation  of  freights 
from  St.  Louis  to  the  south-west  ceased.  Gradually,  however,  other 
workmen  were  substituted  for  the  striking  Knights;  the  movement  of 
freights  was  resumed,  and  the  strike  ended  in  comparative  failure  ;  but 
this  end  was  not  reached  until  a  severe  riot  in  East  St.  Louis  had 
occasioned  the  sacrifice  of  several  innocent  lives. 


688 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Far  more  alarming  was  the  outbreak  in  Chicago.  In  that  city  the 
socialistic  and  anarchic  elements  were  sufficiently  powerful  to  present  a 
hold  front  to  the  authorities.  Processions  bearing  red  flags  and  banners, 
with  communistic  devices  and  mottoes,  frequently  paraded  the  streets, 
and  were  addressed  by  demagogues  who  avowed  themselves  the  open 
enemies  of  society  and  the  existing  order.  On  the  4th  of  May  a  vast 
crowd  of  this  reckless  material  collected  in  a  place  called  the  Hay- 
market,  and  were  about  to  begin  the  usual  inflammatory  proceedings, 
when  a  band  of  policemen,  mostly  officers,  drew  near,  with  the 
evident  purpose  of  controlling  or  dispersing  the  meeting.  A  ter¬ 
rible  scene  ensued.  Dynamite  bombs  were  thrown  from  the  crowd 
and  exploded  among  the  officers,  several  of  whom  were  blown  to  pieces 
and  others  shockingly  mangled.  The  mob  was,  in  turn,  attacked  by 
the  police,  and  many  of  the  insurgents  were  shot  down.  Order  was 
presently  restored  in  the  city ;  several  of  the  leading  anarchists  were 
arrested  and  held  for  trial  on  the  charge  of  inciting  to  murder,  and 
measures  were  taken  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  tragedies  as 
had  been  witnessed  in  the  Hay  market  Square.  On  the  following  day 
a  similar,  though  less  dangerous,  outbreak  occurred  in  Milwaukee ; 
but  in  this  city  the  insurrectionary  movement  was  suppressed  without 
serious  loss  of  life.  The  attention  of  the  American  people — let  us 
hope  to  some  good  end — was  called,  as  never  before,  to  the  danger¬ 
ous  relations  existing  between  the  upper  and  nether  sides  of  our 
municipal  populations.  . 

The  summer  of  1886  is  memorable  on  account  of  that  great  natural 
phenomenon,  known  as  the  Charleston  earthquake.  On  the  night  of 
the  31st  of  August,  at  ten  minutes  before  ten  o’clock,  it  was  discovered 
at  Washington  City,  and  at  several  other  points  where  weather  and 
signal  stations  were  established,  that  communications  with  Charleston,  S. 
C.,  were  suddenly  cut  oil.  The  discovery  was  made  by  inquiries  relative  to 
the  origin  of  a  shock  which  had  that  moment  been  felt  with  varying 
degrees  of  violence  throughout  nearly  the  whole  country  east  of  the 
Mississippi  and  south  of  the  great  lakes.  In  a  few  minutes  it  was 
found  that  no  telegraphic  communication  from  any  side  could  be  had 
with  Charleston,  and  it  was  at  once  perceived  that  that  city  had  suffered 
from  the  convulsion.  Measures  wrere  hastily  devised  for  further  in¬ 
vestigation,  and  the  result  showed  that  the  worst  apprehensions  were 
verified.  Without  a  moment’s  warning  the  city  had  been  rocked  and 
rent  to  its  very  foundations.  Hardly  a  building  in  the  limits  of 
Charleston  or  in  the  country  surrounding  had  escaped  serious  injury, 
and  perhaps  one-lialf  of  all  were  in  a  state  of  semi-wreck  or  total  ruin. 


CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRATION.  689 

No  such  scene  of  devastation  and  terror  from  a  like  cause  had  ever 
before  been  witnessed  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States. 

Many  scientists  of  national  reputation  hurried  to  the  scene  and 
made  a  careful  scrutiny  of  the  phenomenon  with  a  view  of  contributing 
something  to  the  exact  knowledge  of  mankind  respecting  the  causes 
and  character  of  earthquakes.  One  or  two  points  were  determined 
with  tolerable  accuracy.  One  was,  that  the  point  of  origin,  called  the 
epicenter,  of  the  great  convulsion  had  been  at  a  place  about  twenty 
miles  from  Charleston,  and  that  the  motion  of  the  earth  immediately 
over  this  center  had  been  nearly  up  and  down — that  is,  vertical.  A 
second  point  tolerably  well  established  was  that  the  isoseismic  lines, 
or  lines  of  equal  disturbance,  might  be  drawn  around  the  epicenter  in 
circles  very  nearly  concentric,  and  that  the  circle  of  greatest  disturb¬ 
ance  was  at  some  distance  from  the  center.  Still  a  third  item  of 
knowledge  tolerably  well  established  was  that  away  from  the  epicenter 
— as  illustrated  in  the  ruins  of  Charleston — the  agitation  of  the  earth 
was  not  in  the  natm  e  of  a  single  shock  of  convulsion,  as  a  dropping  or 
sliding  of  the  region  to  one  side,  but  rather  a  series  of  very  quick  and 
violent  oscillations,  by  which  the  central  country  of  the  disturbance 
was  in  the  course  of  some  five  minutes  settled  somewhat  to  seaward. 

The  whole  coast, in  the  central  region  of  the  disturbance  was  modi¬ 
fied  with  respect  to  the  sea,  and  the  ocean  itself  was  thrown  into  tur¬ 
moil  for  leagues  from  the  shore.  The  people  of  the  city  were  in  a  state 
of  utmost  consternation.  The  people  fled  from  their  falling  houses  to 
the  public  squares  and  parks  and  far  into  the  country.  Afraid  to 
return  into  the  ruins  they  threw  up  tents  and  light  booths  for  protec¬ 
tion  and  abode  for  weeks  away  from  their  homes.  The  convulsion 
was  by  far  the  greatest  that  this  continent  has  experienced  within 
the  historical  epoch.  Nothing  before  in  the  limits  of  our  knowledge 
has  been  at  all  comparable  with  it  in  extent  and  violence  except  the 
great  earthquake  of  New  Madrid,  in  1811.  The  disaster  to  Charles¬ 
ton  served  to  bring  out  some  of  the  better  qualities  of  our  civiliza¬ 
tion.  Assistance  came  from  all  quarters,  and  contributions  poured 
in  for  the  support  and  encouragement  of  the  afflicted  people.  For 
several  weeks  a  series  of  diminishing  shocks  continued  to  terrify  the 
citizens  and  paralyze  the  efforts  at  restoration.  But  it  was  discovered 
in  the  course  of  time  that  these  shocks  were  only  the  dying  away  of 
the  great  convulsion,  and  that  they  gave  cause  for  hope  of  entire  cessa¬ 
tion  rather  than  continued  alarm.  In  a  lapse  of  a  few  months  the 
debris  was  cleared  away,  business  was  resumed,  and  the  people  were 
again  safe  in  their  homes. 

44 


690 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


On  the  4th  of  March,  1887,  the  second  session  of  the  Forty-ninth 
Congress  expired  by  statutory  limitation.  The  work  of  the  body  had 
not  been  so  fruitful  of  results  as  had  been  desired  and  anticipated  by 
the  friends  of  the  government ;  but  some  important  legislation  had 
been  effected.  On  the  question  of  the  tariff  nothing  of  value  was  accom¬ 
plished.  True,  a  serious  measure  of  revenue  reform  had  been  brought 
forward  at  an  early  date  in  the  session,  but  owing  to  the  opposition  of 
that  wing  of  the  Democratic  party  headed  by  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Ran¬ 
dall,  and  committed  to  the  doctrine  of  protection,  as  well  as  to  the 
antagonism  of  the  Republican  majority  in  the  Senate,  the  act  failed  of 
adoption.  In  fact,  by  the  beginning  of  1887  it  had  become  apparent 
that  the  existing  political  parties  could  not  be  forced  to  align  on  the 
issue  of  free  trade  and  tariff,  and  as  a  result  no  legislation  looking 
to  any  actual  reform  in  the  current  revenue  system  ~f  the  United 
States  could  be  carried  through  Congress. 

On  the  question  of  extending  the  Pensic  List,  however,  the  case 
was  different.  A  great  majority  of  both  parties  could  always  be 
counted  on  to  favor  such  measures  as  looked  to  the  increase  of  benefits 
to  the  soldiers.  At  the  first,  only  a  limited  number  of  pensions  had 
been  granted,  and  these  only  to  actually  disabled  and  injured  veterans 
of  the  War  for  the  Union.  With  the  lapse  of  time,  however,  and  the 
relaxation  of  party  allegiance,  it  became  more  and  more  important  to 
each  of  the  parties  to  secure  and  hold  the  soldier  vote,  without  which 
it  was  felt  that  neither  could  maintain  ascendency  in  the  government. 
Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  genuine  patriotic  sentiment  and  gratitude  of 
the  nation  to  its  defenders  coincided  in  this  respect  with  political 
ambition  and  selfishness.  The  Arrears  of  Pensions  Act,  making  up 
to  those  who  were  already  recipients  of  pensions  such  amounts  as 
would  have  accrued  if  the  benefit  had  dated  from  the  time  of  dis¬ 
ability,  instead  of  from  the  time  of  granting  the  pension,  was  passed  in 
1879,  and  at  the  same  time  the  list  of  beneficiaries  was  greatly  enlarged. 

The  measure  presented  in  the  Forty-ninth  Congress  was  designed 
to  extend  the  pension  list  so  as  to  include  all  regularly  enlisted  and 
honorably  discharged  soldiers  of  the  Civil  War  who  had  become  in 
whole  or  in  part  dependent  upon  the  aid  of  others  for  their  mainte¬ 
nance  and  welfare.  The  measure  was  known  as  the  Dependen'  Pen¬ 
sions  Bill,  and  thougu  a  few  had  the  courage  to  oppose  the  enactment 
of  a  law  which  appeared  to  fling  away  the  bounty  of  the  government 
to  the  deserving  and  the  undeserving,  the  evil  and  the  just  alike,  and 
to  compel  the  worthy  and  honorable  recipients  of  pensions  who  had 
actually  suffered  in  the  war  to  rank  themselves  in  the  same  category 


CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


691 


with  the  thriftless,  the  unpatriotic,  and  the  improvident,  who,  having 
been  in  the  army,  had  afterward  come  to  grief  through  their  own  lack 
of  enterprise  and  frugality ;  yet  a  majority  was  easily  obtained  for  the 
measure  in  both  Houses,  and  the  act  was  passed.  President  Cleve¬ 
land,  however,  interposed  his  veto,  and  the  proposed  law  fell  to  the 
ground.  A  strenuous  effort  was  made  in  the  House  of  Represent¬ 
atives  to  pass  the  bill  over  the  veto ;  but  the  movement  failed. 

By  far  the  most  important  and  noted  piece  of  legislation  of  the 
session  was  incorporated  in  the  act  known  as  the  Inter-State  Commerce 
Bill.  For  some  fifteen  years  complaints  against  the  methods  and  man¬ 
agement  of  the  railways  of  the  United  States  had  been  heard  on  many 
sides,  and  in  cases  not  a  few  the  complaints  had  originated  in  actual 
abuses,  some  of  which  were  willful,  but  most  were  merely  incidental 
to  the  development  of  a  system  so  vast  and,  on  the  wdiole,  so  bene¬ 
ficial  to  the  public.  In  such  a  state  of  affairs  the  lasting  benefit  is 
always  forgotten  in  the  accidental  hurt.  That  large  class  of  people 
who,  in  despite  of  the  teachings  of  history,  still  believe  in  the  cure  of 
all  things  by  law,  and  that  mankind  are  always  about  to  perish  for  want 
of  more  legislation,  became  clamorous  in  their  demand  that  Congress 
should  take  the  railways  by  the  throat  and  compel  them  to  accept 
what  may  be  called  the  system  of  uniformity  as  it  respects  all  charges 
for  service  rendered.  It  was  believed  in  Congress  that  to  take  up  this 
call,  and  champion  the  alleged  cause  of  the  people,  would  be  one  of 
the  most  popular  measures  of  the  period.  The  Inter-State  Com¬ 
merce  Bill  was,  accordingly,  prepared,  with  a  multitude  of  lengthy 
and  involved  clauses  requiring  a  commission  of  great  lawyers  for  their 
interpretation.  It  was  enacted  that  all  freight  carriage  across  State 
lines  within  the  Union  should  be  at  the  same  rate  per  hundred  for  all 
distances,  and  between  all  places,  and  under  substantially  the  same 
conditions,  and  that  passenger  fares  should  be  uniform  for  all 
persons.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
railways  are  unable  to  carry  freight  at  as  small  a  rate  per  hundred,  or 
passengers  at  as  small  a  charge  per  mile,  between  places  approximate  as 
between  places  at  great  distances.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that 
in  some  regions  it  is  many  times  more  expensive  to  build  and  operate 
a  railroad  than  in  others.  To  carry  one  of  these  great  thoroughfares 
over  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  a  very  different  thing  from  stretching  a 
similar  track  across  the  level  prairies  of  Illinois.  It  must  still  further 
be  considered  that,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  competition  will  do  its 
legitimate  and  inevitable  work  at  an  earlier  date  and  more  thoroughly 
between  great  cities,  even  when  remotely  situated,  than  between  unim- 


692 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


portant  points,  however  near  together.  The  traffic  and  travel  between 
two  villages  is  not  sufficient  to  create  competition  among  the  carriers. 
It  is  as  absurd  to  suppose  that  railway  tariffs  can  be  the  same  between 
New  York  and  Chicago  as  they  are  between  two  Missouri  towns,  as  it 
is  to  suppose  that  butter  can  command  the  same  price  in  an  Iowa  vil¬ 
lage  that  it  does  in  the  Quincy  Market  of  Boston.  What  should  be  said 
of  an  attempt  in  Congress  to  make  the  price  of  wheat  and  pork 
uniform  throughout  the  United  States? 

The  Inter-State  Commerce  Bill  was  conceived  against  all  the 
natural,  manifest  and  undeniable  principles  of  the  commercial  world. 
It  was  passed  with  the  belief  that  all  discriminations  in  the  charges 
made  by  railways  doing  business  in  more  than  one  State  could  be  pre¬ 
vented  by  law.  It  was  passed  as  if  to  amend  or  abrogate  those  natural 
laws  of  trade  and  traffic  which  in  their  kind  are  as  absolute,  and  as 
beneficial,  as  the  law  of  gravitation.  It  was  passed  with  the  ulterior 
design  of  securing  to  its  promoters  the  support  of  that  ignorant  and 
embittered  race  of  men  whose  prejudices  are  out  of  all  proportion  to 
their  knowledge  of  human  rights,  or  their  recognition  of  the  par¬ 
amount  interests  of  the  whole  people.  It  was  passed  under  the  per¬ 
nicious  anti-democratic  theory  of  governmental  paternalism,  which  says 
that  men  are  infants  or  imbeciles,  unable  to  care  for  themselves  unless 
they  are  fed  and  led  and  coddled  by  some  motherly  government  of  which 
they  are  the  irresponsible  offspring.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  other 
measure  ever  adopted  by  the  American  Congress  has  been  so  difficult 
of  application,  or  has  thrown  the  commercial  affairs  of  the  country  into 
so  great  disorder.  The  one  redeeming  feature  of  the  case  has  been, 
and  is,  that  they  who,  by  the  passage  of  so  preposterous  a  series  of 
enactments,  thought  to  crown  themselves  with  laurel,  came  forth  wear¬ 
ing  a  diadem  of  weeds  and  cactus. 

During  the  whole  of  Cleveland’s  administration  the  public  mind 
was  swayed  and  excited  by  the  movements  of  politics.  The  univer¬ 
sality  of  partisan  newspapers,  the  combination  in  their  columns  of  all 
the  news  of  the  world  with  the  invectives,  misrepresentations,  and 
countercharges  of  party  leaders,  kept  political  questions  constantly 
uppermost,  to  the  detriment  of  social  progress  and  industrial  interests. 
Scarcely  had  President  Cleveland  entered  upon  his  office  as  chief  magis¬ 
trate  when  the  question  of  the  succession  to  the  Presidency  was  agitated. 
The  echoes  of  the  election  of  1884  had  not  died  away  before  the 
rising  murmur  of  that  of  1888  was  heard. 

By  the  last  year  of  the  current  administration  it  was  seen  that 
there  would  be  no  general  break-up  of  the  existing  parties.  It  was 


CLE  VELAND'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


693 


also  perceived  that  the  issues  between  them  must  be  made ,  rather  than 
found  in  the  existing  state  of  affairs.  The  sentiment  in  the  United 
States  in  favor  of  the  Constitutional  prohibition  of  the  manufacture 
and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  had  become  somewhat  extended  and 
intensified  since  the  last  quadrennial  election.  But  the  discerning  eye 
might  perceive  that  the  real  issue  was  between  the  Republican  and 
Democratic  parties,  and  that  the  questions  involved  were  to  be  rather 
those  of  the  past  than  of  the  future. 

One  issue,  however,  presented  itself  which  had  a  living  and  prac¬ 
tical  relation  to  affairs,  and  that  was  the  question  of  Protection  to 
American  Industry.  Since  the  campaign  of  1884,  the  agitation  had 
been  gradually  extended.  At  the  opening  of  the  session,  in  1887,  the 
President,  in  his  annual  message  to  Congress,  departed  from  all  prece¬ 
dent,  and  devoted  the  whole  document  to  the  discussion  of  the  single 
question  of  a  Reform  of  the  Revenue  System  of  the  United  States. 
The  existing  rates  of  duty  on  imported  articles  of  commerce  had  so 
greatly  augmented  the  income  of  the  Government  that  a  large  surplus 
had  accumulated,  and  wTas  still  accumulating,  in  the  treasury  of  the 
United  States.  This  fact  was  made  the  basis  of  the  President’s  argu¬ 
ment  in  favor  of  a  new  system  of  revenue,  or  at  least  an  ample  reduc¬ 
tion  in  the  tariff  rates  under  the  old.  It  was  immediately  charged  by 
the  Republicans  that  the  project  in  question  meant  the  substitution  of 
the  system  of  free  trade  in  the  United  States  as  against  the  system  of 
protective  duties.  The  question  thus  involved  was  made  the  bottom 
issue  in  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1888. 

As  to  the  nominees  of  the  various  parties,  it  wTas  from  the  first  a 
foregone  conclusion  that  Mr.  Cleveland  would  be  nominated  for  re-elec¬ 
tion  by  the  Democrats.  The  result  justified  the  expectation.  The 
Democratic  Rational  Convention  was  held  in  St.  Louis,  on  the  5th  day 
of  June,  1888,  and  Mr.  Cleveland  was  re-nominated  by  acclamation. 
For  the  Vice-Presidential  nomination  there  was  a  considerable  contest; 
but,  after  some  balloting,  the  choice  fell  on  ex-Senator  Allen  G.  Thur¬ 
man,  of  Ohio.  The  Republican  Rational  Convention  was  held  in  Chi¬ 
cago,  on  the  19th  day  of  June.  Many  candidates  were  ardently  pressed 
upon  the  body,  and  the  contest  was  long  and  spirited.  It  was  believed, 
up  to  the  time  of  the  Convention,  that  Mr.  Blaine,  who  was  evidently 
the  favorite  of  a  great  majority,  would  be  again  nominated  for  the 
Presidency.  But  the  antagonisms  which  that  statesman  had  awakened 
in  nis  own  party  made  it  imprudent  to  bring  him  forward  again  as  the 
nominee.  His  name  was  accordingly  not  presented  to  the  Convention. 
The  most  prominent  candidates  were  Senator  John  Sherman,  of  Ohio ; 


694 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Judge  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  of  Chicago;  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  of  New 
York ;  ex-Governor  Russel  A.  Alger,  of  Michigan ;  ex-Senator  Benja¬ 
min  Harrison,  of  Indiana;  and  Senator  William  B.  Allison,  of  Iowa. 
The  voting  was  continued  to  the  eighth  ballot,  when  the  choice  fell 
upon  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Indiana.  In  the  evening  Levi  P.  Morton, 
of  New  York,  was  nominated  for  the  Vice-Presidency  on  the  first  ballot. 

In  the  meantime  the  Prohibition  party  had  held  its  National  Con¬ 
vention  at  Indianapolis,  and  on  the  30th  of  May  had  nominated  for 
the  Presidency  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  of  New  Jersey,  and  for  the 
Vice-Presidency  John  A.  Brooks,  of  Missouri.  The  Democratic  plat¬ 
form  declared  for  a  reform  of  the  revenue  system  of  the  United  States, 
and  re-affirmed  the  principle  of  adjusting  the  tariff  on  imports  with 
strict  regard  to  the  actual  needs  of  governmental  expenditure.  The 
Republican  platform  declared  also  for  a  reform  of  the  tariff  schedule, 
but  at  the  same  time  stoutly  affirmed  the  maintenance  of  the  pro¬ 
tective  system,  as  such,  as  a  part  of  the  permanent  policy  of  the  United 
States.  Both  parties  deferred  to  the  patriotic  sentiment  of  the  country 
in  favor  of  the  soldiers,  their  rights  and  interests,  and  both  endeavored 
by  the  usual  incidental  circumstances  of  the  hour  to  gain  the  advantage 
of  the  other  before  the  American  people.  The  Prohibitionists  entered 
the  campaign  on  the  distinct  proposition  that  the  manufacture  and  sale 
of  intoxicating  liquors  should  be  prohibited  throughout  the  United 
States  by  Constitutional  amendment.  To  this  was  added  a  clause  in 
favor  of  extending  the  right  of  suffrage  to  women. 

As  the  canvass  progressed  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1888 
it  became  evident  that  the  result  was  in  doubt.  The  contest  was  exceed¬ 
ingly  close.  As  in  1880  and  1884,  the  critical  States  were  New  York, 
Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  and  Indiana.  In  all  of  the  other  Northern 
States  the  Republicans  were  almost  certain  to  win,  while  the  Democrats 
were  equally  certain  of  success  in  all  the  South.  In  the  last  weeks  of 
the  campaign  General  Harrison  grew  in  favor,  and  his  party  gained 
perceptibly  to  the  close.  The  result  showed  success  for  the  Republican 
candidate.  He  received  233  electoral  votes,  against  168  votes  for  Mr. 
Cleveland.  The  latter,  however,  appeared  to  a  better  advantage  on  the 
popular  count,  having  a  considerable  majority  over  General  Harrison. 
General  Fisk,  the  Prohibition  candidate,  received  nearly  three  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  votes ;  but  under  the  system  of  voting  no  electoral  vote 
of  any  State  was  obtained  for  him  in  the  so-called  “  College,”  by  which 
the  actual  choice  is  made.  As  soon  as  the  result  was  known  the  excite¬ 
ment  attendant  upon  the  campaign  subsided  and  political  questions 
gave  place  to  other  interests. 


CLEVELAND'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


695 


Tlie  last  days  of  Cleveland’s  administration  and  of  the  Fiftieth 
Congress  were  signalized  by  the  admission  into  the  Union  of  Four 
ISTew  States,  making  the  number  forty-two.  Since  the  incoming  of 
Colorado,  in  1876,  no  State  had  been  added  to  the  Republic.  Mean¬ 
while  the  tremendous  tides  of  population  had  continued  to  flow  to  the 
west  and  north-west,  rapidly  filling  up  the  great  Territories.  Of  these 
the  greatest  was  Dakota,  with  its  area  of  150,932  square  miles.  In 
1887  the  question  of  dividing  the  Territory  by  a  line  running  east  and 
west  was  agitated,  and  the  measure  finally  prevailed.  Steps  were  taken 
by  the  people  of  both  sections  for  admission  into  the  Union.  Montana, 
with  her  145,776  square  miles  of  territory,  had  meanwhile  acquired  a 
sufficient  population;  and  Washington  Territory,  with  its  area  of 
*  69,994  square  miles,  also  knocked  for  admission.  In  the  closing  days  of 
the  Fiftieth  Congress  a  bill  was  passed  raising  all  these  four  Territories 
— South  Dakota,  North  Dakota,  Montana,  and  Washington  —  to  the 
plane  of  Statehood.  The  Act  contemplated  the  adoption  of  State 
Constitutions,  and  a  proclamation  of  admission  by  the  next  President. 
It  thus  happened  that  the  honor  of  bringing  in  this  great  addition  to  the 
States  of  the  Union  wus  divided  between  the  outgoing  and  incoming 
administrations. 

Another  Act  of  Congress  was  also  of  national  importance.  Hith¬ 
erto  the  government  had  been  administered  through  seven  departments, 
at  the  head  of  each  of  which  was  placed  a  Cabinet  officer,  the  seven 
together  constituting  the  advisers  of  the  President.  No  provision  for 
such  an  arrangement  exists  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States; 
but  the  statutes  of  the  Nation  provide  for  such  a  system  as  most  in 
accordance  with  the  republican  form  of  government.  Early  in  1889 
a  measure  was  brought  forward  in  Congress  and  adopted  for  the  institu¬ 
tion  of  a  new  department,  to  be  called  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Practically  the  measure  involved  the  elevation  of  what  had  previously 
been  an  Agricultural  Bureau  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior  to  the 
rank  of  a  Cabinet  office.  Among  foreign  nations  France  has  been  con¬ 
spicuous  for  the  patronage  which  the  Government  has  given  to  the 
agricultural  pursuits  of  that  country.  Hitherto  in  the  United  States, 
though  agriculture  has  been  the  greatest  of  all  the  producing  interests 
of  the  people,  it  has  been  neglected  for  more  political  and  less  useful 
departments  of  American  life  and  enterprise.  By  this  act  of  Congress 
the  Cabinet  offices  were  increased  in  number  to  eight  instead  of  seven. 


47 


696 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  LXXII. 

HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION,  1889- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON,  twenty-third  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  born  at  North  Bend,  Ohio,  on  the  20th  of  August, 
1833.  He  is  the  son  of  John  Scott  Harrison,  a  prominent  citizen  of  his 
native  State  ;  grandson  of  President  William  Henry  Harrison  ;  great- 
grandson  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde¬ 
pendence.  In  countries  where  attention  is  paid  to  honorable  lineage 

the  circumstances  of  General  Har¬ 
rison’s  descent  would  be  considered 
of  much  importance ;  but  in  Amer¬ 
ica  little  attention  is  paid  to  one’s 
ancestry,  and  more  to  himself. 

Harrison’s  early  life  was  passed 
as  that  of  other  American  boys, 
in  attendance  at  school  and  at 
home  duties  on  the  farm.  He  was 
a  student  at  the  institution  called 
Farmers’  College  for  two  years. 
Afterwards  he  attended  Miami 
University,  at  Oxford,  Ohio,  and 
was  graduated  therefrom  in  June, 
1852.  He  took  in  marriage  the 
daughter  of  Dr.  John  W.  Scott, 
President  of  the  University.  After  a  course  of  study  he  entered  the 
profession  of  law,  removing  vo  Indianapolis  and  establishing  himself 
in  that  city.  With  the  outbreak  of  the  War  he  became  a  soldier  of  the 
Union,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  Brevet  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers. 
Before  the  close  of  the  Wai  he  was  elected  Reporter  of  Decisions  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana. 

In  the  period  following  the  Civil  War  General  Harrison  rose  to  dis¬ 
tinction  as  a  civilian.  In  L876hewas  the  unsuccessful  candidate  of 
the  Republican  party  for  Governor  of  Indiana.  In  1881  he  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  SenfV.  where  he  won  the  reputation  of  a  leader 
and  statesman.  In  1884  hk  name  was  prominently  mentioned  in  eon- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


697 


nection  with  the  Presidential  nomination  of  his  party,  but  Mr.  Blaine 
was  successful.  After  the  lapse  of  four  years,  however,  it  was  found 
at  Chicago  that  General  Harrison,  more  than  any  other,  combined  in 
himself  all  the  elements  of  a  successful  candidate ;  and  the  event  justi- 
tied  the  choice  of  the  party  in  making  him  the  standard-bearer  in  the 
ensuing  campaign. 

General  Harrison  was,  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  the  Gov¬ 
ernment,  inaugurated  President  on  the  4th  of  March,  1889.  He  had 
succeeded  better  than  any  of  his  predecessors  in  keeping  his  own  coun< 
sels  during  the  interim  between  his  election  and  the  inauguration.  Ho 
one  had  discerned  his  purposes,  and  all  waited  with  interest  the  ex¬ 
pressions  of  his  Inaugural  Ad¬ 
dress.  In  that  document  he  set 
forth  the  policy  which  he  should 
favor  as  the  chief  executive, 
recommending  the  same  general 
measures  which  the  Republican 
party  had  advocated  during  the 
campaign. 

On  the  day  following  the  in¬ 


augural  ceremonies  President  Har¬ 
rison  sent  in  the  nominations  for 
his  Cabinet  officers,  as  follows : 
for  Secretary  of  State,  James  G. 

Blaine,  of  Maine;  for  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  William  Windom, 
of  Minnesota ;  for  Secretary  of 

War,  Redfield  Proctor,  of  Vermont;  for  Secretary  of  the  Havy,  Ben¬ 
jamin  F.  Tracy,  of  Hew  York;  for  Postmaster-General,  John  Wana- 
maker,  of  Pennsylvania ;  for  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  John  W.  Hoble, 
of  Missouri ;  for  Attorney-General,  William  H.  H.  Miller,  of  Indiana ; 
and  for  Secretary  of  Agriculture  —  the  new  department  —  Jeremiah 
Rusk,  of  Wisconsin.  '  These  appointments  were  immediately  con¬ 
firmed  by  the  Senate,  and  the  members  of  the  new  administration 
assumed  their  respective  official  duties. 

Within  two  months  after  Harrison’s  inauguration  an  event  oc¬ 
curred  which  might  well  recall  to  the  mind  of  the  American  people 
the  striking  incidents  in  the  history  of  the  Revolutionary  Epoch.  The 
event  in  question  was  the  great  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Inaugu¬ 
ration  of  Washington,  first  President  of  the  United  States.  The  same 
was  commemorated  in  many  parts  of  the  country  ;  but  the  supreme 


JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 


698 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


event  was  in  New  York  city,  and  the  ceremonies  connected  there¬ 
with  were  associated,  as  far  as  practicable,  with  the  scenes  of  the 
first  inauguration.  These  circumstances  may  well  call  forth  not 
only  some  descriptive  account  of  the  celebration  itself,  but  also  a 
brief  review  of  those  events  and  incidents  on  which  the  same  was 
based. 

The  period  extending  from  the  year  1776  to  the  year  1789  was 
marked  in  the  colonial  history  of  the  United  States  by  several  crises, 
different  in  kind,  but  each  so  well  defined  in  character  as  to  be  worthy 
of  commemoratiou  by  the  people  of  another  and  distant  age.  These 
crises  were : 

1.  The  Declaration  of  Independence. 

2.  The  Formation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

3.  The  Adoption  of  the  Constitution. 

4.  The  Institution  of  the  New  Government. 

The  dates  of  these  successive  events  are  well  known,  the  first  oc¬ 
curring  in  midsummer  of  1776  ;  the  second,  in  the  summer  of  1787 ; 
the  third,  in  the  years  1787  and  1788  ;  and  the  fourth,  in  1789.  It  is 
to  the  events  of  the  last-named  year  that  the  attention  of  the  reader 
will  now  be  more  particularly  called. 

As  we  have  said,  each  of  these  crises  has  a  philosophical  place  and 
character  in  American  history,  and  the  reader  may  be  interested  to 
note  the  same  as  preliminary  to  an  understanding  of  the  Centennial 
exercises  in  New  York  city. 

First,  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  a  democratic  and 
popular  revolution.  It  was  the  act  by  which  the  allegiance  of  the 
old  Thirteen  Colonies  to  the  mother  country  was  broken.  It  was  essen¬ 
tially  destructive  in  its  character.  The  first  stages  of  all  revolutions 
have  this  distinctive  aspect.  They  destroy.  It  remains  for  a  subse¬ 
quent  movement  to  rebuild.  The  revolution,  in  the  first  place,  abol¬ 
ishes  and  destroys  an  existing  order.  It  implies  that  the  people  have 
borne  as  long  as  possible  some  system  which  presses  upon  them  as  if 
it  were  of  chains  and  fetters.  It  is  to  break  the  chains,  to  throw  off 
the  fetters,  that  the  revolution  begins  its  career.  Sometimes  it  is 
carried  forward  under  a  government  which  is  able  to  survive  the 
shock  ;  more  frequently  it  attacks  the  government  itself,  and,  if  suc¬ 
cessful,  overthrows  it.  Such  was  the  case  with  the  destructive  Revo¬ 
lution  of  1776.  It  was  leveled  against  the  existing  order,  and  was 
most  happily  successful. 

Second,  it  was  not  long  after  the  achievement  of  independence  until 
the  Revolutionary  patriots,  at  least  the  more  thoughtful  and  conserva- 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


69£ 

tive  of  them,  came  to  see  that  mere  independence  was  not  enough ; 
that  mere  destruction  of  popular  abuses  could  not  suffice  for  the  future 
of  America.  Acting  from  these  sentiments  the  Fathers  began  to  con¬ 
sult  about  re-building,  or  building  anew,  a  structure  in  which  civil 
liberty  in  America  might  find  an  abiding-place.  These  discussions 
began  almost  as  soon  as  independence  was  clearly  gained.  Within  a 
year  after  the  treaty  of  peace  Washington  and  his  friends  began  to 
discuss  the  feasibility  of  a  better  system  of  government.  Conferences 
were  held  first  at  Mount  Vernon,  then  at  Annapolis,  and  finally  a 
great  convention  of  delegates  was  assembled  at  Philadelphia.  This 
occurred,  as  we  have  said,  in  the  summer  of  1787.  The  result  of  the 
labors  of  this  convention  is  well  known.  That  strange  compromise 
called  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  produced  and  signed 
by  the  delegates,  with  Washington  as  their  president.  This,  then,  was 
the  epoch  of  the  Formation  of  the  Constitution. 

Third,  immediately  after  this  event  a  period  oi  political  agitation, 
the  first  real  and  general  agitation  known  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  occurred.  The  new  Constitution  laid  before  the  States  was 
the  bottom  fact  from  which  the  stormy  discussions  of  the  next  two 
years  sprang.  Should  that  Constitution  be  adopted  ?  Or  should  it 
be  rejected  and  the  old  confederative  system  of  government  be  con¬ 
tinued?  On  these  questions  there  was  a  division  of  parties.  The  con¬ 
troversy  waxed  violent.  All  the  old  Thirteen  States  were  shaken  from 
center  to  boundary  line. 

In  a  former  part  of  the  present  work*  the  story  of  the  Adoption 
of  the  Constitution  by  the  several  States  has  been  narrated ;  nor  is  it 
necessary  here  to  repeat  the  well-known  account  of  how  State  after 
State  carried  a  majority  of  its  delegates  for  the  new  system  of  gov¬ 
ernment.  This  epoch  of  agitation,  of  controversy,  and  the  final  adop¬ 
tion  is  the  third  of  the  three  crises  to  which  we  have  made  reference 
as  belonging  to  our  Revolutionary  history. 

Fourth,  and  last  of  all,  after  the  Constitution  was  adopted  by  nine 
or  ten  of  the  States,  came  the  striking  event  of  the  Institution  of  the 
Uew  Government.  The  paper  model  of  that  Government  existed  in 
the  Constitution  itself.  How  Washington  was  unanimously  chosen  as 
first  chief  magistrate  of  the  new  republic  is  known  to  all  the  world.  A 
Congress  was  constituted  by  the  election  of  a  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  and  a  Senate,  in  accordance  with  the  provision  of  the  new  instru¬ 
ment.  All  things  were  made  ready,  as  an  architect  might  prepare  the 
materials  for  a  structure.  Then  came  the  actual  building  of  the 

*  See  pp.  356-362. 


700 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


temple.  The  scene  was  in  old  New  York  ;  the  New  York  oi  one 
hundred  years  ago. 

It  is  worth  while,  before  proceeding  with  the  account  of  the  * 
Washingtonian  inauguration,  and  of  the  commemorative  events  of 
1889,  to  notice  briefly  the  manner  and  spirit  in  which  the  preceding 
centennials  were  observed  by  the  people  of  the  United  States.  We 
have  already  seen  with  what  enthusiasm  the  Centennial  Anniversary 
of  the  great  democratic  Revolution  of  1776  was  marked  by  the  masses. 
The  people  of  the  United  States  are  warm  in  their  affections  toward 
the  destructive  revolution  which  was  accomplished  by  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  and  the  war  which  followed.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that,  so  far  as  the  masses  are  concerned,  they  have  taken 
more  interest,  not  only  in  our  own  independence  and  the  means  by 
which  it  was  accomplished,  but  in  the  destructive  aspect  of  all  other 
revolutionary  movements.  With  what  zeal  and  success  the  Centen¬ 
nial  Anniversary  of  Independence  was  observed  in  the  city  of  Phila¬ 
delphia  has  already  been  narrated  in  a  previous  chapter  of  the  present 
work.*  The  second  Centennial — that  is,  the  Centennial  of  the  For¬ 
mation  of  the  Constitution,  did  not  awaken  in  the  United  States 
any  considerable  degree  of  enthusiasm.  From  this  it  is  to  be  plainly 
inferred  that  the  people  as  a  whole  rejoice  more  in  the  fact  of  inde¬ 
pendence,  in  the  destruction  of  old  forms,  and  in  the  events  by  which 
independence  was  achieved,  than  they  do  in  the  structural  part  of  the 
history  of  the  country — that  is,  in  the  history  of  those  new  institutions 
which  have  been  planted  in  place  of  the  old. 

There  was  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  where  the  Constitution  was 
adopted,  an  effort  in  1887  to  commemorate  the  anniversary,  and  some 
local  interest  was  excited  in  the  event ;  but  there  was  no  wide-spread 
zeal,  no  throbbing  of  the  popular  heart  over  the  coming  of  the  hun¬ 
dredth  year  of  our  national  charter.  The  same  may  be  said  with 
respect  to  observing  the  intermediate  period  of  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution.  No  celebrations  of  more  than  local  importance  were 
had  in  any  of  the  States  in  commemoration  of  this  important  event. 
At  the  first  it  was  even  doubted  whether  the  era  of  the  institution  of 
a  government  itself,  dating  from  the  30th  of  April,  1789,  could  awaken 
sufficient  public  enthusiasm  to  warrant  a  national  celebration.  Events 
such  as  the  formation  of  our  Constitution,  its  adoption  by  the  people 
of  the  States,  and  the  institution  of  the  new  form  instead  of  the  old 
are  not  sufficiently  spectacular  and  heroic  to  set  the  masses  aglow,  to 
produce  the  requisite  heat  of  a  great  national  commemoration.  Never- 

*  See  pp.  563-628. 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


701 


theless  in  the  case  of  the  institution  of  the  Government  it  was  believed 
by  the  people  of  New  York  city  that  the  event  could  not  by  any 
means  be  allowed  to  pass  without  an  effort  to  impress  upon  the 
minds  of  the  present  generation  the  great  events  of  a  century 
gone  by. 

Sufficiently  striking  in  all  respects  was  the  contrast  between  the 
actual  inauguration  of  Washington  and  the  ceremonies  attendant  upon 
the  beginning  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  1789,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  commemorative  exercises  after  the  lapse  of  a  cent¬ 
ury.  It  may  be  appropriate  in  this  connection  to  review  briefly  the 
circumstances  of  Washington’s  inauguration  in  order  that  the  reader 
may  have  the  contrast  well  in  mind. 

According  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  the  new  Gov¬ 
ernment  which  had  been  provided  for  was  to  have  been  instituted  on 
the  4th  of  March — the  day  which  has  ever  since  been  retained  as  the 
quadrennial  beginning  of  the  successive  administrations. 

But  the  first  setting  up  of  the  Government  was  attended  with 
many  difficulties.  The  seat  of  the  new  Republic,  so  far  as  its  govern¬ 
mental  machinery  was  concerned,  was  to  be,  at  least  for  the  time,  in 
New  York  city.  To  reach  that  colonial  metropolis,  especially  in  the 
early  spring,  was  a  difficult  and  tedious  process ;  the  members  of  Con¬ 
gress  had  to  come  from  what  were  then  distant  regions  to  reach  the 
place  appointed.  So  the  work  lagged.  On  the  25th  of  March,  1789,  a 
quorum  had  not  yet  appeared  in  either  House  of  Congress.  Nor  should 
the  reader  forget  that  the  old  Congress  of  the  Confederation  had  not 
yet  expired.  It  met  from  day  to  day  in  the  old  Federal  Hall  in  Wall 
Street.  The  coming  of  a  greater  Congress  was  at  hand.  Near  the 
close  of  the  month  Fisher  Ames  wrote  to  a  friend  in  Boston,  as 
follows : 

We  have  26  representatives,  and  as  30  are  necessary  to  make  a  quorum 
we  are  still  in  a  state  of  inaction.  ...  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  languor 
of  the  old  Confederation  is  transfused  into  the  members  of  the  new  Congress- 
This  city  has  not  caught  the  spirit,  or  rather  the  want  of  spirit,  I  am  vexing  my¬ 
self  to  express  to  you.  Their  ball  will  cost  £20,000,  York  money.  They  are  pre¬ 
paring  fireworks  and  a  splendid  barge  for  the  President,  which  last  will  cost  £200 
to  £300.  We  lose  £1,000  a  day  revenue.  We  lose  credit,  spirit,  every  thing.  The 
public  will  forget  the  Government  before  it  is  born.  The  resurrection  of  the 
infant  will  come  before  its  birth.  Happily  the  federal  interest  is  strong  in  Con¬ 
gress.  The  old  Congress  still  continues  to  meet,  and  it  seems  to  be  doubtful 
whether  the  old  Government  is  dead  or  the  new  one  alive.  God  deliver  us  speed¬ 
ily  from  this  puzzling  state,  or  prepare  my  will,  if  it  subsists  much  longer,  for  I 
am  in  a  fever  to  think  of  it.” 


702 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


On  the  1st  of  April,  however,  the  House  of  Representatives  had  a 
quorum.  Shortly  afterwards  the  Senate  also  was  sufficiently  full  to 
proceed  to  business.  On  the  6th  of  April  both  Houses  were  organized 
in  the  same  Hall  where  the  old  Confederative  Congress  of  the  Colonies 
had  been  sitting.  It  will  be  remembered  that  this  so-called  Federal 


OLD  FEDERAL  HALL,  WALL  STREET,  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  BROAD,  1789. 


Hall  was  the  old  historic  City  Hall  of  Hew  York,  which  had  been 
used  as  the  seat  of  legislative  affairs  since  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

The  Constitution  had  devolved  upon  Congress  the  duty  of  open¬ 
ing  and  counting  the  ballots  for  President  of  the  United  States.  TIhs 
was  first  of  all  attended  to.  It  was  found  that  George  W ashingfon,  of 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION 


703 


Virginia,  had  a  unanimous  vote  from  all  the  States.  The  next  highest  on 
the  list  was  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  who,  as  the  Constitution  then 
stood,  was  to  serve  as  Vice-President.  But  neither  the  President-elect 
nor  the  Arice-President-elect  had  as  yet  arrived  in  New  York.  Events 
in  those  days  went  forward  like  a  stately  minuet.  There  was  neither 
hurrying  nor  excitement ;  or  if  the  latter  existed  it  was  suppressed 
under  the  formal  regularities  of  the  times. 

Charles  Thompson  was  dispatched  by  Congress  to  Mount  Vernon  to 
notify  General  Washington  of  his  election  to  the  Presidency.  The 
messenger  rode  on  horseback.  For  fifteen  years  he  had  been  secretary 
of  Congress.  Nor  is  it  uninteresting  to  notice  that  his  wife,  Hannah 
Harrison,  was  a  sister  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  the  signer  of  the  Declara¬ 
tion  of  Independence,  great-grandfather  of  him  who  was  destined,  in 
the  course  of  events,  to  be  the  Centennial  President  of  the  United 
States.  Washington  was  thus  notified,  and  preparations  were  begun 
for  his  departure  to  the  seat  of  government. 

Svlvanus  Bourne  was  a  like  messenger  to  Vice-President  Adams. 

J  O 

The  latter  left  home  sooner  than  did  Washington,  and  presently,  on  the 
20th  of  April,  arrived  at  New  York.  But  the  General’s  coming  was 
delayed  until  late  in  April.  Even  then  his  progress  was  slow ;  the  people 
retarded  his  course.  In  the  proper  place  we  have  already  noticed  the 
manner  in  which  he  was  received  en  route — how,  especially  at  Tren¬ 
ton,  passing  under  triumphal  arches,  thirteen  young  girls  strewed  the 
way  before  him  with  flowers.  Washington’s  course  from  Trenton 
was  across  New  Jersey  by  the  old  stage-route  to  Elizabethtown, 
where  he  was  met  by  a  deputation  from  Congress  to  escort  him  to 
the  city. 

The  passage  of  the  harbor  was  sufficiently  beautified  with  civic 
ceremonies ;  the  boats  were  decorated  with  flags,  and  gay  barges  glided 
through  the  shining  water.  The  President  himself  crossed  over  in  a 
barge.  It  is  said  that  every  vessel  in  the  great  harbor  was  in  full  dress 
of  streamers  and  flags,  while  at  several  points  groups  of  singers  saluted 
the  President  with  music  as  he  passed.  Governor  George  Clinton,  of 
New  York,  had  been  commissioned  to  receive  Washington  at  the  ferry. 
The  stairs  were  carpeted  leading  up  from  the  water  to  the  shore  ;  there 
Clinton  received  the  Father  of  his  Country.  As  soon  as  Washington’s 
figure  rose  to  view  the  assembled  people  broke  out  in  shouts  long  con¬ 
tinued  and  the  excitement  swirled  through  the  city  when  it  was  known 
that  the  new  President  had  really  arrived.  This  was  on  the  23d  of 
April,  1789. 

New  York  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak  was  limited  to  the  lower 


704 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


end  of  Manhattan  Island.  It  was  no  more  than  a  speck  in  comparison 
with  the  Centennial  Metropolis  of  the  nation.  Its  northern  limits  were 
marked  by  the  building  of  the  New  York  Times.  Immediately  north 
of  this  lay  a  lake,  called  the  Collect  Pond,  about  sixty  feet  in  depth, 
covering  that  part  of  the  city  now  occupied  by  the  Tombs.  It  is 
said  that  the  capitalists,  even  the  adventurers,  of  that  day,  were 
without  faith  as  to  the  future  extension  of  the  city  northward. 
The  population  was  approximately  forty  thousand.  Water  was  dis¬ 
tributed  to  the  citizens  in  hydrants  and  drawn  from  what  was  known 
as  the  Old  Tea- Water  Pump  standing  at  the  head  of  Pearl  Street. 
No  system  of  public  street  cleaning  had  been  adopted.  The  streets 
were  lighted  with  oil  lamps.  Much  of  the  work  was  done  by  slaves, 
and  slave  auctions  wTere  at  that  time  still  a  common  occurrence. 

General  Washington  was  conducted  to  the  residence  which  had 
been  prepared  for  him  in  Franklin  Square,  and  a  programme  was 
made  out  by  Congress  for  the  inauguration,  which  was  set  for  the 
30th  of  April.  The  stately  and  yet  successful  formalities  of  the  oc¬ 
casion  are  fully  set  forth  in  the  following  memorandum  from  the 
first  records  of  Congress : 

April  29th,  1789.  The  committees  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  appointed 
to  take  order  for  conducting  the  ceremonial  of  the  formal  reception,  &c.,  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  on  Thursday  next,  have  agreed  to  the  following 
order  thereon,  viz. : 

That  General  Wetm,  Colonel  Smith,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Fish,  Lieutenant  Col¬ 
onel  Franks,  Major  L’Enfant,  Major  Bleecker,  and  Mr.  John  R.  Livingston,  be  re¬ 
quested  to  serve  as  assistants  on  the  occasion. 

That  a  chair  be  placed  in  the  Senate  Chamber  for  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  That  a  chair  be  placed  in  the  Senate  Chamber  for  the  Vice-President,  to 
the  right  of  the  President’s  chair;  and  that  the  Senators  take  their  seats  on  that 
side  of  the  chamber  on  which  the  Vice-President’s  chair  shall  be  placed.  That  a 
chair  be  placed  in  the  Senate  Chamber  for  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives,  to  the  left  of  the  President’s  chair — and  that  the  Representatives  take 
their  seats  on  that  side  of  the  chamber  on  which  the  Speaker’s  chair  shall  be  placed. 

That  seats  be  provided  in  the  Senate  Chamber  sufficient  to  accommodate  the 
late  president  of  Congress,  the  governor  of  the  Western  territory,  the  five  persons 
being  the  heads  of  three  great  departments,  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  France, 
the  Encargado  de  negocios  of  Spain,  the  chaplains  of  Congress,  the  persons  in  the 
suite  of  the  President,  and  also  to  accommodate  the  following  Public  Officers  of 
the  State,  viz. :  The  Governor,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  Chancellor,  the  Chief 
Justice,  and  other  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  Mayor  of  the  city.  That 
one  of  the  assistants  wait  on  these  gentlemen,  and  inform  them  that  seats  are  pro¬ 
vided  for  their  accommodation,  and  also  to  signify  to  them  that  no  precedence  of 
seats  is  intended,  and  that  no  salutation  is  expected  from  them  on  their  entrance 
into,  or  their  departure  from,  the  Senate  Chamber. 


HA HRIS ON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


705 


That  the  members  of  both  houses  assemble  in  their  respective  Chambers  pre¬ 
cisely  at  twelve  o’clock,  and  that  the  representatives  preceded  by  the  Speaker,  and 
attended  by  their  clerk,  and  other  officers,  proceed  to  the  Senate  Chamber,  there 
to  be  received  by  the  Vice-President  and  the  senators  rising. 

That  the  Committees  attend  the  President  from  his  residence  to  the  Senate 
Chamber,  and  that  he  be  there  received  by  the  Vice-President,  the  senators  and 
representatives  rising,  and  be  by  the  Vice-President  conducted  to  his  chair. 

That  after  the  President  shall  be  seated  in  his  chair,  and  the  Vice-President, 
senators  and  representatives  shall  be  again  seated,  the  Vice-President  shall  an¬ 
nounce  to  the  President,  that  the  members  of  both  houses  will  attend  him  to  be 
present  at  his  taking  the  Oath  of  Office  required  by  the  Constitution.  To  the  end 
that  the  Oath  of  Office  may  be  administered  to  the  President  in  the  most  public 
mauner,  and  that  the  greatest  number  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
without  distinction,  may  be  witnesses  to  the  solemnity,  that  therefore  the  Oath  be 
administered  in  the  outer  gallery  adjoining  to  the  Senate  Chamber. 

That  when  the  President  shall  proceed  to  the  gallery  to  take  the  Oath,  he  be 
attended  by  the  Vice-President,  and  be  followed  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  State, 
and  pass  through  the  middle  door;  that  the  Senators  pass  through  the  door  on 
the  right;  and  the  Representatives,  preceded  by  the  Speaker,  pass  through  the 
door  on  the  left;  and  such  of  the  persons  who  shall  have  been  admitted  into  the 
Sepate  Chamber,  and  may  be  desirous  to  go  into  the  gallery,  are  then  also  to  pass 
through  the  door  on  the  right.  When  the  President  shall  have  taken  the 
Oath,  and  returned  into  the  Senate  Chamber,  attended  by  the  Vice-President, 
and  shall  be  seated  in  his  chair,  that  the  Senators  and  the  Representatives  also 
return  into  the  Senate  Chamber,  and  that  the  Vice-President  and  they  resume 
their  respective  seats. 

Both  Houses  having  esolved  to  accompany  the  President,  after  he  shall  have 
taken  the  Oath,  to  St.  Paul’s  Chapel,  to  hear  divine  service,  to  be  performed  by 
the  chaplain  of  Congress,  that  the  following  order  of  procession  be  observed,  viz. : 
The  door-keeper  and  messenger  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  clerk  of 
the  House.  The  Representatives.  The  Speaker.  The  President,  with  the  Vice- 
President  at  his  left  hand.  The  Senators.  The  Secretary  of  the  Senate.  The 
door-keeper,  and  messenger  of  the  Senate. 

That  a  pew  be  reserved  for  the  President,  Vice-President,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  the  Committees  ;  and  that  pews  be  also  reserved 
sufficient  for  the  reception  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives. 

That  after  divine  service  shall  be  performed,  the  President  be  received  at  the 
door  of  the  Church,  by  the  Committees,  and  by  them  attended  in  carriages  to 
his  residence. 

That  it  be  intrusted  to  the  assistants  to  take  proper  precautions  for  the  keep¬ 
ing  the  avenues  to  the  Hall  open,  and  that  for  that  purpose,  they  wait  on  his  Ex¬ 
cellency,  the  Governor  of  this  State,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Committees  request 
his  aid,  by  an  order  of  recommendation  to  the  Civil  Officers,  or  militia  of  the 
city,  to  attend  and  serve  on  the  occasion,  as  he  shall  judge  most  proper. 

New  York,,  as  New  York  then  was,  had  made  great  preparations 
to  receive  the  Chief  Magistrate.  On  the  morning  of  the  30th,  a 
national  salute  was  fired ;  the  bells  burst  out  merrily  from  all  the 
45 


706 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


steeples  of  the  city.  The  newspapers  of  the  day  described  the  scene 
as  especially  impressive.  The  people  were  called  to  attend  church  at  nine 
o’clock  in  the  morning.  The  beginning  of  the  inaugural  procession 
was  set  for  noon-day  ;  and  promptly  at  that  hour  the  President’s  car¬ 
riage,  followed  b)’  a  train  of  attendants,  proceeded  from  the  house  in 
Cherry  Street,  which  had  been  appointed  as  his  residence,  through 
what  was  then  Queen,  Great  Dock,  and  Broad  Streets  to  the  Old 
Federal  Hall,  where  the  ceremonies  of  the  inauguration  were  to  take 
place.  The  order  of  march  is  worthy  of  commemoration  ;  for  this,  as 
well  as  many  other  circumstances,  tends  to  set  in  strongest  contrast  the 
first  inauguration  with  that  of  its  Centennial  recurrence. 

Col.  Morgan  Lewis, 

Attended  by  two  officers. 

Capt.  Stakes, 

With  the  Troop  of  Horse. 

Artillery. 

Maj.  Van  Horne. 

Grenadiers,  under  Capt.  Harsin. 

German  Grenadiers,  very  gayly  attired,  under  Capt.  Scriba. 

Major  Bicker. 

The  Infantry  of  the  Brigade. 

Major  Chryslie. 

Sheriff. 

Committee  of  the  Senate. 

,  President-elect,  •> 

Assistants.  1  In  a  chariot  drawn  by  four  horses.  >  Assistants. 

*  His  Suite.  ' 

Committee  of  the  Representatives. 

Hon.  Mr.  Jay,  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

Gen.  Knox,  Secretary  of  War. 

Chancellor  Livingston. 

Several  gentlemen  of  distinction. 

Arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  reception  of  Washington  in 
tne  Senate  Hall.  Thither  he  was  conducted,  and,  when  seated,  was 
addressed  by  Vice-President  Adams.  After  these  preliminaries,  the 


# 


feAKON  STEUBEN.  GOV.  ARTHUR  ST.  CLAIR.  SECRETARY  SAMUEL  A.  OTI8.  ROGER  SHERMAN.  GOV.  GEORGE  CLINTON. 

CHANCELLOR  ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  JOHN  ADAMS.  GEN.  HENRY  KNOX* 


WASHINGTON  TAKING  THE  OATH  AS  PRESIDENT, 

APKIL  30,  1789,  ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE  PRESENT  TREASURY  BUILDING,  WALL  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY- 


708 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


President-elect,  with  the  Chief  Officers  of  the  new  Republic,  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  repaired  by  the  left  and  right  to 
the  balcony  in  front  of  the  Hall,  looking  down  in  Wall  Street,  where 
the  assembled  throng  awaited  the  administration  of  the  oath  of  office. 
To  this  duty  Chancellor  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Chief-justice  of  Hew 
York,  had  been  appointed.  Perhaps  no  scene  of  public  induction  into 
office  was  ever  more  solemn  or  impressive.  The  chief  figure  was  that 
of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  conspicuous  by  his  height,  and  still  more 
conspicuous  by  the  grandeur  and  impressiveness  of  his  demeanor. 
The  oath  of  office  was  administered  on  the  Bible,  opened  before 
Washington,  whereon  he  laid  his  hand,  and  to  which  he  pressed  his 
lips  at  the  conclusion  of  the  oath.  This  done,  Chancellor  Livingston 
raised  his  voice,  and  with  a  gesture  cried  :  “  Long  live  George  Wash¬ 
ington,  President  of  the  United  States.”  Immediately  afterward  the 
throng  burst  out  in  wild  cheering ;  shouts  echoed  through  the  city,  and 
the  bells  rang  out  their  peal  of  gladness  at  the  auspicious  event.  Re¬ 
turning  to  the  Senate  Chamber  Washington  delivered  an  inaugural 
address,  not  elaborate  and  formal,  as  such  papers  have  become  in  the 
course  of  our  history,  but  brief,  and  affecting  to  those  who  heard  it.* 

As  soon  as  the  exercises  at  the  Federal  Hall  were  over  Washing¬ 
ton,  attended  by  the  chief  officers  of  the  government,  and  the  Senate, 
repaired  to  the  old  St.  Paul’s  Chapel,  where  divine  services  were  held, 
and  a  sermon  preached  by  Bishop  Provost  of  the  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal  Church.  This  concluded  the  formal  exercises  of  the  day.  With 
the  coming  of  night  the  city  was  brilliantly  illuminated.  The  people 
poured  into  the  streets  ;  shouts  rang  out  on  the  evening  air,  and  a  uni¬ 
versal  joy  seemed  to  prevail,  which  was  but  the  conspicuous  example 
of  the  common  rejoicing  in  all  the  States. 

It  is  fitting  to  note  once  more  that  Washington  furnishes  the 
only  purely  and  absolutely  non-partisan  figure  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  Already  in  the  Colonial  times  local 


*It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Washington,  at  the  time  of  the  inauguration,  though 
only  57  years  of  age,  was  already  an  old  man.  He  had  gone  into  the  Revolution  a  young 
man,  but  was  now  aged,  gray,  enfeebled  by  the  strenuous  services  and  great  auxieties  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected  through  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  He  was  still  erect,  majestic, 
firm  in  his  step,  with  a  certain  serene  dignity  of  countenance  which  has  hardly  had  » 
parallel  among  all  the  great  men  who  have  risen  on  this  side  of  the  sea.  But  it  was 
noticed  by  those  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  on  the  day  of  his  inauguration,  that  his  voice 
was  not  a  little  enfeebled.  He  spoke  in  a  low  tone,  and  could  be  heard  only  by  those  who 
were  sitting  near.  Perhaps  the  premonitory  shadows  of  the  serious  and  long-continued 
illness,  which  fell  upon  him  within  two  months  after  his  inauguration,  were  already 
gathering  on  the  day  of  his  accession  to  the  Presidency. 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION 


70S 


divisions  had  given  rise  to  local  partisan  controversy,  and  at  the  time  of 
Washington’s  inauguration — even  before  that  inauguration — a  great  dis¬ 
pute,  relative  first  of  all  to  the  Constitution  itself,  whether  it  should  or 
should  not  be,  and  after  that,  relative  to  the  construction  of  the  great 
instrument,  had  broken  out  in  all  the  States.  Little  jets  of  flame  were 
already  springing  through  the  placid  surface  of  public  affairs,  indica¬ 
tive  of  the  great  Federal  and  Democratic  partisan  disputes  which  have 
hardly  yet  ceased  to  agitate  the  American  mind.  But  in  this  Wash¬ 
ington  had  no  part  or  lot.  He  stood  proudly  above  it.  His  theory 
wa3  to  introduce  into  his  administration  the  diverse  elements  of  polit¬ 
ical  belief,  and  to  harmonize  under  his  benign,  fatherly  influence  the 


old  st.  Paul’s  church,  Broadway,  new  york. 


710  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

opposing  forces  which  threatened  to  distract,  if  not  to  destroy,  the 
very  system  to  which  he  had  now  pledged  his  all. 

Turning  from  the  actual  inauguration  of  the  first  President  to  the 
commemoration  of  that  event  one  hundred  years  afterward,  we  notice 
first  of  all  the  incipiency  of  the  enterprise.  As  early  as  March  of 
1883,  a  resolution  was  introduced  into  the  Legislature  of  Tennessee  re¬ 
questing  Congress  to  make  a  suitable  appropriation  for  the  observance  of 
the  Centenary  of  the  American  government.  The  measure  is  said  to 
have  originated  with  Colonel  J.  E.  Peyton  of  New  Jersey,  who,  though 
an  Englishman  by  birth,  had  for  a  number  of  years  been  prominent  as 
a  mover  and  deviser  of  Centennial  celebrations.  It  is  perhaps  true 
that  to  him  the  first  movement  in  favor  of  the  commemorative  exer¬ 
cises  of  1889  must  be  attributed. 

Practically,  however,  the  celebration  originated  with  the  New 
York  Historical  Society.  In  March  of  1884  that  body  passed  a  resolu¬ 
tion  to  undertake  the  enterprise.  The  project  was  then  espoused  by 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce;  and  Congress  and  the  State  of  New  York 
were  asked  to  indorse  and  support  the  measure.  So  far  as  the  citizens 
of  New  York  were  concerned,  their  first  public  interest  was  excited  by 
Colonel  Peyton  and  Algernon  S.  Sullivan.  A  meeting  was  held  at  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  on  the  1st  of  September,  1884,  and  formal  steps 
began  to  be  taken  for  the  celebration.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1887< 
and  near  the  close  of  that  year,  that  a  committee  of  forty-nine  citizens, 
with  Mayor  Abram  S.  Hewitt  as  chairman,  was  appointed  for  general 
supervision  of  the  project.  Many  prominent  citizens  of  New  York, 
capitalists,  military  men,  merchants,  and  others  espoused  the  cause,  and 
by  the  beginning  of  1888  the  enterprise  was  well  under  way. 

At  an  early  date  it  was  determined  that  the  commemorative  cele¬ 
bration  should  conform  as  nearly  as  practicable  to  the  actual  inaugura- 
tion  of  Washington.  To  this  end  it  was  decided  to  invite  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  whoever  he  should  be,  to  visit  New 
York,  going  approximately  by  the  same  route  which  had  carried 
Washington  thither  one  hundred  years  ago,  to  be  received  in  like  man¬ 
ner,  conducted  across  the  harbor  in  a  similar  vessel,  and  to  be  presented 
in  Wall  Street,  on  the  very  spot  where  Washington  was  inaugurated, 
and  where  a  Centennial  oration  commemorative  of  the  progress  and 
glory  of  the  American  people  was  to  be  delivered.  About  this  central 
idea  all  the  other  features  of  the  celebration  were  clustered.  The 
event  was  totally  different  in  character  from  the  great  expositions  which 
had  been  connected  with  most  Centennial  celebrations.  The  Jubilees 
of  France;  the  great  World’s  Fairs  of  England;  and  our  own  Cen- 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


711 


tennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  in  1876,  were  of  this  kind.  But  in 
the  case  of  the  commemoration  of  the  American  government,  now 
undertaken,  the  feature  of  exposition  was  wholly  omitted.  Every  thing 
was  made  truly  commemorative — designed  to  point  backward  to  the 
events  of  a  century  ago,  and  to  evoke,  through  the  shadows  of  several 
generations,  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  condition  of  the  American  people 
and  the  American  Republic,  when  the  latter  was  instituted. 

Dnring  the  whole  of  1888,  and  the  first  months  of  1889,  the  pre¬ 
liminaries  were  prosecuted  with  zeal  by  the  Citizens’  Committee  of 
New  York.  Meanwhile  the  presidential  election  had  been  held  in 
which  the  temporary  ascendency  of  the  Democratic  party  was  replaced 
by  Republican  success.  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Indiana,  was  chosen 
President.  Ex-President  Cleveland  retired  at  the  close  of  his  adminis¬ 
tration  to  New  York  city,  and  became  a  resident  of  that  metropolis. 
Happily  enough,  the  incoming  Chief  Magistrate  was  intimately  asso¬ 
ciated  in  his  family  relations  with  the  great  events  of  the  Revolution. 
His  great-grandfather,  also  named  Benjamin  Harrison,  had  presided  in 
the  Colonial  Congress  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopt¬ 
ed,  Mr.  Hancock  being  absent  from  the  chair  on  that  ever  memorable 
day.  The  son  of  that  distinguished  statesman  had  become  ninth  Pres¬ 
ident  of  the  United  States,  and  now  the  great-grandson  was  chosen  by 
the  election  of  the  American  people  to  the  same  high  office  and  dignity. 

It  was  foreseen  that  the  celebration  would  bring  to  New  York 
city  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  and  the  event  justified  the  expectations. 
It  had  been  decided  by  the  committee  to  devote  two  days  to  the  com¬ 
memorative  exercises,  namely,  the  30th  of  April,  and  the  1st  of  May. 
For  perhaps  two  weeks  before  these  days  the  great  trains  on  the  many 
railways  centering  in  the  metropolis  began  to  pour  out  an  unusual 
cargo  of  human  life.  They  grew  longer,  and  darker  with  their  burden, 
until,  by  the  29th  of  April,  the  city  of  New  York  was  a  mass  of  living 
beings  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  Republic,  but  principally  from 
the  old  thirteen  States.  Next  after  these,  the  five  great  States  com¬ 
posing  what  was  a  hundred  years  ago  the  territory  north-west  of  the 
river  Ohio  were  best  represented.  It  is  probable  that  at  the  time  of 
the  celebration  New  York  proper  held  for  her  own  population  about 
1,750,000  inhabitants,  and  a  fair  estimate  would  perhaps  place  the 
strangers  then  in  the  city  at  fully  a  half  million. 

For  three  days  before  the  formal  opening  of  the  celebration,  the 
Atlantic  coast  in  the  region  of  New  York  was  visited  with  a  great 
rain  storm,  which  threatened  to  mar  all  that  had  been  attempted,,  but 
on  the  29th  of  the  month  the  skies  cleared,  the  air  became  fresh,  and 
48 


712 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  sunshine  bright.  The  morning  of  the  Centennial  day  was  ushered 
in  as  auspiciously  as  could  be  desired,  and  the  metropolis  was  early 
astir  for  the  great  event. 

Meanwhile  arrangements  had  been  made  for  President  Harrison, 
Vice-President  Morton,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  other  promi¬ 
nent  men  connected  with  the  government,  to  go  to  the  city  from 
Washington.  To  this  end  a  magnificent  train  was  prepared  by  the 
managers  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  a  little  after  midnight  on 
the  morning  of  the  29th  the  President  and  his  companions  left  Wash¬ 
ington.  They  were  received  at  several  points  en  route  with  much 
enthusiasm,  and  as  the  train  drew  near  New  York  the  stations  and  towns 
were  crowded  with  people.  At  Elizabethtown  the  real  imitation  of 
of  the  Washington  inaugural  began.  Here  a  committee  sent  out  from 
New  York  met  the  President  and  prepared  to  conduct  him  across  the 
bay.  A  steamer  called  the  Despatch  had  been  prepared  for  this  es¬ 
pecial  purpose.  She  was  gaily  decked  with  flags  and  streamers.  The 
upper  harbor  of  New  York  had  been  given  up  to  the  shipping,  which 
was  placed  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Porter.  The  scene  pre¬ 
sented  from  the  observatory  of  the  Field  Building,  erected  on  the  site 
of  Washington’s  old  head-quarters  at  the  lower  end  of  the  island,  was 
one  of  the  finest  ever  witnessed.  The  broad  harbor  was  covered  with 
vessels,  and  gaily  decorated  ships  of  foreign  nations  vied  with  the 
American  craft  in  flinging  their  streamers  to  the  breeze. 

We  may  here  speak  of  the  general  appearance  of  the  city.  Every 
pains  had  been  taken  to  put  the  metropolis  into  gala  dress  and  to 
present  to  the  eye  the  most  inspiring  spectacle.  Never  was  a  city 
more  completely  clad  in  gay  apparel.  Every  street  on  both  sides  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach  was  ornamented  with  flags  and  streamers, 
mottoes,  and  emblems  of  jubilee.  In  this  respect  Broadway  and  Fifth 
Avenue  were  the  most  elaborately  and  beautifully  adorned.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  in  the  history  of  mankind  a  finer  display  has  been 
made  in  the  streets  of  any  city.  The  decorations  extended  to  every 
variety  of  public  and  private  edifices.  Scarcely  a  house  on  Manhattan 
Island  but  had  its  share  in  the  display.  Indeed,  if  one  had  been  lifted 
in  a  balloon  above  old  Castle  Garden,  sweeping  northward  with  his 
glass  he  would  have  seen  flags  on  flags  from  the  Battery  to  Spuyten 
Duyvil.  Along  both  sides  of  the  North  River  and  East  River  and  in 
the  islands  of  the  bay  the  universal  emblems  were  flung  to  the  breeze. 
And  the  purest  of  sunshine  glorified  the  scene  with  a  blaze  of  morning 
light.  The  convoy  of  the  Despatch ,  under  command  of  Captain  Am¬ 
brose  Snow,  of  the  New  York  Marine  Society,  was  rowed  by  twelve 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


713 


» inarable  retired  sea  captains.  The  scene  was  sufficiently  picturesque 
as  they  brought  the  President  safely  to  land  in  the  barge  called  the 
Queen  Kapiolani. 

The  landing  was  effected  a  little  after  noon-day.  The  President  was 
received  by  Mayor  Grant,  Governor  Hill,  and  Stuyvesant  Fish.  The 
procession  had  been  arranged  from  the  foot  of  Wall  Street  to  the  great 
building  of  the  Equitable  Assurance  Company  in  Broadway,  where, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Lawyers’  Club  of  New  York,  the  first  formal 
reception  of  the  President  occurred.  As  soon  as  General  Harrison 
had  taken  his  carriage  the  procession  moved  to  the  Equitable  Building, 
where,  on  a  raised  platform,  the  President,  the  Vice-President,  and  Gov¬ 
ernor  Hill  were  introduced  to  the  invited  guests,  most  of  whom  had 
taken  part  in  the  procession.  In  the  next  place  the  President  lunched 
in  an  adjoining  private  room,  the  ornamentation  of  which,  for  this  oc¬ 
casion,  is  said  to  have  cost  nearly  $5,000.  At  this  time  the  narrow 
streets  in  the  lower  part  of  the  metropolis  were  packed  with  eager 
people.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  the  troops,  drawn  up  in  a  hollow 
square  in  front  of  the  Equitable  building,  were  able  to  keep  back  the 
crowds.  Meanwhile  many  bands,  especially  those  of  Gilmore  and  Cappa, 
discoursed  national  airs,  while  in  distant  parts  of  the  city  the  hum  and 
roar  of  the  rising  excitement  could  be  distinctly  heard. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  part  assigned  to  President  Har¬ 
rison  in  these  commemorative  exercises  was  the  part  of  Washington. 
He  was  to  impersonate  the  Father  of  his  Country.  The  next  movement 
of  the  concourse  was  from  the  Equitable  Building  to  the  City  Hall, 
where  another  reception  was  given.  A  splendid  platform,  covered 
with  plush  materials,  railed  in  with  brass,  was  erected  on  the  spot 
where  the  bodies  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  General  Grant  had  lain  in 
state  in  death,  and  where  the  Marquis  of  Lafayette  had  stood  on  his 
visit  to  New  York  in  1824.  About  5,000  persons  at  this  place  were 
received  by  the  President.  After  the  close  of  the  exercises  at  City 
Hall  the  President  was  taken  to  the  residence  of  Vice-President  Mor¬ 
ton  on  Fifth  Avenue,  whither  his  wife  had  already  preceded  him.  In 
the  evening  he  dined  with  Mr.  Stuyvesant  Fish  in  Gramercy  Park, 
and  at  a  later  hour  attended  the  great  ball  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House,  which  had  been  prepared  in  imitation  and  commemoration  of 
the  Washingtonian  ball  given  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  inauguration, 
at  which  the  Father  of  his  Country  led  the  first  cotillon.  Thus  closed 
the  ceremonies  of  the  29th  of  April,  the  day  preceding  the  commemo¬ 
rative  exercises  proper. 

On  the  following  morning  the  inhabitants  of  New  York,  and  hun» 


'  W/ffiA 


SUB-TREASURY,  WALL  AND  NASSAU  STREETS,  NEW  YORK. 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


715 


dreds  of  thousands  of  strangers,  poured  into  the  streets  to  witness  the 
great  military  parade  which  was  to  be  the  feature  of  the  day.  Mean¬ 
while  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  the  exercises  which  had  been 
planned  in  imitation  and  commemoration  of  Washington’s  accession  to 
the  presidency  were  under  way.  Wall  Street  and  Broad  Street  were 
packed  with  people.  A  great  platform  had  been  erected  in  front  of 
the  Treasury  building,  now  occupying  the  site  of  old  Federal  Hall,  and 
marked  by  the  presence  of  Ward’s  colossal  statue  of  Washington.  It 
was  here  that  the  oratorical  and  literary  exercises  were  to  take  place. 
These  were  to  consist  of  a  Centennial  oration  by  Hon.  Chauncey  M. 
Depew,  also  of  an  address  by  President  Harrison,  of  a  poem  by  John 
Greenleaf  Whittier,  and  of  such  religious  services  as  were  appropriate 
to  the  occasion.  Several  of  the  leading  clergymen  of  the  metropolis 
were  present  on  the  stand.  Archbishop  Corrigan,  Dr.  Bichard  S. 
Storrs,  and  Dr.  Henry  C.  Potter,  bishop  of  Hew  York,  were  the  most 
distinguished  of  the  group. 

The  exercises  were  opened  by  Mr.  Elbridge  T.  Gerry,  who  in  a  few 
explanatory  words  introduced  Dr.  Storrs,  who  pronounced  the  invoca¬ 
tion.  The  accessories  were  ail  in  keeping  with  the  occasion.  President 
Harrison  sat  in  a  chair  which  had  been  much  used  by  Washington. 
The  table  also  was  Washington’s,  and  the  Bible  which  was  laid  thereon 
was  that  on  which  the  Father  of  his  Country  had  taken  the  solemn  oath 
to  support  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The 
Whittier  poem  was  then  read  by  Mr.  C.  W.  Bowen,  secretary  of  the 
Citizens’  Committee,  as  follows : 

THE  VOW  OF  WASHINGTON. 

BY  JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER. 

The  sword  was  sheathed ;  in  April’s  sun 

Lay  green  the  fields  by  freedom  won ; 

And  severed  sections,  weary  of  debates, 

Joined  hands  at  last,  and  were  United  States. 

O,  city  sitting  by  the  sea! 

How  proud  the  day  that  dawned  on  thee ; 

When  the  New  Era,  long  desired,  began, 

And  in  its  need  the  hour  had  found  the  Man  I 

One  tnought  the  cannon’s  salvos  spoke ; 

The  resonant  bell-tower’s  vibrant  stroke; 

The  voiceful  streets,  the  plaudit-echoing  halls, 

And  prayer  and  hymn  borne  heavenward  from  St.  Paul  s. 


m 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


How  felt  the  land  in  every  part 

The  strong  throb  of  a  nation’s  heart 

As  its  great  leader  gave,  with  reverent  awe, 

His  pledge  to  Union,  Liberty,  and  Law. 

That*  pledge  the  heavens  above  him  heard ; 

That  vow  the  sleep  of  centuries  stirred; 

In  world-wide  wonder  listening  peoples  bent 
Their  gaze  on  freedom’s  great  experiment. 

Could  it  succeed?  Of  honor  sold 
And  hopes  deceived  all  history  told ; 

Above  the  wrecks  that  strewed  the  mournful  past 
Was  the  long  dream  of  ages  true  at  last  ? 

Thank  God!  The  people’s  choice  was  just; 

The  one  man  equal  to  his  trust ; 

Wise  beyond  lore  and  without  weakness  good, 
Calm  in  the  strength  of  flawless  rectitude. 

His  rule  of  justice,  order,  peace, 

Made  possible  the  world’s  release ; 

Taught  prince  and  serf  that  power  is  but  a  trust, 
And  rule  alone  which  serves  the  ruled  is  just. 

That  freedom  generous  is,  but  strong 
In  hate  of  fraud  and  selfish  wrong — 

Pretense  that  turns  her  holy  truths  to  lies, 

And  lawless  license  masking  in  her  guise. 

Land  of  his  love !  with  one  glad  voice 
Let  thy  great  sisterhood  rejoice; 

A  century’s  suns  o’er  thee  have  risen  and  set 
And,  God  be  praised  !  we  are  One  Nation  yet. 

And  still  we  trust  the  years  to  be 
Shall  prove  his  hope  was  destiny; 

Leaving  our  flag  with  all  its  added  stars 
Unrent  by  faction  and  unstained  by  wars. 

Lo!  where  with  patient  toil  he  nursed 
And  trained  the  new  set  plant  at  first, 

The  widening  branches  of  a  stately  tree 
Stretch  from  the  sunrise  to  the  sunset  sea. 

And  in  its  broad  and  sheltering  shade, 

Sitting  with  none  to  make  afraid, 

Were  we  now  silent  through  each  mighty  limb 
The  winds  of  heaven  would  sing  the  praise  of  him. 

Ocr  first  and  best !  his  ashes  lie 
Beneath  his  own  Virginian  sky. 

Forgive,  forget,  O  true  and  just  and  brave, 

The  storm  that  swept  above  thy  sacred  grave. 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


TIT 


Forever  in  the  awful  strife 

And  dark  hours  of  the  nation’s  life, 

Through  the  fierce  tumult  pierced  his  warning  word; 

Their  father’s  voice  his  erring  children  heard. 

The  change  for  which  he  prayed  and  sought 
In  that  sharp  agony  was  wrought ; 

No  partial  interest  draws  its  alien  line 

’Twixt  North  and  South,  the  cypress  and  the  pin*. 

One  people  now,  all  doubt  beyond, 

His  name  shall  be  our  union  bond; 

We  lift  our  hands  to  heaven,  and  here  and  now 
Take  on  our  lips  the  old  Centennial  vow. 

For  rule  and  trust  must  need  be  ours; 

Chooser  and  chosen  both  are  powers; 

Equal  in  service  as  in  rights,  the  claim 
Of  duty  rests  on  each  and  all  the  same. 

Then  let  the  sovereign  millions  where 
Our  banner  floats  in  sun  and  air, 

From  the  warm  palm-lands  to  Alaska’s  cold, 

Repeat  with  us  The  Pledge  a  century  old  1 

The  oration  of  Mr.  Depew  was  of  a  high  order,  eulogistic  of  the 
present — the  voice  of  a  patriot  who  believes  in  the  past  and  trusts  the 
future.  The  address  by  the  President  was  also  able  and  patriotic. 
The  exercises  were  closed  with  a  benediction  by  Archbishop  Corrigan, 
of  the  archdiocese  of  New  York. 

In  the  meantime  the  great  military  parade — the  greatest  of  all  such 
displays  in  the  United  States,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  review  of 
the  soldiers  at  Washington  at  the  close  of  the  war — was  in  preparation 
for  the  march.  The  principal  streets  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  had 
been  assigned  for  the  formation  of  the  various  divisions  of  the  parade. 
At  last  the  procession  was  ready  to  move.  A  number  of  magnificent 
carriages  bearing  the  President,  the  Vice-President,  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  and  other  distinguished  representatives  of  the  government, 
swept  up  to  the  head  of  the  column  and  led  the  way  to  the  great  re¬ 
viewing  stand  which  had  been  prepared  on  the  west  side  of  Madison 
Square,  looking  down  into  Fifth  Avenue.  Here  the  President  and  his 
companions  took  their  places  to  review  the  column  as  it  passed,  and 
for  six  hours  the  chief  magistrate  stood  up  to  recognize,  in  his  official 
capacity,  the  passing  squadrons  of  the  greatest  parade  ever  known 
in  a  time  of  peace  west  of  the  Atlantic. 

It  were  difficult  to  describe  the  great  procession.  It  was  admirably 


718  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

managed — wholly  military.  The  different  divisions  were  arranged  in 
files  from  eighteen  to  twenty-two  men  abreast.  In  many  places  the 
marching  was  in  close  rank,  so  that  the  knees  of  those  in  the  rear  rank 
fitted  almost  geometrically  into  those  of  the  men  in  front.  The  pas¬ 
sage  was  at  the  rate  of  more  than  9,000  per  hour.  The  best  estimates 
place  the  number  in  line  at  over  52,000.  Major  General  John  M.  Scho¬ 
field  was  commander-in-chief.  The  course  of  march  was  from  Wall 
Street  into  Broadway ;  up  Broadway  to  Waverly  Place  ;  through  Wav* 
erly  Place  into  Fifth  Avenue ;  along  that  magnificent  thoroughfare  to 
Fourteenth  Street;  thence  around  Union  Square,  through  to  Fifth 
Avenue  and  thence  northward  to  Central  Park. 

Through  all  this  distance  and  on  both  sides  of  the  street  was  a 
solid  wall  of  human  beings,  rising  to  the  rear  by  every  kind  of  con¬ 
trivance  which  human  ingenuity 
could  invent,  so  as  to  gain  a  view 
of  the  procession.  The  mass  on  the 
sidewalks  was  from  twenty  to  fifty 
persons  deep.  In  every  advanta¬ 
geous  position  scaffolding  with  as¬ 
cending  seats  had  been  erected  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  multi¬ 
tudes,  and  not  a  seat  was  left  un¬ 
occupied.  At  the  street  crossings 
every  variety  of  vehicle  had  been 
drawn  up,  and  the  privilege  of  stand¬ 
ing  on  boxes  or  sitting  in  carts, 
wagons,  or  hacks  was  sold  at  high 
john  m.  schofield.  figures  to  the  eager  people  who 

pressed  into  the  crowd.  Windows 
and  every  other  available  point  of  view,  housetops,  balconies,  stoops, 
verandas,  were  crowded  to  their  utmost  capacity.  In  favorite  local¬ 
ities  fabulous  prices  were  charged  for  the  privilege  of  looking  from 
a  window  upon  the  passing  cavalcade.  The  latter  was,  as  we  have 
said,  preceded  by  the  Presidential  company.  General  Schofield,  senior 
Major-General  of  -  the  American  Army,  as  chief  marshal,  rode  at 
the  head  of  the  column.  After  him,  and  leading  the  van  of  the  pro¬ 
cession  proper,  were  over  2,000  regulars,  infantry  and  cavalry,  drawn 
from  the  Army;  then  came  the  cadets  from  West  Point,  whose  march¬ 
ing  and  uniform  and  bearing  were  of  such  excellence  as  to  excite  a 
chorus  of  cheers  from  end  to  end  of  the  long  march.  Next  followed 
the  artillery  and  batteries  of  the  regular  army.  Many  of  the  guns  and 


#EMUftlAJ»  ARCH.  FIFTH  AY2NUE  ANL  WAVE&CEY  PLACE.  »V«lfe/ 


720 


BISTORT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


much  of  the  armor  was  resplendent  for  its  brilliancy.  After  cnese  cama 
the  marines  and  naval  cadets,  a  vast  column  of  apprentices,  whose 
march,  by  its  peculiar  rolling  movement,  denoted  that  the  column  had 
been  recently  gathered  from  the  decks  of  ships. 

Thus  closed  the  first  division  of  the  procession — that  is,  those  who 
were  taken  from  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States.  Then 
followed  the  militiamen — the  National  Guard  of  the  different  States. 
At  the  head  was  a  column  of  370  men  from  Delaware;  for  Delaware 
had  been  first  of  the  old  thirteen  States  to  adopt  the  Constitution,  and 
wras  thus  given  a  place  of  honor  on  the  centennial  anniversary.  The 
Governor  of  each  State  represented  in  the  parade  rode  at  the  head  of 
the  division  from  his  owrn  Commonwealth.  Most  of  the  governors  -were 
in  civil  attire.  General  Beaver,  of  Pennsylvania,  General  Fitzhugh 
Lee,  of  Virginia,  and  General  John  B.  Gordon,  of  Georgia,  were  con¬ 
spicuous  at  the  head  of  their  divisions.  It  was  noticed  that  those  who 
were  present  from  the  Southern  States  were  received  with  unstinted 
applause.  Governor  Beaver  rode  at  the  head  of  the  Pennsylvania 
troops,  numbering  fully  8,000  men.  Then  came  Governor  Green,  with 
the  soldiers  of  New  Jersey  3,700  strong;  then  Georgia,  with  General 
Gordon  and  his  staff.  The  Foot  Guards  from  Connecticut,  preceded 
by  the  Governor,  numbered  600.  Governor  Ames,  of  Massachusetts, 
headed  the  column  of  1,500  from  the  old  Bay  State — a  noble  division, 
containing  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  of  Boston,  all  uni¬ 
formed  after  the  most  antique  pattern.  The  men  of  Maryland  were 
500  strong.  Then  came  New  Hampshire;  then  Vermont,  with  a  di¬ 
vision  of  700.  Governor  Richardson,  of  North  Carolina,  followed  with 
a  body  of  500  men.  This  division  was  fortunate  in  bearing  an  old  flag 
belonging  to  North  Carolina  in  the  pre-Revolutionary  epoch.  After 
this  came  the  great  division  of  New  York.  Twelve  thousand  men, 
arranged  in  four  brigades  of  eighteen  regiments,  one  battalion,  and  five 
batteries,  were  the  contribution  of  the  Empire  State  to  the  great  display. 
At  the  head  of  the  line  rode  Governor  David  B.  Hill. 

In  this  column  the  Seventh  Regiment,  made  up  of  prominent  men 
of  New  York  city,  and  numbering  over  1,000,  was,  perhaps,  the  most 
conspicuous  single  body  in  the  wdiole  procession.  The  Twenty-second 
Regiment  vied  with  its  rival ;  and  it  might  be  difficult  to  decide  whether 
the  palm  for  marching  and  other  evidences  of  elegant  training  should  be 
awarded  to  the  West  Point  Cadets,  the  Seventh  Regiment  of  New 
York,  the  Twenty -second  Regiment  of  the  same  State,  the  squadron 
from  the  Michigan  Military  Academy,  or  the  T  venty-third  Regiment, 
of  Brooklyn. 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


721 


Behind  this  magnificent  display  of  the  military  came  the  veterans 
of  the  Civil  War,  the  men  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  headed 
by  their  commander-in-chief,  General  William  Warner.  These  were 
arranged  column  after  column  to  an  aggregate  of  12,000,  according  to 
the  locality  from  which  they  were  gathered,  the  rear  being  closed  with 
a  magnificent  body  of  old  soldiers,  numbering  nearly  4,000,  from 
Brooklyn  and  Kings  County.  It  was  already  nightfall  when  this  ex¬ 
treme  left  of  the  column  passed  the  reviewing  stand,  and  the  parade 
for  the  day  was  at  an  end. 

The  evening  of  the  30tli  was  occupied  with  one  of  the  most  elabo¬ 
rate  and  sumptuous  banquets  ever  spread  in  the  United  States.  For 
this  purpose  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  in  Broadway,  had  been  pro¬ 
cured  and  decorated.  It  was  claimed  by  those  experienced  in  such 
matters  that  the  floral  ornamentation  of  the  hall  was  far  superior  in 
costliness  and  beauty  to  any  thing  of  like  kind  ever  before  displayed  in 
the  country.  The  boxes  of  the  theater  were  adorned  with  the  national 
«olors,  with  the  shields  and  coats-of-arms  of  the  various  States  of  the 
Union.  Over  the  proscenium  arch  was  a  portrait  of  Washington,  ar¬ 
ranged  in  a  cluster  of  evergreens  and  flowers.  The  auditorium  was  brill¬ 
iantly  illuminated,  and  the  scene  of  splendor  on  every  hand  might  well 
dazzle  the  eye  and  surprise  the  imagination  of  the  beholder.  The  ban¬ 
queters,  embracing  many  of  the  chief  men  of  the  nation,  were  seated 
at  a  series  of  tables,  the  first  and  principal  one  being  occupied  by  the 
President  of  the  United- States,  the  Governor  of  New  York,  the  Vice- 
President,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Chief- Justice  Fuller,  Judge  An¬ 
drews,  General  Schofield,  Admiral  Porter,  Senator  Evarts,  Senator 
Iliscock,  Ex-President  Hayes, ‘Ex-President  Cleveland,  Bishop  Potter, 
Speaker  Cole,  of  the  Hew  York  Assembly,  Secretary  Proctor,  Hon.  S. 
S.  Cox,  General  William  T.  Sherman,  Clarence  W.  Bowen,  and  El- 
bridge  T.  Gerry,  the  last  two  representing  the  Citizens’  Committee. 
At  this  table  Mayor  Grant  presided,  and  read  the  toasts  of  the  evening. 

The  feast  began  at  9  o’clock  in  the  evening.  At  the  close  a  series 
of  brief  addresses  were  delivered  by  the  Governor  of  Hew  York,  Ex- 
President  Cleveland,  Ex-President  Hayes,  General  Sherman,  Senator 
Evarts,  President  Eliot,  of  Harvard;  James  Russell  Lowell,  Senator 
Daniel,  and  others.  The  closing  address  was  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  Hearly  all  the  speeches  were  faultless  in  their  subject- 
matter,  eloquent  in  delivery,  and  worthy  to  be  regarded  as  classics  of 
the  occasion. 

The  programme  prepared  by  the  Citizens’  Committee  embraced  a 
general  holiday  of  three  days’  duration,  during  .which  business  was  mu *• 
46 


722 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


pended  throughout  the  city.  On  the  29th  and  30th  of  April  and  on 
the  1st  day  of  May  the  restriction  was  faithfully  regarded.  One  might 
traverse  Broadway  and  find  but  few  business  establishments  open  to 
the  public.  This  was  true  particularly  of  the  two  principal  days  of 
the  festival. 

It  now  remains  to  notice  the  great  civic  parade  of  the  1st  of  May, 
with  which  the  commemorative  exercises  were  concluded.  The  design 
was  that  this  should  represent  the  industries,  the  progress,  and  in  gen¬ 
eral  the  civic  life  of  the  Metropolis  of  the  Nation  and  of  the  country 
at  large,  as  distinguished  from  the  military  display  of  the  preceding  day. 
It  was  found  from  the  experience  of  the  30tli  that  the  line  of  march 
was  too  lengthy,  and  the  second  day’s  course  was  made  somewhat  shorter. 
It  is  not  intended  in  this  connection  to  enter  into  any  elaborate  account 
of  the  civic  procession  of  the  third  day.  It  was  second  only  in  impor¬ 
tance  to  the  great  military  parade  which  had  preceded  it.  The  proces¬ 
sion  was  composed,  in  large  part,  of  those  various  civic  orders  and  broth¬ 
erhoods  with  which  modern  society  so  much  abounds.  In  these  the  foreign 
nationalities  which  have  obtained  so  large  a  footing  in  New  York  city 
were  largely  prevalent.  The  German  societies  were  out  in  full  force. 
Companies  representing  almost  every  nation  of  the  Old  World  were  in 
the  line,  carrying  gay  banners,  keeping  step  to  the  music  of  magnificent 
bands,  and  proudly  lifting  their  mottoes  and  emblems  in  the  May-day 
*  morning. 

The  second  general  feature  of  this  procession  was  the  historical 
part.  The  primitive  life  of  Manhattan  Island,  the  adventures  of  the 
early  explorers  and  discoverers  along  the  American  coast,  the  striking 
incidents  in  the  early  annals  of  the  old  Thirteen  States,  were  allegorized 
and  mounted  in  visible  form  on  chariots  and  drawn  through  the  streets. 
All  the  old  heroes  of  American  History,  from  Columbus  to  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant,  were  seen  again  in  mortal  form,  received  obeisance,  and  heard 
the  shouts  of  the  multitudes.  From  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  till 
half-past  three  in  the  afternoon  the  procession  was  under  way,  the 
principal  iine  of  march  being  down  Fifth  Avenue  and  through  the 
principal  squares  of  the  city.  With  the  coming  of  evening  the  pyro¬ 
technic  display  of  the  preceding  night  was  renewed  in  many  parts  of 
the  metropolis,  though  it  could  hardly  be  said  that  the  fireworks  were 
equal  in  brilliancy,  beauty,  and  impressiveness  to  the  magnificent  day 
pageants  of  the  streets. 

One  of  the  striking  features  of  the  celebration  was  the  ease  and 
rapidity  with  which  the  vast  multitudes  were  breathed  into  and  breathed 
out  of  the  city.  In  the  principal  hotels  fully  150,000  strangers  were 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


723 


registered  as  guests.  More  than  twice  this  number  were  distributed  in 
the  smaller  lodging-houses  and  private  dwellings  of  New  York  and 
Brooklyn.  Yet  the  careful  observer  abroad  in  the  streets  saw  neither 
the  coming  nor  the  going.  With  the  appearance  of  the  days  of  the 
celebration  the  throngs  were  present ;  on  the  following  days  they  were 
gone.  The  great  railways  centering  in  the  metropolis  had  done  their 
work  noiselessly,  speedily,  effectively.  It  may  well  be  recorded  as  one 
of  the  marvels  of  modern  times  that  only  two  persons  are  said  to  have 
lost  their  lives  in  this  tremendous  assemblage,  extending  through  sev¬ 
eral  days,  and  that  at  least  one  of  these  died  suddenly  from  heart  dis¬ 
ease,  while  the  manner  of  the  death  of  the  other  was  unknown.  Such 
is  the  triumph  which  the  mastery  of  the  human  mind  over  the  forces 
of  the  material  world  has  easily  achieved  in  our  age,  under  the  guidance 
of  that  beneficent  science  by  which  the  world  is  at  once  enlightened 
and  protected  from  danger. 

The  close  of  the  year  1888  and  the  beginning  of  1889  were  marked 
by  a  peculiar  episode  in  the  history  of  the  country.  An  unexpected 
and  even  dangerous  complication  arose  between  the  United  States  and 
Germany  relative  to  the  Samoan  Islands.  This  comparatively  unim¬ 
portant  group  of  the  South  Pacific  lies  in  a  south-westerly  direction, 
at  a  distance  of  about  five  thousand  miles  from  San  Francisco  and  nearly 
two  thousand  miles  eastward  from  Australia.  The  long-standing  pol¬ 
icy  of  the  government,  established  under  the  administration  of  Wash¬ 
ington  and  ever  since  maintained,  to  have  no  entanglements  with  foreign 
nations,  seemed  in  this  instance  to  be  strangely  at  variance  with  the 
facts. 

During  1888  the  civil  affairs  of  the  Samoan  Islands  were  thrown 
into  extreme  confusion  by  what  was  really  the  progressive  disposition 
of  the  people,  but  what  appeared  in  the  garb  of  an  insurrection  against 
the  established  authorities.  The  government  of  the  islands  is  a  mon¬ 
archy.  The  country  is  ruled  by  native  princes,  and  is  independent  of 
foreign  powers.  The  capital,  Apia,  lies  on  a  bay  of  the  same  name  on 
the  northern  coast  of  the  principal  island.  It  was  here  that  the  insur¬ 
rection  gained  greatest  headway. 

The  revolutionary  movement  was  headed  by  an  audacious  chief¬ 
tain  called  Tamasese.  The  king  of  the  island  was  Malietoa,  and  his 
chief  supporter,  Mataafa.  At  the  time  the  German  Empire  was  rep¬ 
resented  in  Samoa  by  its  Consul-General,  Herr  Knappe  ;  and  the  United 
States  was  represented  by  Hon.  Harold  M.  Sewall.  A  German  armed 
force  virtually  deposed  Malietoa  and  set  up  Tamasese  on  the  throne. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  representative  of  the  United  States,  following 


724 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  policy  of  his  government,  stood  by  the  established  authority,  sup¬ 
porting  the  native  sovereign  and  Mataafa.  The  American  and  German 
authorities  in  the  island  were  thus  brought  into  conflict,  and  serious 
difficulties  occurred  between  the  ships  of  the  two  nations  in  the  harbor. 

When  the  news  of  this  state  of  affairs  reached  Germany,  in  April, 
1889,  several  additional  men-of-war  were  sent  out  to  the  island  to  up¬ 
hold  the  German  cause.  Mataafa  and  the  Germans  were  thus  brought 
to  war.  Meanwhile  the  American  government  took  up  the  cause  of 
its  consul  and  of  King  Malietoa  as  against  the  insurrection.  A  section 
of  the  American  navy  was  dispatched  to  the  distant  island,  and  the  ships 
of  war  of  two  of  the  greatest  nations  of  Christendom  were  thus  set 
face  to  face  in  a  harbor  of  the  South  Pacific  Ocean. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs,  on  the  22d  of  March,  1889,  one  of  the 
most  violent  hurricanes  ever  known  in  the  islands  blew  up  from  the 
north,  and  the  American  and  German  war-vessels  were  driven  upon 
the  great  reef  which  constitutes  the  only  break-water  outside  of  the 
harbor  of  Apia.  Here  they  were  wrecked.  The  American  war-ships 
Nipsic,  Trenton ,  and  Vandalia  were  dashed  into  ruins.  The  German 
vessels  Adler ,  Olga ,  and  Eher  were  also  lost.  The  English  vessel 
Calliope ,  which  was  caught  in  the  storm,  was  the  only  war-ship  which 
escaped  by  steaming  out  to  sea.  Serious  loss  of  life  accompanied  the 
disaster:  4  American  officers  and  46  men,  9  German  officers  and  87 
men  sank  to  rise  no  more. 

Meanwhile  England  had  become  interested  in  the  dispute,  and  had 
taken  a  stand  with  the  United  States  as  against  the  decision  of  Germany. 
The  matter  became  of  so  great  importance  that  President  Harrison, 
who  had  in  the  meantime  acceded  to  office  as  chief  magistrate,  ap¬ 
pointed,  with  the  advice  of  the  Senate,  an  Embassy  Extraordinary, 
to  go  to  Berlin  and  meet  Prince  Bismarck  in  a  conference  with  a  view 
to  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulty.  The  embassadors  appointed 
for  this  purpose  were  J.  A.  Kasson,  of  Iowa;  William  W.  Phelps,  of 
New  Jersey  ;  and  G.  H.  Bates,  of  Delaware.  The  commissioners  set 
out  on  the  13th  of  April,  and  on  their  arrival  at  the  capital  of  the 
German  Empire  opened  negotiations  with  the  Chancellor  Bismarck  and 
his  son.  The  attitude  and  demand  of  the  American  government  was 
that  the  independence  of  Samoa,  under  its  native  sovereign,  should  be 
acknowledged  and  guaranteed  by  the  great  nations  concerned  in  the 
controversy.  The  conference  closed  in  May,  1889,  with  the  restoration 
of  King  Malietoa  and  the  recognition  of  his  sovereignty  over  the  island. 

The  closing  week  of  May,  1889,  was  made  forever  memorable  in 
the  history  of  the  United  States  by  the  destruction  of  Johnstown, 


HARRISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


725 


Pennsylvania.  The  calamity  was  caused  by  the  bursting  of  a  reser¬ 
voir  and  the  pouring  out  of  the  deluge  in  the  valley  below.  A  large 
artificial  lake  had  been  constructed  in  the  ravine  of  the  South  Fork 
River,  a  tributary  of  the  Conemaugh.  It  was  a  fishing  lake,  the  prop¬ 
erty  of  a  company  of  wealthy  sportsmen,  and  was  about  five  miles  in 
length,  varying  in  depth  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet.  An  immense 
volume  of  water  was  thus  accumulated  in  a  gorge  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains,  and  was,  as  it  were,  suspended  over  the  valley  of  Cone¬ 
maugh  The  country  below  the  lake  was  thickly  peopled.  The  city  of 
Johnstown,  with  a  population  of  more  than  ten  thousand,  lay  at  the 
junction  of  the  South  Fork  with  the  Conemaugh.  In  the  last  days  of 
May  unusually  heavy  rains  fell  in  all  that  region,  swelling  every  stream 
to  a  torrent.  The  South  Fork  Lake  became  full  to  overflowing. 
The  dam  had  been  imperfectly  constructed.  On  the  afternoon  of 
May  31  the  dam  of  the  reservoir  burst  wide  open  in  the  center  and  a 
solid  wall  of  water  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  height  rushed  down 
the  valley  with  terrific  violence.  The  country  was  already  inundated, 
and  on  top  of  the  swollen  streams  was  poured  a  veritable  flood. 

The  destruction  which  ensued  was  among  the  greatest  which  the 
modern  world  has  witnessed.  In  the  path  of  the  deluge  every  thing 
was  swept  away.  The  manufacturing  city  of  Johnstown  was  totally 
wrecked,  and  was  thrown  ,  in  an  indescribable  heap  of  horror  against 
the  aqueduct  of  the  Pennsylvania  railway,  which  spanned  the  river 
below  the  town.  Here  the  ruins  caught  fire,  and  the  wild  shrieks  of 
hundreds  of  miserable  victims  were  drowned  in  the  holocaust.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  the  best  estimates  more  than  2,000  people  perished  in  the 
flood  or  were  burned  to  death  in  the  ruins.  The  heart  of  the  nation 
responded  quickly  to  the  sufferings  of  the  survivors,  and  millions  of 
dollars  in  money  and  supplies  were  poured  out  to  relieve  the  despair 
of  those  who  survived  the  calamity. 

The  year  1889  witnessed  the  assembling  at  Washington  City  of 
an  International  Congress.  The  body  was  composed  of  delegates 
from  the  Central  and  South  American  States,  from  Mexico,  and  the 
United  States  of  America.  Popularly  the  assembly  was  known  as 
the  “  Pan-American  Congress.”  The  event  was  the  culmination  of 
a  policy  adopted  by  the  United  States  some  years  previously.  Gen¬ 
eral  Grant,  during  his  presidency  and  in  the  subsequent  parts  of  his 
life,  had  endeavored  to  promote  more  intimate  relations  with  the 
Spanish-American  peoples.  James  G.  Blaine,  Secretary  of  State 
under  Garfield,  entertained  a  similar  ambition.  The  publicist  and 
author,  Hinton  Rowan  Helper,  had  also  by  his  writings  and  ad- 


726 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


vocacy,  greatly  promoted  the  cause  of  overland  intercourse  through 
the  Three  Americas.  Mr.  Blaine  in  this  cause  was  accused  of  a 
purpose  to  create  in  the  United  States  a  policy  similar  to  Disraeli’s 
“  high-jingoism  ”  in  Great  Britain.  The  United  States  were  to 
become  the  arbiter  of  the  Western  nations.  To  this  end  the  Central 
American  and  South  American  States  must  be  brought,  first  into 
intimacy  with  our  Republic,  and  afterwards  to  be  made  to  follow 
her  lead  in  warding  off  all  Europeanism. 

The  death  of  Garfield  prevented  the  institution  of  some  such 
policy  as  that  here  vaguely  defined.  Nevertheless,  in  1884,  an  Act 
was  passed  by  Congress  authorizing  the  President  to  appoint  a  com¬ 
mission  “  to  ascertain  and  report  upon  the  best  modes  of  securing 
more  intimate  international  commercial  relations  between  the  United 
States  and  the  several  countries  of  Central  and  South  America.” 
Commissioners  were  sent  out  to  the  countries  referred  to,  and  the 
movement  for  the  Congress  was  started.  Not  until  May  of  1888, 
however,  was  the  Act  passed  providing  for  the  Congress.  The 
Spanish-American  nations  responded  to  the  overtures  and  took  the 
necessary  steps  to  meet  the  United  States  in  the  conference.  The 
objects  contemplated  were,  first,  to  promote  measures  pertaining  to 
the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  peoples  concerned ;  to  establish  cus¬ 
toms-unions  among  them  ;  to  improve  the  means  of  communication 
between  the  ports  of  the  States  represented,  and  to  advance  the 
commercial  interests  and  political  harmony  of  the  nations  of  the  New 
World. 

The  Spanish-American  and  Portuguese-American  States,  to  the 
number  of  nine,  appointed  their  delegates,  and  the  latter  arrived  in 
the  United  States  in  the  autumn  of  1889.  President  Harrison  on 
his  part  named  ten  members  of  the  Congress  as  follows :  John  F. 
Hanson,  of  Georgia;  Morris  M.  Estee,  of  California;  Henry  G. 
Davis,  of  West  Virginia;  Andrew  Carnegie,  of  Pennsylvania: 
T.  Jefferson  Coolidge,  of  Massachusetts;  Clement  Studebaker,  of 
Indiana;  Charles  R.  Flint,  of  New  York;  William  H.  Trescot,  of 
South  Carolina ;  Cornelius  N.  Bliss,  of  New  York ;  and  John  B. 
Henderson,  of  Missouri.  Mexico  sent  two  representatives,  namely : 
Matias  Romero  and  Enrique  A.  Maxia.  Brazil,  still  an  Empire,  also 
sent  two  delegates:  J.  G.  de  Amaral  Valente  and  Salvador  de  Men- 
donca.  The  representative  of  Honduras  was  Jeronimo  Zelaya; 
Fernando  Cruz,  the  delegate  of  Guatemala,  and  Jacinto  Castellanos 
of  San  Salvador.  Costa  Rica  sent  as  her  representative  Manuel 
Aragon.  Horatio  Guzman,  Minister  of  Nicaragua,  represented  hi? 


HARRISON’S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


727 

Government  in  the  Congress.  The  Argentine  Republic  had  two 
delegates:  Roque  Saenz  Pena  and  Manuel  Quintana.  Chili 
sent  two  delegates:  Emilio  C.  Varas  and  Jos6  Alfonso.  The  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  United  States  of  Colombia  were  Jose  M.  Hurtado, 
Carlos  Martinez  Silva,  and  Climaeo  Calderon.  The  delegates  of 
Venezuela  were  Nicanor  Bolet  Peraza,  Jos6  Andrade,  and  Francisco 
Antonia  Silva;  that  of  Peru  was  F.  C.  C.  Zegarra;  that  of  Ecuador, 
Jose  Maria  Placido  Caamano ;  that  of  Uruguay,  Alberto  Nin  ;  that 
of  Bolivia,  Juan  F.  Velarde  ;  that  of  Hayti,  Arthur  Laforestrie  ;  and 
that  of  Paraguay,  Jos6  S.  Decoud. 

The  representatives  met  in  Washington  City,  in  October.  Com¬ 
mittees  were  formed  to  report  to  the  body  suitable  action  on  the  sub¬ 
jects  which  might  properly  come  before  it  for  discussion.  From  the 
first  the  proceedings  took  a  peculiarly  practical  direction.  The  great 
questions  of  commerce  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  reports,  the  debates 
and  the  actions  which  followed.  Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the 
movement  as  a  whole  conduced  in  the  highest  degree  to  the  friend¬ 
ship,  prosperity  and  mutual  interests  of  the  nations  concerned. 

At  the  same  time  an  International  Maritime  Conference,  for 
which  provisions  had  been  made  in  the  legislation  of  several  nations, 
convened  at  Washington.  In  this  case  the  States  of  Europe  were 
concerned  in  common  with  those  of  the  New  World.  All  the  mari¬ 
time  nations  were  invited  by  the  act  of  Congress  to  send  represent¬ 
atives  to  the  National  Capital  in  the  following  year,  to  consider  the 
possibility  of  establishing  uniform  rules  and  regulations  for  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  vessels  at  sea,  and  for  the  adoption  of  a  common  system 
of  marine  signals.  Twenty-six  nations  accepted  the  call  of  the 
American  Government,  and  appointed  delegates  to  the  Congress. 
They,  too,  as  well  as  the  representatives  of  the  Pan-American  Con¬ 
ference,  held  their  sittings  in  November  and  December  of  1889. 
The  same  practical  ability  and  good  sense  as  related  to  the  subjects 
under  consideration  were  shown  by  the  members  of  the  Maritime 
Conference  as  by  those  of  the  sister  body,  and  the  results  reached 
were  equally  encouraging  and  equally  gratifying,  not  only  to  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  but  to  all  the  countries  whose 
interests  were  involved  in  the  discussions. 

We  may  here  revert  briefly  to  the  work  of  the  Fifty-first  Con¬ 
gress.  The  proceedings  of  that  branch  of  the  Government  were 
marked  with  much  partisan  bitterness  and  excitement.  The  first 
question  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the  body  was  the  revision 
of  the  tariff.  In  the  preceding  pages  we  have  developed  with  sufli- 


728 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


cient  amplitude  the  history  and  various  phases  of  this  question. 
The  Civil  War  brought  in  a  condition  of  affairs  which  must,  in  the 
nature  of  the  case,  entail  the  tariff  issue  on  the  rest  of  the  century. 
More  than  two  decades  elapsed  after  the  close  of  the  conflict  before 
the  attention  of  the  American  people  was  sufficiently  aroused  to  the 
nature  of  the  laws  bearing  on  their  industrial  condition.  Then  it 
was  that  they  first  became  aware  of  the  fact  that  a  schedule  of  cus¬ 
toms-duties,  which  had  been  brought  forth  under  the  exigency  of 
war,  still  existed,  and  that  under  the  operation  of  this  schedule  a 
vast  array  of  protected  industries  had  grown  great  and  strong. 
Around  them  consolidated  corporations  had  been  formed,  having 
millions  of  money  at  their  command  and  vast  ramifications  into  poli¬ 
tical  society.  Asa  consequence,  the  revenues  of  the  United  States 
were  swollen  to  mountainous  proportions.  The  treasury  at  Wash¬ 
ington  became  engorged,  and  at  length  the  necessity  was  developed 
of  doing  something  in  the  nature  of  reform. 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  the  treasury  —  depending  as  it  did 
upon  the  tariff  system  —  entailed  two  prodigious  evils :  the  surplus 
served  as  a  motive  in  Congress  for  all  manner  of  jobbery  and  extrav¬ 
agant  expenditure.  In  the  second  place,  it  enabled  the  combined 
monopolies  of  the  country  to  uphold  themselves  by  affecting  national 
legislation  in  favor  of  the  protected  industries  and  against  the  com¬ 
mon  interest  of  the  people  as  a  whole.  The  situation  was  really  a 
danger  and  constant  menace.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  President 
Cleveland,  as  already  noted,  sent  his  celebrated  annual  message  to 
Congress,  touching  upon  the  single  question  of  the  evils  of  the  exist¬ 
ing  system  and  asking  that  body  to  take  such  steps  as  should  lead  to 
a  general  reform. 

We  have  already  seen  how  this  question  was  uppermost  in  the 
presidential  contest  of  1888.  The  Democratic  platform  boldly 
espoused  the  doctrine  of  tariff  reform,  but  stopped  short —  out  of  an 
expedient  deference  to  the  manufacturing  interests  —  of  absolute 
free  trade.  The  Republican  platform  declared  for  a  revision  of  the 
tariff  system  —  such  a  revision  as  might  preserve  the  manufacturing 
interests,  but  favor  those  industries  which  seemed  to  be  disparaged. 
This  clause  of  the  platform  proved  to  be  wonderfully  effective  in  the 
political  campaign.  The  event  showed,  however,  that  it  was  a  shuffle. 
A  very  large  part  of  the  Republicans  understood  by  “  revision  of  the 
tariff’’  such  legislation  as  should  reduce  and  reform  the  existing  sys¬ 
tem,  not  merely  change  it  and  adapt  it  to  the  interests  of  the  pro¬ 
tected  classes. 


HARRISON  ’ S  ADMINISTRA  TION. 


729 


With  the  opening  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress  it  soon  became 
apparent  that  “revision  of  the  tariff”  was  not  to  mean  a  reform  by 
reduction  and  curtailments  of  the  schedule,  but  that  the  actual 
movement  was  in  the  other  direction !  Representative  William 
McKinley,  of  Ohio,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 
brought  in  a  measure  which  passed  into  history  under  the  name  of 
the  McKinley  Bill,  and  which,  finally  adopted  by  the  Republican 
majority,  was  incorporated  as  a  part  of  the  governmental  system. 
The  policy  of  the  bill  was  to  abolish  the  existing  duties  on  a  few 
great  articles  of  production,  particularly  raw  sugar  and  the  lower 
grades  of  refined  sugar.  By  this  means  a  vast  reduction  was  secured 
in  the  aggregate  revenues,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  average 
rates  of  import  duties  on  manufactured  articles  in  general  was  raised 
from  about  forty-seven  per  cent,  to  more  than  fifty-three  per  cent. ! 
The  McKinley  Bill  became,  therefore,  efficient  by  adroitly  drawing 
to  its  principles  tfle  sympathies  of  the  protected  classes,  and  at  the 
same  time,  by  throwing  free — and  therefore  cheap  —  sugar  to  tht 
people,  attracted  not  a  little  popular  support.  The  contest  over  the 
measure  was  extreme  in  animosity,  and  the  bill  was  adopted  only 
after  great  delay. 

The  sequel  showed  unusual  results.  The  tariff  legislation,  of 
the  Fifty-first  Congress  was  immediately  attacked  by  the  Demo¬ 
cratic  and  Independent  press  of  the  country.  Opinion  was  over¬ 
whelmingly  against  it.  The  general  elections  of  1890  brought  an 
astonishing  verdict  of  the  people  against  the  late  enactments. 
There  was  a  complete  political  revulsion  by  which  the  Republican 
majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  replaced  by  a  Demo¬ 
cratic  majority  of  nearly  three  to  one.  At  a  later  period  a  second 
reaction  ensued  somewhat  favorable  to  the  McKinley  legislation, 
and  the  author  of  the  measures  referred  to  succeeded  in  being 
chosen,  in  1891,  governor  of  Ohio,  attaining  his  position  by  a  popu¬ 
lar  majority  of  over  twenty  thousand. 

Another  incident  in  the  history  of  the  same  Congress  relates  to 
the  serious  difficulty  which  arose  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
between  the  Democratic  minority  and  the  Speaker,  Thomas  B. 
Reed,  of  Maine.  The  Republican  majority  in  the  Fifty-first  House 
was  not  large,  and  the  minority  were  easily  able,  in  matters  of  party 
legislation,  to  break  the  quorum  by  refusing  to  vote.  In  order  to 
counteract  this  policy,  a  new  system  of  rules  was  reported,  em¬ 
powering  the  Speaker  to  count  the  minority  as  present,  whether 
voting  or  not  voting,  and  thus  to  compel  a  quorum.  These  rules 


730 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


were  violently  resisted  by  the  Democrats,  and  Speaker  Reed  was 
denounced  by  his  opponent  as  an  unjust  and  arbitrary  officer.  He 
was  nicknamed  in  the  jargon  of  the  times  “  The  Czar,”  because  of 
his  rulings  and  strong-handed  method  of  making  the  records  of  the 
House  show  a  majority  when  no  majority  had  actually  voted  on  the 
pending  questions.  It  was  under  the  provision  of  the  new  rule  that 
nearly  all  of  the  party  measures  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress  were 
adopted. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  these  acts  was  the  attempt  to 
pass  through  Congress  a  measure  bearing  radically  upon  the 
election-system  of  the  United  States.  A  bill  was  reported  by  which 
it  was  proposed  virtually  to  transfer  the  control  of  the  Congressional 
elections  in  the  States  of  the  Union  from  State  to  National  authority. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  measure  reached  down  to  the  funda¬ 
mental  principles  of  American  political  society.  ^The  “  Force  Bill,” 
as  it  was  called,  brought  out  the  strongest  passions  of  the  day.  The 
opposition  was  intense.  The  Republican  party  was  by  no  means 
unanimous  in  support  of  the  measure.  A  large  part  of  the  thinking 
people  of  the  United  States,  without  respect  to  political  affiliation, 
doubted  the  expediency  of  this  additional  measure  of  centralization. 

*  Certain  it  was  that ‘serious  and  great  abuses  existed  in  the 
election-systems  of  the  States.  In  many  parts  of  the  United  States 
elections  were  not  free.  In  parts  of  the  South  the  old  animosities 
against  the  political  equality  of  the  Black  Men  were  still  sufficiently 
vital  to  prevent  the  freedom  of  the  ballot.  Congressmen  were  many 
times  chosen  by  a  small  minority  who,  from  their  social  and  political 
superiority,  were  able  to  baffle  or  intimidate  the  ignorant  many  at 
the  polls.  Such  an  abuse  called  loudly  for  a  reform;  but  the 
measure  proposed  doubtless  contained  within  itself  the  potent  germs 
of  abuses  greater  than  those  which  it  was  sought  to  remove.  The 
Elections  Bill  was  for  a  long  time  debated  in  Congress,  and  was  then 
laid  over  indefinitely  in  such  manner  as  to  prevent  final  action  upon 
it.  Certain  Republican  Serfators  who  were  opposed  to  the  measure, 
and  at  the  same  time  strongly  wedded  to  the  cause  of  the  free  coin¬ 
age  of  silver  money,  joined  their  votes  with  the  Democrats,  and  the 
so-called  “  Force  Bill  ”  failed  of  adoption. 

The  third  great  measure  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress  was  the  at¬ 
tempt  to  restore  silver  to  a  perfect  equality  with  gold  in  the  coinage 
system  of  the  United  States.  Since  1874  there  had  been  an  mcreas- 
ing  departure  in  the  market  values  of  gold  and  silver  bullion, 'Though 
the  purchasing  power  of  the  two  money  metals  had  been  kept  equal 


HARRISON'S  A DM1N1STRA  T10N. 


731 


when  the  same  were  coined,  under  the  provisions  of  legal  tender. 
The  purchasing  power  of  gold  bullion  had  in  the  last  fifteen  years 
risen  about  sixteen  per  cent.,  while  the  purchasing  power  of  silver 
bullion  had  fallen  about  four  per  cent.,  in  the  markets  of  the  world, 
thus  producing  a  difference  of  twenty  per  cent,  or  more,  in  the  pur¬ 
chasing  power  of  the  two  metals  in  bullion.  One  class  of  theorists, 
assuming  that  gold  is  the  only  standard  of  values,  insisted  that  this 
difference  in  the  purchasing  power  of  the  two  raw  metals  had  arisen 
wholly  from  a  depreciation  in  the  price  of  silver.  This  class  in¬ 
cluded  the  monometalists  —  those  who  desire  that  the  monetary 
system  of  the  United  States  shall  be  brought  to  the  single  standard 
of  gold,  and  that  silver  shall  be  made  wholly  subsidiary  to  the 
richer  metal.  To  this  class  belonged  the  fund-holding  syndicates, 
and  indeed  all  great  creditors  whose  interest  it  is  to  have  the  debts 
due  them  discharged  in  as  costly  a  dollar  as  possible. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  if  a  debt  be  contracted  on  a  basis  of  two 
metals,  that  fact  gives  to  the  debtor  the  valuable  option  of  paying  in 
the  cheaper  of  the  two  coins.  This  valuable  option  the  people  of 
the  United  States  have  enjoyed,  greatly  to  their  advantage  and 
prosperity.  The  silver  dollar  has  been  for  precisely  a  hundred 
years  (with  the  exception  of  the  quadrennium  extending  from  T874 
to  1878)  the  dollar  of  the  law  and  the  contract.  It  has  never. been 
altered  or  abridged  to  the  extent  of  a  fraction  of  a  grain  from  the 
establishment  of  our  system  of  money  in  1792.  It  has  therefore 
been,  and  continues  to  be,  the  lawful  and  undoubted  unit  of  all 
money  and  account  in  the  United  States,  just  as  much,  and  even 
more,  than  the  gold  dollar  with  which  it  is  associated.  If  it  be 
true,  therefore,  that  there  is  a  radical  and  irremediable  departure  in 
the  value  of  these  two  metals  —  if  it  be  true  that  we  have,  as  mono¬ 
metalists  assert,  an  80-cent  dollar  —  it  is  clearly  and  demonstrably 
true  that  we  have  also  a  “  long  dollar,”  a  dollar  worth  more  than 
par,  a  120-cent  dollar,  which  the  creditor  classes  desire  to  have 
substituted  for  the  dollar  of  the  law  and  the  contract. 

The  advocates  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  have  argued  that  the 
difference  in  the  bullion  values  of  the  two  money  metals  has  arisen 
most  largely  from  an  increase  in  the  purchasing  power  of  gold,  and 
that  equal  legislation  and  equal  favor  shown  to  the  two  money 
metals  would  bring  them  to  par  the  one  with  the  other,  and  keep 
them  in  that  relation  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  It  is  claimed, 
with  good  reason,  that  the  laws  hitherto  enacted  by  Congress  dis¬ 
criminating  against  silver  and  in  favor  of  gold,  were  impolitic,  un- 


732 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


just  and  un-Amcrican.  It  was  urged  in  the  debates  of  1889-90  that 
the  free  coinage  of  silver  would  be  of  vast  advantage  to  the  financial 
interests  of  the  country.  This  view  and  argument,  however,  were 
strenuously  opposed  by  the  money  centres  and  credit-holding 
classes  of  the  United  States,  to  whom  the  payment  of  all  debts 
according  to  the  highest  standard  of  value,  that  is,  in  gold  only,  was 
a  fundamental  principle. 

The  debates,  for  awhile,  seemed  likely  to  disrupt  the  existing 
political  order.  Suddenly  the  United  States  Senate,  by  a  combina¬ 
tion  of  a  large  number  of  free-silver  Republicans,  with  the  great 
majority  of  the  Democrats,  passed  a  bill  for  the  absolute  free  coinage 
of  silver,  and  for  the  day  it  seemed  that  the  measure  had  succeeded. 
The  Administration,  however,  was  strongly  opposed  to  free  coinage. 
The  Senate  bill  was  therefore  adroitly  arrested  by  the  management 
of  Speaker  Reed  and  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the  House. 
Another  bill,  in  the  form  of  an  amendment  providing  for  the  pur¬ 
chase  (but  not  for  the  coinage')  of  four  million  ounces  of  silver 
monthly,  by  the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  and  the  payment 
therefor  in  silver  certificates  having  the  form  and  functions  of 
money,  was  passed  by  the  House  and  finally  accepted  by  the  Senate. 
An  expansion  of  the  paper  money  of  the  country  was  thus  effected, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  control  of  the  silver  bullion  was  retained 
in  the  treasury  under  the  management  of  those  who  were  opposed  to 
free  coinage  and  hopeful  ultimately  of  at  least  effecting  a  com¬ 
promise  by  which  a  more  valuable  silver  dollar  may  be  substituted 
in  the  interest  of  the  creditor  classes  in  place  of  the  standard  silver 
dollar  which  has  borne  the  full  legal  tender  quality  since  the 
foundation  of  the  Government.  By  the  legislation  just  referred  to, 
the  ultimate  decision  of  the  silver  question  was  thrown ‘over  to 
another  Congress,  to  constitute  a  menace  and  terror  to  party  dis¬ 
cipline  for  both  the  Democratic  and  Republican  parties. 

In  addition  to  the  admission  of  four  new  States,  the  Fifty-first 
Congress  passed  the  necessary  acts  for  the  organization  of  Idaho  and 
Wyoming.  These  were  destined  to  make  the  forty-third  and  forty- 
fourth  members  of  the  Union.  Idaho  at  the  time  of  organization 
contained  a  population  of  84,385.  Wyoming  had  a  population  of 
GO, 705.  The  acts  for  Statehood  were  passed  for  the  two  new  com¬ 
monwealths  on  the  3d  and  10th  of  July,  respectively,  in  the  year 
1890. 

In  June  of  the  same  year  was  taken  the  eleventh  decennial 
census  of  the  United  States.  Its  results,  so  far  as  the  same  have 


HARRISON ’S  A DMINISTRA  TION. 


733 


been  compiled,  indicate  that  the  aggregate  population  of  the  country 
has  increased  to  62,622,250,  exclusive  of  Indians  not  taxed  and 
Whites  in  Alaska  and  the  Indian  Territory.  These  additions  will 
doubtless  increase  the  grand  total  to  63,000,000  souls.  The  centre- 
of  population  had  continued  its  progress  westward,  having  removed 
during  the  ninth  decade  from  the  vicinity  of  Cincinnati  to  a  point 
near  the  hamlet  of  Westport,  in  Decatur  County,  Indiana. 

The  period  which  is  here  before  us,  was  marked  by  the  death  of 
three  of  the  few  remaining  great  leaders  of  the  Civil  War.  On  the 
5th  of  August,  1885,  Lieutenant-General  Sheridan,  at  that  time 
commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army,  died  at  his  home  in  Non- 
quitt,  Massachusetts.  Few  other  generals  of  the  Union  army  had 
won  greater  admiration  and  higher  honors.  He  was  in  many  senses 
a  model  soldier,  and  his  death  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of 
fifty-seven,  was  the  occasion  of  great  grief  throughout  the  country. 
Still  more  conspicuous  was  the  fall  of  General  William  T.  Sherman. 
Among  the  Union  commanders  in  the  great  Civil  War,  he  stood 
easily  next  to  Grant  in  greatness  and  reputation.  In  vast  and 
varied  abilities,  particularly  in  military  accomplishments,  he  was 
perhaps  superior  to  all.  It  may  well  be  thought  that  he  was  more 
fortunate  than  any  other  —  and  wiser.  After  the  war,  he  steadily 
refused  to  be  other  than  a  great  soldier.  No  enticement,  no  bland¬ 
ishment,  no  form  of  applause  or  persuasion,  could  induce  him  to 
exchange  the  laurels  which  he  had  won  in  the  immortal  contest  for 
the  Union  for  any  other  form  of  chaplet  or  perishable  wreath. 

Sherman  might  have  been  President  of  the  United  States.  It 
were  not  far  from  the  truth  to  believe  that  he  was  the  only  man  in 
America  who  ever  willingly  put  aside  that  glittering  prize.  To 
have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  politicians,  place-hunters,  jobbers  and 
cormorants,  would  have  been  intolerable  to  that  brusque,  sturdy 
and  truthful  nature.  With  a  clearer  vision  even  than  the  vision  of 
Grant,  he  perceived  that  to  be  the  unsullied  gre;it  soldier  of  the 
Union,  was  to  be  better  than  anything  made  by  men  in  caucus  and 
convention.  Born  in  1820,  he  reached  the  mature  age  of  seventy- 
one,  and  died  at  his  home  in  New  York  City,  on  the  14th  day  of 
February,  1891.  That  event  produced  a  profound  impression.  The 
General  of  the  Union  army  who  had  fought  so  many  great  battles 
and  said  so  many  great  things,  was  at  last  silent  in  death.  Of  his 
sterling  patriotism  there  had  never  been  a  doubt.  Of  his  prescience 
in  war,  of  his  learning,  of  his  abilities  as  an  author,  there  could  be  as 
little  skepticism.  As  to  his  wonderful  faculties  and  achievements. 


734 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


all  men  were  agreed.  His  funeral  became  the  man.  He  had  pro¬ 
vided  for  that  also,  in  advance.  He  had  directed  that  nothing 
other  than  a  soldier’s  burial  should  be  reserved  for  him.  His  re¬ 
mains  were  taken  under  escort  from  New  York  to  St.  Louis,  where 
they  were  deposited  in  the  family  burying  grounds,  in  Mount  Cal¬ 
vary  Cemetery. 

After  the  death  of  General  Sherman,  only  two  commanders  of 
the  first  class  remained  on  the  stage  of  action  from  the  great  Civil 
War  —  both  Confederates.  These  were  Generals  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
and  James  Longstreet.  The  former  of  these  two  was  destined  to 
follow  his  rival  and  conqueror  at  an  early  day  to  the  land  of  rest. 
General  Johnston  had  been  an  honorary  pall-bearer  at  the  funeral 
of  Sherman,  and  contracted  a  heavy  cold  on  that  occasion,  which 
resulted  in  his  death  on  the  20th  of  February,  1891,  at  his  home  in 
Washington  City.  Strange  fatality  of  human  affairs  that  after 
twenty-five  years,  he  who  surrendered  his  sword  to  Sherman  at 
Raleigh,  should  have  come  home  from  the  funeral  of  the  victor  to 
die!  General  Johnston  was  in  his  eighty-third  year  at  the  time  of 
his  decease.  Among  the  Confederate  commanders  none  were  his 
superiors,  with  the  single  exception  of  Lee.  After  the  close  of  the 
war,  his  conduct  had  been  of  a  kind  to  win  the  confidence  of  Union 
men,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  held  in  almost  universal 
honor. 

It  was  at  this  time,  namely,  in  February  of  1891,  that  a  serious 
event  reaching  upward  and  outward,  first,  into  national  and  theD 
into  international  proportions,  occurred  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 
There  existed  in  that  metropolis  a  branch  of  the  secret  social  organ¬ 
ization  among  the  Italians  known  by  the  European  name  of  the 
Mafia  Society.  The  principles  of  the  brotherhood  involved  mutual 
protection,  and  even  the  law  of  revenge  against  enemies.  Doubtless 
much  of  the  spirit  which  had  belonged  to  the  Italian  order  of  the 
Mafia  had  been  transferred  to  America.  At  any  rate,  some  of  the 
features  of  the  order  were  un-American  in  character,  and  some  of 
the  methods  dangerous  to  the  public  and  private  peace.  Several 
breaks  occurred  between  members  of  the  society  (not  the  society 
itself)  and  the  police  authorities  of  the  city ;  and  the  latter,  by 
arrest  and  persecution,  incurred  the  dislike  and  hatred  of  the  former. 
The  difficulty  grew  in  animosity  until  at  length  Captain  David  C. 
Hennessey,  chief  of  the  police  of  New  Orleans,  was  assassinated  by 
some  secret  murderer,  or  murderers,  who  for  the  time  escaped  de¬ 
tection.  It  was  believed,  however,  that  the  Mafia  society  was  at  the 


HARRISON’S  ADMINISTRATION.  735 

bottom  of  the  assassination,  and  several  of  the  members  of  the 
brotherhood  were  arrested  under  the  charge  of  murder. 

Atrial  followed,  and  the  circumstances  tended  to  establish  — 
but  did  not  establish  —  the  guilt  of  the  prisoners.  The  proof  was 
not  positive  —  did  not  preclude  a  reasonable  doubt  of  the  guilt  of 
those  on  trial,  and  the  first  three  of  the  Italian  prisoners  were 
acquitted.  The  sequel  was  unfortunate  in  the  last  degree.  A  great 
excitement  followed  the  decision  of  the  court  and  jury,  and  charges 
were  made  and  published  that  the  jurjr  had  been  bribed  or  terrorized 
with  threats  into  making  a  false  verdict.  These  charges  were  never  * 
substantiated,  and  were  doubtless  without  authenticity.  But  on 
the  day  following  the  acquittal  of  the  Italians,  a  public  meeting, 
having  its  origin  in  mobocracy,  was  called,  and  a  great  crowd,  irre¬ 
sponsible  and  angry,  gathered  around  the  statue  of  Henry  Clay,  in 
one  of  the  public  squares  of  New  Orleans. 

Speeches  were  made.  The  authorities  of  the  city,  instead  of 
attempting  to  check  the  movement,  stood  off  and  let  it  take  its  own 
course.  A  mob  was  at  once  organized  and  directed  against  the  jail, 
where  the  Italian  prisoners  were  confined.  The  jail  was  entered  by 
force.  The  prisoners  were  driven  from  their  cells,  and  nine  of  them 
were  shot  to  death  in  the  jail-yard.  Two  others  were  dragged  forth 
and  hanged.  Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  innocent  as  well  as  the 
guilty  (if  indeed  any  were  guilty  —  as  certainly  none  were  guilty 
according  to  law)  suffered  in  the  slaughter. 

The  event  was  followed  by  the  greatest  public  excitement. 
Clearly  murder  and  outrage  had  been  done  by  the  mob.  It  was  soon 
proved  that  at  least  two  of  the  murdered  Italians  had  been  subjects 
of  the  Italian  Kingdom ;  the  rest  were  either  naturalized  Americans 
or  foreigners  bearing  papers  of  intention.  The  affair  at  once  became 
of  national,  and  then  of  international,  importance.  The  President  of 
the  United  States  called  upon  Governor  Nicolls,  of  Louisiana,  to 
give  an  account  of  the  thing  done  in  New  Orleans,  and  its  justifica¬ 
tion.  The  governor  replied  with  a  communication  in  which  it  were 
hard  to  say  whether  insolence  or  inconsequential  apology  for  the 
actions  of  the  mob  was  uppermost.  With  this  the  excitement 
increased.  The  Italian  Minister,  Baron  Fava,  at  Washington, 
entered  his  solemn  protest  against  the  killing  of  his  countrymen,  and 
the  American  Secretary  of  State  entered  into  communication  with 
King  Humbert  on  the  subject. 

Italy  was  thoroughly  aroused.  The  Italian  societies  in  various 
American  cities  passed  angry  resolutions  against  the  destruction  of 


736 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


their  fellow-citizens  by  the  mob,  and  the  newspapers  of  the  country 
teemed  with  discussions  of  the  subject.  There  was  unfortunately  a 
disposition  on  the  part  of  America  to  play  the  bully.  At  times, 
threats  of  war  were  freely  made,  and  it  appeared  not  impossible  that 
the  two  countries  would  become  unhappily  involved  in  a  conflict. 
The  more  thoughtful,  however,  looked  with  confidence  to  the  settle¬ 
ment  of  the  question  by  peaceable  means.  The  Italian  Government 
presently  recalled  Baron  Fava  from  Washington,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year,  communications  between  the  two  governments 
were  made  only  through  the  Italian  Charge  d’ Affaires  at  Washington. 
Gradually,  however,  the  excitement  subsided.  The  American  Gov¬ 
ernment  was  fortunate  in  having  as  its  representative  at  the  Court  of 
Italy  the  Honorable  Albert  G.  Porter,  a  man  of  calm  temperament 
and  deeply  imbued  with  the  sense  of  justice  and  right.  By  the 
beginning  of  1892  it  had  become  certain  that  the  unpleasant  episode 
would  pass  without  further  menace  of  war,  and  that  the  question  in¬ 
volved  in  the  difficulty  would  be  justly  settled  in  the  course  of  time 
by  the  equitable  rules  of  diplomacy. 

The  year  1891  was  noted  for  a  serious  difficulty  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Republic  of  Chili.  The  complication  had  its  ori¬ 
gin  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  that  Republic,  particularly  in  a  revolu¬ 
tion  which,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  named,  began  to  make  headway 
against  the  existing  government.  At  the  head  of  that  government 
was  President  Balmaceda,  against  whom  the  popular  party  in  the 
Chilian  Congress  was  violently  arrayed.  The  President  was  accused 
of  seeking  to  influence  the  choice  of  his  own  successor  in  the 
approaching  election,  but  more  especially  of  retaining  in  office  a 
Ministry  out  of  harmony  with  the  Congressional  majority.  The 
latter  point  was  the  more  serious,  and  led  at  length  to  the  assump¬ 
tion  of  dictatorial  powers  by  the  President.  This  course  seemed 
necessary  in  order  to  maintain  himself  in  power  and  to  uphold  the 
existing  Ministry.  The  popular  party  receded  from  Congress  only 
to  take  up  arms.  This  party  was  known  in  the  civil  conflict  that 
ensued  as  the  Congressionalists,  while  the  upholders  of  the  existing 
order  were  called  Balmacedists.  The  latter  had  possession  of  the 
government;  but  the  former,  outside  of  the  great  cities  of  Valparaiso 
and  Santiago,  were  the  most  powerful. 

The  insurrection  against  Balmaceda  gathered  head.  A  Congres¬ 
sional  Junta  was  formed,  and  a  provisional  government  was  set  up  at 
the  town  of  Iquique.  Thus  far  the  movement  had  in  no  wise  dis¬ 
turbed  the  relations  of  Chili  with  the  United  States.  It  is  in  the 


HARRISON’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


737 


nature  of  such  revolutions  that  the  insurgent  party  must  acquire  re¬ 
sources,  gather  arms  and  create  all  the  other  means  of  its  existence, 
progress  and  success.  The  Chilians  of  the  Congressional  faction 
found  themselves  in  great  need  of  arms,  and  would  fain  look  to  some 
foreign  nation  for  a  supply.  In  the  emergency  they  managed  to  get 
possession  of  a  steamship  called  the  Itata ,  belonging  to  the  South 
American  Steamship  Company,  and  sent  her  to  the  western  coast  of 
the  United  States  to  purchase  arms.  The  steamer  came  to  the  harbor 
of  San  Diego,  California,  and  by  the  agency  of  an  intermediate  vessel 
managed  to  secure  a  large  purchase  of  arms,  and  to  get  the  same  trans¬ 
ferred  to  her  own  deck.  At  this  juncture,  however,  the  government, 
gaining  information  of  the  thing  done,  ordered  the  detention  of  the 
Itata  until  her  business  and  destination  could  be  known.  A  district 
attorney  of  the  United  States  was  sent  on  board  the  ship,  which  was 
ordered  not  to  leave  the  bay.  In  defiance  of  this  order,  however, 
the  officers  of  the  Itata  steamed  out  by  night  and  got  to  sea.  They 
put  the  officer  of  the  United  States  in  a  boat,  sent  him  ashore,  and 
disappeared  over  the  Pacific  horizon. 

The  announcement  of  the  escape  of  the  Itata  led  to  vigorous 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Government.  The  United  States  war-ship 
Charleston  was  ordered  out  in  pursuit  from  the  bay  of  San  Francisco. 

The  Itata ,  however,  had  three  days  the  start,  and  it  could  hardly 
be  expected  that  the  Charleston  would  be  able  to  overhaul  the  fugi¬ 
tive.  The  former  made  her  way  to  one  of  the  harbors  of  Chili, 
whither  she  was  pursued  by  the  Charleston.  But  the  matter  had 
now  come  to  protest,  made  by  the  United  States  to  the  provisional 
government  of  the  Revolutionists,  and  the  latter  consented  to  the 
surrender  of  the  Itata  to  the  authorities  of  our  country.  This  was 
done,  and  the  incident  seemed  for  the  time  to  have  ended  without 
serious  conseqences. 

After  the  affair  of  the  Itata,  public  opinion  in  Chili,  particularly 
in  the  cities  of  Santiago  and  Valparaiso,  turned  strongly  against  the 
United  States.  This  is  said  of  the  sentiments  of  the  Congressional 
party.  That  party  saw  itself  thwarted  iijt  its  design  and  put  at  fault 
by  its  failure  to  secure  the  wished-for  supply  of  arms,  that  failure 
having  arisen  through  the  agency  of  our  Government.  However 
correct  the  course  of  the  United  States  may  have  been,  the  Revolu¬ 
tionists  must  needs  be  angered  at  their  disappointment,  and  it  was 
natural  for  them  to  look  henceforth  with  distrust  and  dislike  on  the 
authorities  of  our  country.  This  dislike  centered  about  the  legation 
of  the  United  States  in  Santiago.  Hon.  Patrick  Egan,  the  American 


738 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Minister,  became  unpopular  with  the  Congressionalists  because  of 
his  supposed  favor  to  the  Balmacedan  Government.  That  govern¬ 
ment  still  stood.  It  was  recognized  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  as  the  government  both  de  jure  and  de  facto  of  Chili.  Egan 
must  therefore  hold  relations  with  Balmaceda  and  his  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs.  He  must  continue  to  stand  in  with  the  existing 
order  until  some  other  order  should  be  established  in  its  stead. 

It  appears  that  our  Minister  and  our  Government  misapprehended 
the  importance  and  strength  of  the  revolutionary  movement.  The 
Congressionalists  steadily  gained  ground.  Perhaps  the  revolution 
which  was  progressing  could  not  be  seen  in  full  magnitude  from  the 
position  occupied  by  our  Minister  at  the  Chilian  capital.  At  all 
events,  the  Congressional  army  came  on  in  full  force,  and  soon 
pressed  the  government  back  to  the  limits  of  the  capital  and  the  im¬ 
mediate  vicinity  of  that  city.  Affairs  drew  to  a  crisis.  A  bloody 
battle  was  fought  at  a  place  called  Placilla,  near  Santiago.  The 
Balmacedists  gave  way  before  the  storm.  The  battle  of  Placilla  and 
a  subsequent  engagement  still  nearer  to  the  capital,  went  against 
them.  The  insurgents  burst  victoriously  into  Santiago,  and  the  rev¬ 
olution  accomplished  itself  by  the  overthrow  of  the  existing  govern¬ 
ment.  Everything  went  to  wreck.  Both  Santiago  and  Valparaiso 
were  taken  by  the  Revolutionary  party.  The  Balmacedists  were 
fugitives  in  all  directions.  The  Dictator  himself  fled  into  hiding, 
and  presently  made  an  end  by  committing  suicide. 

In  such  condition  of  affairs  it  was  natural  that  the  defeated  par¬ 
tisans  of  the  late  government  should  take  refuge  in  the  legations  of 
foreign  nations  at  the  capital.  A  Ministerial  legation  is,  under  inter¬ 
national  law,  an  asylum  for  refugees.  At  this  time  the  official  resi¬ 
dences  of  the  foreign  nations  at  Santiago,  with  the  exception  of  that 
of  Great  Britain,  were  all  crowded  more  or  less  with  fugitives  flying 
hither  for  safety  from  the  wrath  of  the  successful  Revolutionists. 
The  attitude  of  Great  Britain  from  the  first  had  been  favorable  to 
the  Congressional  party,  and  it  was  evident  that  that  power  would 
now  stand  in  high  favor  with  the  victors. 

It  chanced  that  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  was  by  birth  an 
Irishman.  He  was  an  Irish  agitator  and  British  refugee  lately  natu¬ 
ralized  in  America.  Probably  the  antagonistic  attitude  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  at  the  Chilian  capital  was  attributable 
in  part  to  the  nativity  and  political  principles  of  Egan.  At  all 
events,  the  American  Ministerial  residence  gave  asylum  to  numbers 
ff  the  defeated  Balmacedists,  and  the  triumphant  Revolutionists 


HARRISON’S  A  DMINISTRA  TION. 


739 


grew  more  and  more  hostile  to  our  Government  and  Minister  because 
they  could  not  get  at  those  who  were  under  his  protection.  This 
hostility  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  police  guard  and  a  force  of 
detectives  around  the  American  legation  !  It  seemed  at  times  that 
the  place  might  be  attacked  and  taken  by  the  angry  victors  in  the 
recent  revolution.  At  length,  however,  under  the  protests  of  our 
Government,  the  guards  were  withdrawn  and  the  legation  was  freed 
from  surveillance.  Relations  began  to  grow  amicable  once  more, 
when  the  difficulties  suddenly  took  another  and  more  serious  form. 

It  happened  at  this  time  that  the  war-vessels  of  several  nations 
visited  the  harbor  of  Valparaiso,  drawn  thither  by  interest  and  for 
the  sake  of  information  or  the  business  of  the  respective  navies. 
Among  the  ships  that  came  was  the  United  States  war-steamer  Bal¬ 
timore.  On  the  16th  of  October,  1891,  a  hundred  and  seventeen 
petty  officers  and  men,  headed  by  Captain  Schley,  went  on  shore  by 
permission,  and  in  the  usual  way  went  into  the  city  of  Valparaiso. 
Most  of  them  visited  a  quarter  of  the  city  not  reputable  in  character. 
It  soon  became  apparent  that  the  ill-informed  enmity  and  malice  of 
the  lower  classes  were  strongly  excited  at  the  appearance  of  the  men 
and  uniform  of  the  United  States  on  the  streets.  With  the  approach 
of  night,  and  with  apparent  pre-arrangement,  a  Chilian  mob  rose 
upon  the  sailors  and  began  an  attack.  The  sailors  retreated  and 
attempted  to  regain  their  ship;  but  the  mob  closed  around  them, 
throwing  stones,  and  presently  at  close  quarters  using  knives  and 
clubs.  Eighteen  of  the  sailors  were  brutally  stabbed  and  beaten^ 
and  some  died  from  their  injuries.  The  remainder,  leaving  the 
wounded  behind  them,  escaped  to  the  ship. 

Intelligence  of  this  event  was  at  once  communicated  to  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  The  country  was  greatly  excited 
over  the  outrage,  and  preparations  were  begun  for  war.  The  navy 
department  was  ordered  to  prepare  several  vessels  for  the  Chilian 
coast.  The  great  war-ship  Oregon  and  two  others  were  equipped, 
manned  and  directed  to  the  Pacific  shores  of  South  America.  The 
President  immediately  directed  the  American  Minister  at  Santiago 
to  demand  explanation,  apology  and  reparation  for  the  insult  and 
crime  committed  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
The  Chilian  authorities  began  to  temporize  with  the  situation.  A 
tedious  investigation  of  the  riot  was  undertaken  in  the  courts  of 
Santiago,  resulting  in  an  inconsequential  verdict. 

Meanwhile,  Senor  M.  A.  Matta,  Chilian  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  added  fuel  fo  the  flame  by  transmitting  an  offensive  coin- 


740 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


munication  to  Senor  Pedro  Montt,  representative  of  the  Chilian 
Government  at  Washington,  in  which  he  reflected  on  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  accused  our  Government  of  falsehood,  attacked 
Egan,  and  ended  by  instructing  Montt  to  let  the  contents  of  the 
note  be  known !  This  was  soon  followed  by  another  communication 
from  Senor  Matta,  demanding  the  recall  of  Patrick  Egan  from  the 
Chilian  capital,  as  persona  non  grata  to  the  Government.  But  he 
failed  to  specify  the  particular  qualities  or  acts  in  the  American 
Minister  which  made  him  unacceptable. 

The  publication  of  these  two  notes  brought  matters  to  a  crisis. 
The  President,  through  the  proper  authorities,  demanded  that  the 
offensive  note  of  Matta  be  withdrawn ;  that  the  demand  for  the  re¬ 
call  of  Egan  be  reconsidered,  and  that  reparation  for  the  insults  and 
wrongs  done  to  the  crew  of  the  Baltimore  be  repaired  with  ample 
apology  and  salute  to  the  American  flag  by  the  Chilian  Government. 
Answers  to  these  demands  were  again  delayed,  and  on  the  25th  of 
January,  1892,  the  President  sent  an  elaborate  message  to  Congress,, 
laying  before  that  body  an  account  of  the  difficulti"S,  and  recom¬ 
mending  such  action  as  might  be  deemed  necessary  to  uphold  the 
honor  of  the  United  States.  For  a  single  day  it  looked  like  war. 

Scarcely,  however,  had  the  President's  message  been  delivered 
to  Congress  when  the  Chilian  Government,  receding  from  its  high- 
toned  manner  of  offence  and  arrogance,  sent,  through  its  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  a  paper  of  full  apology  for  the  wrongs  done,  and 
ottering  to  submit  the  affair  of  the  Baltimore  to  arbitration  of  some 
friendly  power.  The  offensive  note  of  Senor'  Matta  was  uncon¬ 
ditionally  withdrawn.  The  demand  for  the  removal  of  Egan  was 
recalled,  and  indeed  all  reasonable  points  in  the  contention  of  the 
President,  freely  and  fully  conceded.  The  crisis  broke  with  the 
knowledge  that  the  apology  of  Chili  had  been  received,  and  like  the 
recent  difficulty  with  Italy  over  the  New  Orleans  massacre,  the  im¬ 
broglio  passed  without  further  alarm  or  portent  of  war. 

More  important  still,  in  the  diplomacy  of  the  United  States,  was 
the  controversy  which  arose  in  this  quadrennium  between  our  coun¬ 
try  and  Great  Britain,  relative  to  the  seal  fisheries  in  Behring  Sea* 
The  dispute  in  question  was  by  no  means  so  hot  and  immediately 
dangerous  as  that  of  the  United  States  and  Italy,  or  the  more  recent 
imbroglio  with  Chili ;  but  it  was  a  more  important  complication  on 
account  of  the  parties  to  the  controversy.  It  is  one  thing  for  a 
country  like  the  United  States  to  be  involved  in  a  dispute  with  a 
country  such  as  Chili,  and  quite  another  thing  fo  be  on  the  edge  of 


HARRISON’S  ADMINISTIIA  TION. 


741 


hazard  with  a  country  such  as  Great  Britain.  It  cannot  be  denied 
that  the  United  States  are  able,  by  reputation  and  authority,  to  dictate 
the  terms  of  settlement  to  the  secondary  nations,  but  not  to  the  tre¬ 
mendous  power  which  sits  enthroned  in  the  British  Isles.  Great 
Britain  is  a  stern  and  opinionated  government,  highly  self-conscious, 
and  imbued  with  an  arrogant  spirit.  This  is  true  in  particular  of  all 
controversies  relating  to  the  dominion  of  the  waters. 

For  a  period  of  years  the  diplomacy  of  the  governments  of  Eng¬ 
land  and  the  United  States  had  run  on  a  low  plane.  Ever  since  the 
settlement  of  the  controversy  about  the  Halifax  Fisheries  we  had  had 
a  calm  in  our  international  relations.  This,  however,  was  broken  by 
the  question  of  the  Alaskan  seal  fisheries  which  now  obtruded  itself 
upon  the  attention  of  both  governments.  Certain  Canadian  vessels, 
bearing  the  English  flag,  entered  Behring  Sea,  and  without  regard 
to  the  interests  of  the  nations  concerned,  or  respect  to  those  condi¬ 
tions  upon  which  the  maintenance  of  the  fisheries  depends,  began  to 
take  seals  at  random  and  with  a  recklessness  that  must  needs  attract 
the  attention  of  our  government. 

This  action  on  the  part  of  the  Canadian  ships  was  declared  at  once 
to  be  in  violation  of  American  rights,  and  the  ships  were  seized.  It 
was  avowed  by  our  government  that  the  waters  of  Behring  Sea  are 
not  open,  but,  as  we. should  say  in  international  law,  a  mare  clausum ; 
that  is,  shut  up  to  foreign  commerce.  The  basis  of  the  American 
claims  was  the  Treaty  of  Purchase  which  we  had  made  with  Russia 
in  March  of  1867.  Alaska  had  been  bought  by  the  United  States. 
Russia  had  sold  us  not  only  the  land  but  her  claim  to  the  sea  !  Her 
claim  extended  as  far  as  complete  jurisdiction  over  the  Behring 
waters. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  the  reader  the  nature  of  the  waters 
in  controversy.  They  extend  from  Behring  Strait  on  the  north  to. 
the  Alaskan  Peninsula  and  the  Aleutian  Islands  on  the  south,  and 
to  a  line  extending  from  those  islands  to  the  southernmost  point  of 
Kamtchatka.  The  more  particular  field  in  contention  was  that  lying 
between  the  160th  meridian  of  longitude,  west,  and  the  170th  merid¬ 
ian  east  from  Greenwich.  This  broad  sea-area  had  been  received 
from  Russia  under  the  provisions  of  a  treaty  existing  between  that 
power  and  Great  Britain  going  back  to  the  year  1825.  Great  Britain 
had  acknowledged,  strangely  enough,  the  jurisdiction  of  Russia  over 
Behring  Sea ;  but  this  was  before  the  importance  of  the  seal  fisheries 
had  become  known. 

The  question  which  arose  out  of  these  conditions  was  an  old  one. 


i 


742  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATE*.' 

It  was  the  right  of  a  nation  to  extend  its  dominion  and  establish  an 
exclusive  sway  over  the  sea.  This  claim  Great  Britain  had  formerly 
made  and  supported  in  her  diplomacy  and  in  her  wars;  but  the  claim 
had  been  gradually  disallowed  by  the  nations  ;  so  that  in  more  recent 
times  no  nation  had  attempted  to  make  good  her  authority  over  the 
open  waters  of  the  ocean.  The  United  States  had  formerly  con¬ 
tended  for  the  freedom  of  the  high  seas.  In  this  particular  instance, 
it  became  the  interest  of  our  country  to  change  position  somewhat 
and  to  advocate,  to  a  limited  extent,  the  doctrine  of  mare  clausum. 

The  seal  fisheries  are  of  immense  value  and  their  control  by  Amer¬ 
ican  authority  could  hut  be  regarded  as  a  matter  of  vital  importance. 
The  question  was  taken  up  in  1890  in  the  diplomatical  correspond¬ 
ence  of  the  two  countries.  The  cruisers  of  the  United  States  were 
sent  into  the  Behring  waters,  but  were  not  satisfied  with  protective 
general  interests ;  they  went  out  openly  and  searched  and,  as  above 
stated,  seized  the  Canadian  vessels  bearing  the  flag  of  England.  In 
justification  it  was  claimed  that  the  action  of  the  British  ships  in 
sealing  in  these  waters  was  contra  bonos  mores ,  or,  as  we  should  say, 
against  international  morality. 

It  was  held  by  the  National  authorities  that  the  action  of  the 
Canadian  vessels  in  free  sealing  in  Behring  Sea  was  a  permanent 
injury  to  the  rights  of  our  government  and  to  the  commercial  inter¬ 
ests  of  all  civilized  peoples.  The  matter  was  made  the  basis  of  pro¬ 
test  and  counterprotest  between  the  two  governments.  Great  Britain 
protested  sternly  against  the  seizure  of  the  Canadian  ships,  and  these 
were  of  necessity  liberated.  The  American  government  protested 
against  the  action  of  the  ships  in  violating  the  rights  of  the  United 
States. 

The  bottom  reason  for  the  action  of  our  government  was  suffi¬ 
ciently  valid.  It  could  not  he  doubted  that  free  sealing  in  these  waters 
would  presently  destroy  one  of  the  most  important  sources  of  revenue, 
both  to  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  The  killing  of  seals  in 
the  open  sea  involves  the  destruction  of  the  female  animals  in  com¬ 
mon  with  the  males.  The  destruction  of  each  female  is  reckoned  to 
be  equal  to  the  loss  of  three  seals  for  each  of  the  succeeding  years 
of  the  life  of  the  animal  destroyed.  It  could  not  be  doubted  that 
such  indiscriminate  sealing:  would  result  in  the  ultimate  destruction 
of  the  seal  fisheries.  On  the  other  hand,  the  prosecution  of  sealing 
under  proper  restrictions  would  permit  the  gathering  of  vast  wealth, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  consist  with  the  constant  increase  of  the 
number  of  seals.  It  was  ascertained  that  if  only  male  seals  of  a 


II A  RRISON  -S  A  DMINISTRA  TION. 


743 


given  age  should  be  taken  and  this  only  between  the  first  of  Novem¬ 
ber  and  the  middle  of  the  following  April  in  each  year,  then  the 
seals  could  go  on  increasing  in  numbers  and  supporting  the  supply  of 
fur-bearing  pelts. 

The  whole  controversy  turned  about  this  question.  The  corre¬ 
spondence  was  conducted  between  Mr.  Blaine,  the  American  Secre¬ 
tary  of  State,  and  Lord  Salisbury,  the  British  Prime  Minister.  More 
than  two  years  were  occupied  in  the  discussion  and  it  was  finally 
agreed  with  great  moderation  and  good  sense  to  refer  the  controversy 
to  a  joint  high  tribunal  to  be  constituted  by  the  two  governments  — • 
that  is,  to  an  arbitration  of  the  questions  between  the  parties.  In 
accordance  with  this  method  of  settlement,  a  commission  was  ap¬ 
pointed  to  meet  in  Paris,  France,  in  February,  1893.  The  dispute 
dragged  0.11  to  the  end  of  the  Harrison  administration  and  was  carried 
over  for  final  settlement  to  the  beginning  of  the  second  term  of 
Cleveland. 

The  arbiters  selected  in  the  cause  were  seven  in  number.  Two  of 
them  were  chosen  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  by  President  Harri¬ 
son  ;  two  others  by  the  British  government,  and  three  bthers  on  the 
joint  request  of  the  President  of  the  French  Republic,  the  King  of 
Italy  and  the  King  of  Norway  and  Sweden.  The  members  of  the 
tribunal  were,  for  the  United  States,  Justice  John  M.  Harlan,  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  Senator  John  T.  Morgan,  of  Alabama.  Those 
for  Great  Britain  were  Lord  James  Hannen  and  Sir  John  Thompson, 
of  Canada.  The  commissioner  named  by  the  President  of  France 
wasdhe  Baron  de  Courcel;  by  the  King  of  Italy,  the  Marquis  Emilio 
Visconti-Venesta ;  and  by  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  Judge 
Gram,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Christiana. 

Besides  these  distinguished  personages  there  were  agents  and 
attorneys  for  the  two  governments.  On  behalf  of  Great  Britain,  Sir 
Charles  Russell  and  Sir  Charles  E.  Tupper  were  appointed  as  coun¬ 
sel  ;  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  appeared  Honorable  E.  J.  Phelps, 
Honorable  James  C.  Carter,  Honorable  F.  R.  Coudert  and  Judge 
Blodgett  of  the  Supreme  Court,  together  with  Honorable  John  W. 
Foster,  Secretary  of  State.  The  tribunal,  after  meeting  in  a  prelimi¬ 
nary  way  at  the  appointed  time,  adjourned  until  the  22d  of  March, 
1893,  when  the  actual  work  of  arbitration  was  undertaken.  The 
questions  submitted  to  the  body  for  solution  were  the  following  : 

1.  What  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  the  sea  known  as  the  Behring  Sea,  and  what 
exclusive  rights  in  the  seal  fisheries  therein,  did  Russia  assert  and  exercise  prior  and 
up  to  the  time  of  the  cession  of  Alaska  to  the  United  States? 


744 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


2.  How  far  were  these  claims  of  jurisdiction  as  to  the  seal  fisheries  recognized 
and  conceded  by  Great  Britain? 

3.  Was  the  body  of  water  known  as  the  Behring  Sea  included  in  the  phrase 
“  Pacific  Ocean,”  as  used  in  the  treaty  of  1825  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia, 
and  what  rights,  if  any,  in  the  Behring  Sea  were  held  and  exclusively  exercised  by 
Russia  after  said  treaty  ? 

4.  Did  not  all  the  rights  of  Russia  as  to  jurisdiction  and  as  to  the  seal  fisheries  in 
Behring  Sea,  east  of  the  water  boundary,  in  the  treaty  between  the  United  States 
and  Russia  of  the  30th  of  March,  18C7,  pass  unimpaired  to  the  United  States  under 
that  treaty? 

5.  Has  the  United  States  any  right,  and,  if  so,  what  right,  of  protection  of 
property  in  the  fur-seals  frequenting  the  islands  of  the  United  States  in  Behring  Sea, 
when  such  seals  are  found  outside  of  the  ordinary  three-mile  limit? 

While  the  discussions  of  the  tribunal  were  necessarily  prolonged 
and  the  decision  for  a  while  postponed,  the  great  historical  lesson 
was  again  impressed  on  the  nations.  It  was  seen  that  the  leading 
governments  of  the  English-speaking  world  had  committed  them¬ 
selves  fully  to  the  principle  of  arbitration,  and  that  the  example 
must  soon  be  followed  by  all  the  civilized  States  of  Christendom. 

About  the  middle  of  Harrison’s  administration,  the  attention  of 
the  American  people,  and  of  the  government  in  particular,  was 
turned  to  the  question  of  restoring  American  influence  on  the  high- 
seas.  The  public  interest  in  this  direction  was  manifested  in  two 
ways:  first,  in  the  strengthening  of  the  American  navy,  and  sec¬ 
ondly,  in  the  attempt  to  regain  the  carrying  and  passenger  trade 
between  Europe  and  the  United  States.  The  latter  had  gone  for  a 
long  time  to  the  Marine  of  England.  During  Harrison’s  adminis¬ 
tration  great  outlays  were  made  for  the  improvement  of  the  Navy. 
This  was  suggested  in  part  by  the  difficulties  with  Italy  and  Chili, 
both  of  which  portended  war,  that,  had  it  occurred,  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  must  be  prosecuted  by  the  sea. 

We  had  found  ourselves  in  these  crises  lamentably  deficient  in 
the  means  of  making  war  on  the  ocean.  This  fact  led  to  the  construc¬ 
tion  of  new  war-ships  of  the  most  improved  patterns  and  the  largest 
dimensions.  Of  this  kind  was  the  great  steamer  Indiana ,  the  largest 
ship  in  the  possession  of  the  government,  and  among  the  most  for¬ 
midable  of  the  floating  war-vessels  of  the  world.  The  Indiana  was 
completed  and  launched  in  the  latter  part  of  1892.  While  it  is  cer¬ 
tainly  not  the  true  policy  of  the  United  States  to  make  war,  or  to 
assume  the  war-like  manners  and  methods  of  the  Eui-opean  Powers, 
it  nevertheless  seemed  to  be  necessary  that  the  government  should 
make  itself  more  feared  on  the  sea  than  it  had  been  since  the  Civil 
War. 


HARR r SON  ’S  ADMINISTRA  TIOX. 


745 


More  pacific  and  commendable  was  the  effort  to  regain  ascendency 
in  the  matter  of  communication  across  the  Atlantic.  The  reviving 
spirit  of  the  country  was  shown  in  this  regard  by  the  transfer,  in 
February  of  1893,  of  the  splendid  passenger  steamer  New  York  from 
tdie  flag  of  England  to  that  of  the  United  States.  The  event  was 
regarded  with  much  interest  by  the  public  as  it  seemed  to  denote  the 
revival  of  American  honor  in  the  competition  with  the  mother  coun¬ 
try  for  the  carrying  and  passenger  trade  between  our  seaboard  and 
the  ports  of  Western  Europe.  The  transfer  of  flags  on  the  New 
York  was  made  the  occasion  in  the  harbor  of  the  metropolis  of  a 
public  day,  and  the  raising  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  over  the  great 
steamer  was  hailed  with  national  applause. 

In  the  after  part  of  the  administration  of  Harrison  the  financial 
condition  of  the  government  became  a  source  of  anxiety,  not  only  to 
the  party  in  power,  but  to  the  country  at  large.  It  will  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  at  the  close  of  the  administration  of  Cleveland  a  large 
surplus  had  accumulated  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  this  fact  was  made  the  basis  of  party  controversy  in  the  cam¬ 
paign  of  1888.  The  Republican  party,  coming  into  power,  was  put 
to  the  necessity  of  reducing  the  surplus  and  was,  at  the  same  time, 
under  pledge  of  maintaining  the  tariff  system,  by  the  action  of  which 
the  surplus  had  accumulated. 

How,  then,  should  these  two  ends  be  attained  ?  Practically,  the 
policy  adopted  was  one  of  enormous  expenditure.  The  already  pro¬ 
digious  public  outlay  began  to  be  augmented,  rather  with  the  motive 
of  reducing  the  surplus  than  for  any  intrinsic  public  good.  Each 
year  witnessed  an  ever-increasing  list  of  extravagances.  The  pension 
roll  was  enlarged ;  river  improvements  were  sought  out,  and  almost 
every  avenue  of  expenditure  discovered,  with  the  immediate  purpose 
of  relieving  the  plethora  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  ultimate  design  of 
saving  the  system  of  protection. 

By  these  means  the  expenses  of  the  government  were  increased 
in  the  last  year  of  Harrison’s  administration  to  more  than  a  billion 
dollars  !  The  Treasury  was  indeed  reduced  but,  at  the  same  time, 
a  system  of  things  was  instituted  which  overdid  itself,  and,  as  the 
administration  drew  to  a  close,  the  country  was  aroused  to  the  fact 
that  there  was  imminent  danger  of  a  National  deficit. 

This  state  of  facts  worked  both  ways.  While  the  Republicans 
gloried  in  the  reduction  of  the  surplus  and  the  scattering  broadcast 
of  the  vast  accumulations  of  the  Treasury  to  the  industries  of  the 
country,  the  Democrats  raised  the  cry  of  reckless  extravagance  and 


746 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


threatened  bankruptcy.  It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that 
Secretary  Foster  of  the  Treasury  Department  was  able,  at  the  close 
of  the  year  1892,  to  pull  his  accounts  together,  so  that  the  adminis¬ 
tration  might  go  out  of  power  with  even  the  appearance  of  validity 
remaining  behind  it. 

In  the  field  of  pure  politics  there  was  now  much  activity.  The 
management  of  both  parties  looked  anxiously  to  the  condition  of 
public  affairs,  and  sought  to  draw  therefrom  such  policies  as  might 
prove  successful  in  the  presidential  contest  of  1892.  There  was  a 
mixture  of  principles  and  personalities.  On  the  whole,  the  person¬ 
alities  predominated.  On  the  Democratic  side,  there  was  never  a 
time  in  the  quadrennium  when  ex-President  Cleveland  did  not  ap¬ 
pear  as  the  leader  of  his  party  and  the  logical  candidate  of  his  party 
for  re-election  to  the  presidency.  It  was  his  influence  and  policy 
that  had  determined  the  whole  existing  condition  of  party  contro¬ 
versy.  The  question  of  a  reform  of  the  revenue  system  of  the  United 
States,  involving  a  complete  change  in  the  theory  of  customs-duties, 
was  uppermost,  and  this  was  connected  with  various  financial  ques¬ 
tions,  including  the  paramount  dispute  about  the  free  coinage  of 
silver. 

On  the  Republican  side,  there  was  considerable  confusion  as  to  the 
candidate  to  be  named  and  the  policy  to  be  adopted.  Undoubtedly, 
James  G.  Blaine,  Secretary  of  State,  was  the  favorite  of  the  masses 
of  his  party.  Other  leaders  had  meanwhile  appeared  with  claims 
more  or  less  well  grounded,  to  the  support  of  their  party.  As  to 
President  Harrison,  he  desired  a  re-election,  and,  although  he  was 
not  preferred  by  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party  that  had  supported 
him  in  1888,  he  was  cordially  endorsed  by  the  large  and  powerful 
office-holding  classes  of  the  country.  These  were  unanimous  for  his 
re-election.  They  were  unable  to  see  in  any  other  candidate  the 
prospect  of  advantage  and  that  political  salvation  which  the  politi¬ 
cian  always  seems  so  anxious  to  secure. 

On  the  whole,  the  advantage  was  in  Harrison’s  favor.  Mr.  Blaine 
held  office  in  the  cabinet,  and  could  not  well  permit  his  ambitions 
and  those  of  his  friends  to  be  promoted  at  the  expense  of  the  ambi¬ 
tions  of  the  President.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  amicable  relations 
were  maintained  in  the  cabinet  in  the  third  year  of  the  administra¬ 
tion,  and  with  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  a  break  seemed  to  be 
always  imminent.  At  length  Mr.  Blaine,  after  much  annoyance, 
published  a  card  declining  to  be  a  candidate  before  the  approaching 
Republican  National  Convention  at  Minneapolis ;  but  the  card  was 


HARRISON 'S  ADMINISTRA  TiON. 


747 


not  regarded  by  his  more  enthusiastic  followers  as  final.  It  was  said 
that  if,  without  being  a  candidate,  he  should  receive  the  nomination, 
he  would  accept. 

The  National  Convention  of  the  Administration  Party  was  ap¬ 
pointed  to  meet  on  the  7th  day  of  June,  in  the  City  of  Minneapolis* 
Mr.  Blaine  continued  in  his  office  of  Secretary  of  State  until  the  eve 
of  the  Convention,  and  then  suddenly  and  peremptorily  resigned. 
The  resignation  was  accepted  in  like  terms  of  official  coldness  and 
brevity.  These  facts  were  regarded  as  a  signal  to  the  Blaine  follow¬ 
ing,  and  they  immediately  began  to  advocate  the  nomination  of  the 
ex-Secretary.  The  office-holding  classes  of  the  Republican  party 
went  to  the  Convention  in  solid  phalanx,  supported  by  a  respectable 
part  of  the  party  in  general,  and  in  particular  by  the  manufacturing 
and  protected  interests  of  the  country.  These  prevailed,  and  on  the 
third  day  of  the  Convention  the  renomination  of  the  President  was 
effected.  Blaine’s  retirement  from  the  cabinet  had  come  too  late. 
His  flame  flared  up  fitfully  at  the  Convention,  and  then  went  out. 
He  was  the  setting  sun,  and  men  do  not  worship  the  setting  sun. 

The  nomination  for  the  vice-presidency  was  given  to  Honorable 
Whitelaw  Reid,  of  New  York.  For  some  reason  of  his  own,  Vice- 
President  Morton  was  not  a  candidate  for  renomination.  It  was 
deemed  expedient,  however,  that  New  York  should  be  honored  with 
the  second  place  on  tliQ  ticket,  and  Mr.  Reid  was  the  favorite  of  both 
the  administration  and  the  party  at  large.  He  was,  at  the  time,  the 
representative  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  that  of  the 
French  Republic.  He  had  been  one  of  the  great  journalists  who  re¬ 
ceived,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Harrison  administration,  recognition 
by  appointment  to  the  first  diplomatical  positions  in  a  gift  of  the 
President.  He  had  recently  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  the 
New  York  Tribune ,  which  he  controlled,  had  been  made  a  powerful 
support  in  the  work  of  renominating  Harrison  and  incidentally  secur¬ 
ing  the  second  place  to  its  editor. 

Meanwhile,  the  Democratic  party  rallied  its  forces  and  on  the 
21st  of  June,  the  National  Convention  of  that  party  met  in  the  city  of 
Chicago.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  the  favorite  of  the  masses  of  his  party 
for  the  nomination,  but  in  his  own  State  there  was  a  powerful  and 
well-organized  effort  to  defeat  him.  The  Tammany  Society  of  New 
York  City,  controlling  the  Democratic  forces  in  the  State,  was  firmly 
set  against  the  ex-President,  and  left  no  stone  unturned  to  prevent 
his  selection  as  the  standard-bearer  in  the  approaching  canvass.  With 
this  party,  Senator  David  B.  Hill  was  the  favorite,  and  the  New  York 


748 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


delegation  was  sent  to  Chicago  instructed  in  his  interest.  But  the 
political  machinery  of  the  Empire  State,  supported  as  it  was  by  cer¬ 
tain  malcontent  elements  in  other  States,  was  not  able  to  prevail 
against  the  overwhelming  sentiment  in  favor  of  Cleveland,  and  he 
was  easily  renominated.  The  second  place  on  the  ticket  was  given 
to  Honorable  Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  of  Illinois. 

The  People’s  party  now  displayed  itself  in  greater  strength  than 
ever  before.  Throughout  a  large  part  of  the  West,  the  new  political 
organization  showed  such  vitality  as  seriously  to  threaten  the  in¬ 
tegrity  of  the  old  parties.  The  claims  of  the  People’s  organization 
to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  demands  of  the  masses  as  against  the 
organized  powers  of  wealth  and  manufacture,  were  recognized  as 
having  in  them  a  measure  of  justice,  and  the  public  sentiment  in  the 
West  was  strongly  displayed  at  the  National  Convention  of  the 
party  which  was  held  in  Omaha  on  the  2d  of  July. 

When  the  Convention  assembled  it  was  evident  that  the  prefer¬ 
ences  of  the  delegates  for  Judge  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  of  Illinois, 
would  assure  his  nomination;  but  the  Judge,  while  the  Convention 
was  in  session,  declined  to  permit  the  use  of  his  name,  and  the  nomi¬ 
nation  went  by  common  consent  to  the  old  and  tried  leader  of  the 
party,  General  James  B.  Weaver,  of  Iowa.  Associated  on  the  ticket 
with  him  was  Judge  James  G.  Field,  of  Virginia. 

The  platform  of  the  new  party  declared  for  the  free  coinage  of 
silver;  for  the  radical  reform  of  the  revenue  system  of  the  United  * 
States,  and  for  the  control  of  the  railways  and  telegraphs  of  the 
country  by  the  government,  in  the  interest  of  the  people.  There 
were  also  other  declarations  in  favor  of  a  system  of  banking  and 
loans  to  the  people  on  security  of  farm  property,  and, the  like.  The 
clause  in  favor  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  was  the  prevalent  one 
and  drew  to  the  support  of  the  ticket  a  large  following  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  where  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  paying  the  debts  of  the 
people  by  the  bimetallic  standard  prevailed. 

The  presidential  canvass  of  1892  was  conducted  in  an  apathetic 
manner.  It  was  found  impossible  to  arouse  the  masses  of  the  people 
to  the  usual  pitch  of  enthusiasm  and  party  combat.  W ith  the  progress 
of  the  campaign  it  became  evident  that  the  candidates  of  the  Demo¬ 
cratic  party  were  strongly  in  the  lead.  The  popularity  of  Cleveland 
was  never  before  displayed  in  so  strong  a  manner.  It  amounted  to  a 
public  confidence  against  which  no  party  machinery  could  well  pre¬ 
vail.  The  Republican  leaders  continued  the  battle  until  the  day  of 
election  came,  but  with  ever  diminishing  prospects  of  success.  The 


HARRISON  ’S  A  DMINISTRA  TION. 


74ft 

result  was  the  election  of  Cleveland  and  by  a  majority  so  overwhelm¬ 
ing  as  to  mark  a  political  revolution.  By  the  same  event  the  control 
of  both  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives  passed  to  the 
Democratic  party.  The  electoral  vote  in  favor  of  Cleveland  was  276, 
against  145  for  President  Harrison  and  23  votes  for  General  Weaver. 
Thus,  by  a  decisive  and  unmistakable  verdict,  the  political  destinies 
of  the  Republic  were  entrusted  for  the  ensuing  quadrennium  to  that 
party  which  had  gone  out  of  power  with  Buchanan  in  1861,  and  had 
never,  in  the  interim,  gained  possession  of  the  Executive  and  both 
branches  of  the  Legislative  departments  of  the  government. 

The  election  was  quickly  followed  by  the  last  scene  in  the  life  of 
James  G.  Blaine.  That  statesman  had  suffered  many  hardships  and 
disappointments  in  his  public  and  his  personal  career.  Soon  after 
the  Minneapolis  Convention,  his  son,  Emmons  Blaine,  suddenly 
sickened  and  died  at  Chicago.  Already  the  Honorable  Walker 
Blaine,  upon  whom  his  father  had  placed  his  principal  expectations, 
and  Mrs.  Alice  Coppinger,  the  statesman’s  daughter,  had  died  at 
Washington.  The  family  was  decimated.  Mr.  Blaine’s  political 
fortunes  had  now  gone  utterly  to  wreck.  There  was  no  longer  a 
shadow  of  hope  of  the  revival  of  those  great  ambitions  by  which  he 
had  been  employed  for  fully  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  might  not 
even  aspire  to  reappear  prominently  in  the  councils  of  the  nation ; 
for  the  opposing  party  had  come  into  power;  the  Senate  was  full  as 
to  its  membership,  and  the  appointive  officers  were  at  the  disposal  of 
a  Democratic  president. 

Mr.  Blaine  might  be  regarded  as  a  heart-broken  man.  His  health 
had  already  become  precarious  ;  indeed,  for  sixteen  years  he  had 
been  under  stress  and  alarm  with  respect  to  the  failure  of  his  physical 
powers.  In  the  late  autumn  of  1892,  he  became  prostrated  at  his 
home  in  Washington  City  and  it  was  soon  known  that  his  days  were 
numbered.  He  sank  under  an  accumulation  of  ills,  the  most  fatal  of 
which  was  Bright’s  disease,  and  his  mind  as  well  as  his  body  yielded 
to  the  attack.  He  lingered  until  the  beginning  of  the  new  year, 
when  the  heart’s  action  became  enfeebled  and  his  life  was  limited  to 
a  few  days. 

Much  uncertainty  existed  in  the  public  mind  and  great  interest 
was  manifested  in  the  condition  and  decline  of  the  distinguished  pa¬ 
tient.  At  last,  death  came  suddenly,  unexpectedly.  On  the  morning 
of  January  27,  1893,  Mr.  Blaine  was  found  by  his  physicians  to  be  in 
a  sinking  condition.  His  constitution  no  longer  reacted  under  the 

o  o 

most  powerful  stimulants,  and  at  11  o’clock,  on  the  forenoon  of  the 


750 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


day  referred  to,  he  died  in  quietude  and  peace.  Instantly  the  event 
was  known  and  was  flashed  by  wire  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
Republic. 

The  funeral  of  the  statesman  was  as  private  as  such  an  event  could 
be  in  Washington  City.  His  body  was  placed  in  one  of  the  rooms  of 
the  old  Seward  House,  in  Lafayette  Square,  and  was  there  viewed  by 
friends  until  Monday  the  30th  of  January,  when  the  funeral  cere¬ 
mony  was  held  in  the  Church  of  the  Covenant.  Afterwards  the  body 
was  interred  in  the  cemetery  at  Georgetown,  in  a  spot  selected  by 
the  statesman  as  his  last  resting-place. 

We  need  not  in  this  connection  dwell  upon  the  life  and  services  of 
James  G.  Blaine.  Without  doubt  he  was,  for  a  considerable  period 
at  an  important  epoch  of  our  country’s  history,  one  of  its  most  distin¬ 
guished  and  able  of  our  public  men.  He  had  great  talents  and  great 
ambitions.  His  character,  though  somewhat  enigmatical,  was  never¬ 
theless  of  the  highest  type  so  far  as  his  statesmanship  and  patriotism 
were  concerned.  His  leadership  of  his  party  was  brilliant ;  his  fol¬ 
lowing  was  enthusiastic,  and  his  general  influence  strong  and  endur¬ 
ing.  Though  he  failed  to  reach  the  presidency,  his  career  was  so 
conspicuous  and,  on  the  whole,  successful,  as  to  entitle  him  to  rank 
with  the  great  names  that  have  brightened  our  country’s  history  in 
its  era  of  statesmanship  —  with  Clay  and  Webster  of  the  middle  of 
the  century,  and  with  Sumner  and  Conkling  of  the  later  period. 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


751 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

SECOND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  CLEVELAND. 

rrHE  re-election  of  Grover  Cleveland  to  the  presidency  was  an 
event  of  peculiar  significance.  No  such  fact  had  hitherto  been 
known  in  our  history.  On  seven  former  occasions  Presidents  had 
been  re-elected  to  the  chief  magistracy  while  holding  that  office ; 
but  in  no  case  had  one  who  had  retired  from  office  been  re-chosen 
for  a  second  term.  The  record  of  precedent  was  thus  broken  in  the 
election  of  1892.  The  successful  candidate  had  indeed  been  Presi¬ 
dent,  but  he  had  been  for  four  years  out  of  office,  and  had  no  longer 
at  his  disposal  the  powerful  official  array  which  has  shown  itself  so 
efficient  in  presidential  elections.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  obliged  to  begin 
'the  canvass  as  any  other  citizen,  supported  only  by  his  prestige  as 
a  former  chief  magistrate  and  by  the  fealty  of  his  party.  The  event 
showed  that  in  addition  to  these  elements  of  strength  he  had  also  a 
powerful  independent  following  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  adhering 
not  only  to  his  personal  and  political  fortunes,  but  believing  stead¬ 
fastly  in  the  principles  and  policies  which  he  so  strenuously  repre¬ 
sented. 

We  have  already  presented  in  a  former  chapter  a  sketch  of  the 
previous  career  of  this  remarkable  public  character.  It  is  not  needed 
that  we  should  here  recount  the  events  of  his  past  life  or  of  his 
administration  as  President  of  the  United  States.  It  is  appropriate, 
however,  that  we  should  emphasize  somewhat  the  remarkable  ascend¬ 
ency  which  he  had  gained  over  the  public  mind.  His  pre-eminence 
was  by  no  means  that  of  a  partisan,  but  rather  that  of  a  public  man 
who  had  risen  to  influence  by  the  sternness  and  persistency  of  his 
political  views,  and  the  honesty  with  which  he  had  followed  them 
to  their  legitimate  results. 

These  traits  of  character  were  shown  in  full  measure  at  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  Cleveland’s  second  term  in  the  presidency.  It  was  mani¬ 
fested  at  the  very  start  by  his  course  in  selecting  the  members  of  his 
cabinet.  At  the  head  of  that  body  he  placed  Judge  Walter  Q. 
Gresham,  of  Illinois,  who  had  been,  until  the  last  canvass,  a  life¬ 
long  Republican  leader.  He  had  been  prominently  advocated  for 
the  presidential  nomination  in  1888,  and  during  the  Harrison  admin- 


752 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


istration  there  were  many  who  had  looked  to  him  as  the  standard- 
bearer  of  his  party  in  1892.  Meanwhile,  the  growing  People’s  party 
had  laid  claim  to  Judge  Gresham  as  their  favorite,  and  it  could  not 
be  doubted  that  he  would  have  received  the  nomination  of  that  party 
if  he  had  consented  to  accept  it.  He  was  known  to  be  a  man  of  the 
people  as  well  as  a  party  leader.  He  was  recognized  everywhere  as 
an  able  and  upright  judge,  without  flaw  or  blemish  in  his  political  or 
judicial  character.  With  respect  to  the  reform  of  the  revenue  system 
and  one  or  two  other  items  of  Democratic  policy,  he  came  to  be  in 
agreement  with  the  President ;  but  it  was  no  doubt  the  conviction 
of  Mr.  Cleveland  in  the  personal  and  official  integrity  of  Gresham 
that  led  to  the  selection  of  the  latter  for  the  important  place  of 
Secretary  of  State  in  the  new  cabinet. 

The  second  place,  that  of  Secretaryship  of  the  Treasury,  was  given 
to  ex-Senator  John  G.  Carlisle,  of  Kentucky,  whose  ascendency  in 
his  party  and  his  views  on  the  question  of  the  currency  recommended 
him  strongly  for  the  place.  The  appointment  of  Secretary  of  War 
was  given  to  Honorable  Daniel  S.  Lamont,  of  New  York,  who  had* 
been  intimately  associated  with  President  Cleveland  as  his  private 
Secretary  during  his  first  term  of  service.  Honorable  Wilson  S. 
Bissell,  of  New  York,  was  made  Postmaster-General,  and  Richard 
Olney,  of  Massachusetts,  Attorney-General.  The  position  of  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Navy  was  assigned  to  Honorable  Hillary  A.  Herbert,  of 
Alabama,  whose  influence  and  rank  in  the  South  were  such  as  to 
suggest  him  for  the  place.  The  appointment  of  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  was  given  to  Honoiable  Hoke  Smith,  of  Georgia,  a  second 
representative  of  the  Southern  Democracy.  The  place  of  Secretary 
of  Agriculture  was  given  to  Honorable  J.  Sterling  Morton,  of  Ne¬ 
braska,  thus  completing  the  cabinet.  One  of  the  peculiarities  of 
Mr.  Cleveland’s  method  was  his  naming  of  the  cabinet  officers  before 
the  day  of  inauguration.  The  appointments  were  given  out  in  ad¬ 
vance,  and  the  usual  excitement  and  controversy  about  places  in  the 
cabinet  were  thus  avoided. 

Much  curiosity  was  shown  by  the  public  as  to  the  policy  of  the 
President  in  his  general  official  appointments.  He  was  known  to  be 
committed  to  the  doctrine  of  civil-service  reform,  and  to  be  strongly 
opposed  to  the  removal  of  officers  for  merely  political  reasons.  These 
qualities  were  manifested  in  the  appointments  which  he  now  made  to 
the  principal  positions  at  his  disposal.  In  filling  such  places  as  were 
vacant  he  adopted  certain  maxims,  one  of  which  was,  that  those  who 
had  held  office  under  him  formerly  should  not  do  so  a  second  time. 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


753 


Another  was,  that  fitness  and  competency  should  be  considered  as 
the  prime  requisites  in  applicants  for  office,  and  that  competent 
officials  should  not  be  removed  until  their  official  terms  had  expired. 
It  was  said,  also,  that  the  President  decided  not  to  appoint,  as  his 
predecessor  had  done,  the  great  editors  of  the  country  to  public 
office.  The  course  pursued  by  President  Harrison  in  this  respect, 
had  reacted  strongly  against  him.  That  chief  magistrate  had  adopted 
the  policy  of  filling  his  principal  foreign  appointments  with  the  pro¬ 
prietors  and  editors  of  the  great  journals  and  magazines  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  as  if  with  a  view  to  the  control  of  public  opinion.  But  the  ruse 
was  quickly  discovered,  and  public  opinion  reacted  against  such  a 
method  of  keeping  a  party  in  power.  Mr.  Cleveland  went  to  the 
opposite  extreme,  and  selected  his  foreign  ministers  with  strict  avoid¬ 
ance  of  the  editorial  profession.  On  the  whole,  it  should  be  allowed 
that  the  new  President  was  personally  one  of  the  most  conspicuous, 
as  well  as  one  of  the  most  determined,  leaders  of  public  policy  who 
had  held  the  presidency  since  the  Civil  War. 

The  years  1892-93  were  destined  to  be  made  memorable  in  Ameri¬ 
can  history  by  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition.  A  period  of 
nearly  forty  years  had  elapsed  since  the  first  great  national  event  of 
this  kind  had  occurred  in  the  United  States.  Since  the  date  of  the 
first  World’s  Fair  at  New  York  a  new  generation  had  arisen.  Since 
that  date  the  greatest  of  civil  wars  had  been  fought  to  its  bloody  end. 
Since  that  date  two  other  exhibitions  of  international  fame  had  been 
held,  the  one  being  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  and 
the  other  the  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
Republic,  at  New  York,  in  1889. 

With  the  coming  of  the  Columbian  year  1892,  marking  the  close 
of  the  fourth  centennium  since  the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  the 
project  of  commemorating  that  greatest  of  human  events  with  an 
international  celebration  in  America  was  agitated,  and  a  plan  for 
such  celebration  was  rapidly  developed.  The  measure  first  came  into 
practical  form  and  bearing  with  the  adoption  by  Congress  of  an  Act 
providing  for  a  World’s  Columbian  Exposition,  to  be  held  in  the 
United  States  in  1892-93.  The  principal  provisions  of  the  Act  were 
as  follows: 

“  Whereas,  It  is  fit  and  appropriate  that  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
discovery  of  America  be  commemorated  by  an  exposition  of  the  resources  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  of  their  development  and  of  the  progress  of  civ¬ 
ilization  in  the  New  World;  and 

*•  Whereas,  Such  an  exhibition  should  be  of  a  national  and  international  character, 


754 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


so  that  not  only  the  people  of  our  Union  and  this  Continent,  but  those  of  all  nations 
as  well,  can  participate,  and  should  therefore  have  the  sanction  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States :  therefore  be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  an  exhibition  of 
arts,  industries,  manufactures,  and  products  of  the  soil,  mine  and  sea  shall  be  inaugu¬ 
rated  in  the  year  1892  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  as  hereinafter 
provided. 

“  Section  2.  That  a  Commission,  to  consist  of  two  commissioners  from  each 
State  and  Territory  of  the  United  States  and  from  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
eight  commissioners  at  large,  is  hereby  constituted  to  be  designated  as  the  World’s 
Columbian  Commission. 

“  Section  3.  That  said  commissioners,  two  from  each  State  and  Territory,  shall 
be  appointed  within  thirty  days  from  the  passage  of  this  Act  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  on  the  nomination  of  the  Governors  of  the  States  and  Territories  re¬ 
spectively,  and  by  the  President  eight  commissioners  at  large,  and  two  from  the  Dis¬ 
trict  of  Columbia;  and  in  the  same  manner  and  within  the  same  time  there  shall  be 
appointed  two  alternate  commissioners  from  each  State  and  Territory  of  the  United 
States  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  eight  alternate  commissioners  at  large,  who 
shall  assume  and  perform  the  duty  of  such  commissioner  or  commissioners  as  may  be 
unable  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  said  Commission,  and  in  such  nominations  and 
appointments  each  of  the  two  leading  political  parties  shall  be  equally  represented. 
Vacancies  in  the  Commission  nominated  by  the  Governors  of  the  several  States  and 
Territories  respectively,  and  also  vacancies  in  the  Commission  at  large  and  from  the 
District  of  Columbia,  may  be  filled  in  the  same  manner  and  under  the  same  condi¬ 
tions  as  provided  herein  for  their  original  appointment. 

“Section  4.  That  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  shall  immediately 
after  the  passage  of  this  Act  notify  the  Governors  of  the  several  States  and  Territories 
respectively  thereof,  and  request  such  nominations  to  be  made.  The  commissioners 
so  appointed  shall  be  called  together  by  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States 
in  the  City  of  Chicago,  by  notice  to  the  commissioners,  as  soon  as  convenient  after 
the  appointment  of  said  commissioners,  and  within  thirty  days  thereafter.  The  said 
commissioners  at  said  first  meeting  shall  organize  by  the  election  of  such  officers  and 
the  appointment  of  such  committees  as  they  may  deem  expedient,  and  for  this  pur¬ 
pose  the  commissioners  present  at  said  meeting  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

“  Section  5.  That  said  Commission  be  empowered  in  its  discretion  to  accept 
for  the  purposes  of  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition  such  site  as  may  be  selected 
and  offered,  and  such  plans  and  specifications  of  buildings  to  be  erected  for  such  pur¬ 
pose  at  the  expense  of  and  tendered  by  the  corporation,  organized  under  the  laws  of 
the  State  of  Illinois,  known  as  the  World’s  Exposition  of  1892,  Provided ,  That  said 
site  so  tendered  and  the  buildings  proposed  to  be  erected  thereon  shall  be  deemed  by 
said  Commission  adequate  to  the  purpose  of  said  exposition ;  and  provided,  That  said 
Commission  shall  be  satisfied  that  the  said  corporation  has  an  actual  bona  fide  and 
valid  subscription  to  its  capital  stock  of  at  least  five  million  dollars,  of  which  not  less 
than  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  shall  have  been  paid  in,  and  that  the  further  sum 
of  five  million  dollars,  making  in  all  ten  million  dollars,  will  be  provided  by  said  cor¬ 
poration  in  ample  time  for  its  needful  use  during  the  prosecution  of  the  work  for  the 
complete  preparation  of  said  exposition.” 

Section  6  provided  for  the  allotment  of  space,  specification  of  exhibits  and  the 
appointment  of  judges. 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


755 


Section  7  provided  for  rules  and  regulations  relative  to  entrance  and  admission 
fees,  and  to  rights,  privileges  and  interests  of  the  exhibitors. 

Section  8  provided  for  the  dedication  of  the  buildings  of  the  World’s  Columbian 
Exposition  on  the  30th  of  April,  1892. 

Section  9  provided  that  the  President,  through  the  Department  of  State, 
should  communicate  the  fact  of  the  exposition  to  foreign  nations,  and  invite  partici¬ 
pation  therein. 

Section  10  provided  for  the  admission  of  exhibits  from  all  countries  free  of 
duties,  custom-fees,  etc. 

Section  11  provided  for  a  preliminary  appropriation  of  twenty  thousand  dollars 
for  the  purpose  of  starting  the  exposition  enterprise  by  the  Government. 

The  remainder  of  the  Act,  which  embraces  twenty-one  sections  in  all,  related 
to  the  details  of  the  great  project  and  to  contemplated  expenditures  in  promoting 
the  same  by  governmental  support. 

The  Bill  thus  reported  was  adopted  with  certain  amendments 
by  the  House-  of  Representatives,  on  the  25th  of  March,  1890,  and 
became  the  legal  and  authoritative  basis  of  all  that  was  subsequently 
accomplished. 

The  subscriptions  to  the  capital  for  the  organization  of  the  World’s 
Fair  at  Chicago  were  completed  by  March  of  1890.  The  subscribers 
to  the  fund  had  a  meeting  on  the  4th  of  April,  1890,  and  elected  a 
Board  of  Directors,  which,  in  turn,  elected  Lyman  J.  Gage  president, 
Thomas  B.  Bryan  and  Potter  Palmer  vice-presidents,  Anthony  F. 
Seeberger  treasurer,  Benjamin  Butterworth  secretary,  and  William 
K.  Ackerman  auditor.  The  new  directory  first  met  on  the  12th  of 
April.  President  Harrison  meanwhile  signed  the  Congressional  Act 
locating  the  Exposition  in  Chicago.  The  measure  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  commissioners,  and  the  creation  of  the  World’s  Co¬ 
lumbian  Exposition  Board.  The  board  consisted  of  two  commission- 
el's  appointed  by  the  President  for  each  State  and  Territory,  of  eight 
commissioners-at-large,  and  two  from  the  District  of  Columbia,  each 
with  alternates.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  directors  in  1892,  Harlow 
N.  Higinbotham  was  elected  president  upon  the  resignation  of  Wil¬ 
liam  T.  Baker,  who  had  succeeded  Lyman  J.  Gage  after  his  resigna¬ 
tion  on  April  14,  1891.  Ferdinand  W.  Peck  and  Robert  A.  Waller 
were  chosen  for  the  new  vice-presidents,  and  Howard  O.  Edwards, 
secretary. 

A  body  created  to  be  representative  of  the  supreme  power,  vested 
in  both  the  National  Commission  and  the  Directory  of  the  corporation, 
was  known  as  the  Council  of  Administration,  and  H.  N.  Higinbotham 
was  appointed  to  the  chairmanship.  This  Council  had  the  chief 
direction  and  management  of  the  Exposition,  subject  only  to  the 


756 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


action  of  Congress.  It  was  created  by  agreement  between  the  Na¬ 
tional  Commission  and  the  Exposition  Directory,  or  local  organiza¬ 
tion,  its  membership  embracing  two  representatives  from  each  body. 

As  soon  as  the  World’s  Fair  Bill  received  the  executive  signa¬ 
ture,  President  Harrison  appointed  as  members  of  the  National  Com¬ 
mission  two  from  each  of  the  several  States  and  Territories,  one  Re¬ 
publican  and  one  Democrat  in  each  case.  The  nominations  for  these 
positions  were  made  by  the  respective  governors  of  the  States  and 
Territories.  On  the  5th  of  June,  1890,  an  official  letter  was  issued 
by  James  G.  Blaine,  Secretary  of  State,  convening  the  Commission 
in  first  session  at  the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel  in  Chicago  on  the  25th  of 
the  same  month. 

Hon.  A.  T.  Ewing,  of  Illinois,  acted  as  chairman  of  this  meeting. 
Later  in  June,  when  the  commissioners  reassembled,  the  office  of 
president  was  filled  by  the  unanimous  election  of  Thomas  W.  Palmer, 
of  Michigan,  a  man  in  every  respect  worthy  to  discharge  the  high 
duties  devolved  upon  him.  Five  vice-presidents  and  a  secretary 
were  also  elected.  When  the  organization  was  perfected,  the  local 
directors  were  formally  notified  that  the  Commission  was  prepared 
to  receive  any  communications  they  had  to  submit.  After  this  the 
Commission  met  daily,  and  prepared  an  outline  of  the  details  of  a 
complete  legislative  and  executive  organization.  During  these  sit¬ 
tings  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

“  Resolved ,  That  this  Commission  is  satisfied  that  the  World’s  Columbian  Ex¬ 
position  of  Chicago  has  an  actual,  bona  fide  and  valid  subscription  to  its  capital 
stock  which  will  secure  the  payment  of  at  least  five  million  dollars,  of  which  not  less 
than  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  has  been  paid  in,  and  that  the  further  sum  of 
five  million  dollars,  making  in  all  ten  million  dollars,  will  be  provided  by  said  cor¬ 
poration  in  ample  time  for  its  needful  use  during  the  prosecution  of  the  work  for  the 
complete  preparation  of  said  Exposition.” 

The  following  is  a  full  roster  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  Na¬ 
tional  Commission,  the  States  and  Territories  they  represent,  and 
their  places  of  residence ;  also  the  names  of  the  Commissioners-at- 
Large.  Honorable  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  of  Michigan,  President ; 
Honorable  Thomas  M.  Waller,  of  Connecticut,  First  Vice-President; 
M.  H.  De  Young,  of  California,  Second  Vice-President;  Davidson 
B.  Penn,  of  Louisiana,  Third  Vice-President;  Gorton  W.  Allen,  of 
New  York,  Fourth  Vice-President;  Alexander  B.  Andrews,  of  North 
Carolina,  Fifth  Vice-President;  Honorable  John  T.  Dickinson,  of 
Texas,  Secretary;  Harvey  B.  Platt,  of  Ohio,  Vice-Chairman  of  Ex- 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


757 


ecutive  Committee.  The  Commissioners-atrLarge  were :  Augustus 
G.  Bullock,  Worcester,  Mass.;  Gorton  W.  Allen,  Auburn,  N.  Y.; 
Peter  A.  B.  Widener,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  De¬ 
troit,  Mich.;  R.  W.  Furnas,  Brown ville,  Neb.;  Patrick  P.  Walsh, 
Augusta,  Ga. ;  Henry  Exall,  Dallas,  Tex. ;  and  Mark  L.  McDonald, 
Santa  Rosa,  Cal.  The  alternates  were :  Henry  Ingalls,  Wiscasset, 
Me.;  Louis  Fitzgerald,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  John  W.  Chalfant,  Pitts¬ 
burgh,  Pa. ;  James  Oliver,  South  Bend,  Ind. ;  Hale  G.  Parker,  St. 
Louis,  Mo. ;  John  B.  Castleman,  Louisville,  Ky. ;  H.  C.  King,  San 
Antonio,  Tex.;  and  Thomas  Burke,  Seattle,  Wash. 

During  the  second  session  of  the  Commission,  on  September  18, 
1890,  Colonel  George  R.  Davis,  of  Massachusetts,  was  elected  upon 
the  recommendation  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Board  of 
Directors,  Director-General  of  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition. 
During  the  same  session  President  Palmer  announced  the  standing 
committees  on  Judiciary,  Rules  and  By-Laws;  Tariffs  and  Transpor¬ 
tation  ;  Foreign  Affairs  ;  Fine  Arts  ;  Science,  History,  Literature  and 
Education ;  Agriculture  ;  Live  Stock  ;  Horticulture  and  Floriculture ; 
Finance ;  Auditing  ;  Ceremonies ;  Classification  ;  Manufactures ;  Com¬ 
merce  ;  Mines  and  Mining ;  Fisheries  and  Fish  Culture ;  Electricity 
and  Electrical  Appliances ;  Forestry  and  Lumber ;  Machinery;  World’s 
Congresses  and  Printing. 

Before  adjourning  the  National  Commission  created  the  great 
departments  into  which  the  Fair  was  divided,  as  follows  :  A  —  Agri¬ 
culture  :  fruits,  plants,  food  and  food-products,  farming  machinery 
and  appliances.  B  —  Horticulture  :  seeds,  vines,  nursery  trees,  gar¬ 
den  implements.  C — LiveStock:  domestic  and  wild  animals.  I)  — 
Fish,  Fisheries,  Fish  Products  and  Apparatus  for  Fishing.  E — 
Mines,  Mining  and  Metallurgy.  F — Electricity  and  Electrical  Ap¬ 
pliances.  K — Fine  Arts.  L  —  Liberal  Arts.  M — Ethnology.  0  — 
Publicity  and  Promotion.  P  —  Foreign  Affairs. 

Subsequently  the  Commission  met  a  number  of  times,  and  decided 
such  questions  as  those  relating  to  the  sale  of  liquors  and  Sunday 
closing.  At  first,  a  vote  was  passed  in  favor  of  opening  the  Exposi¬ 
tion  on  Sunday,  and  in  favor  of  leaving  the  problem  of  selling  light 
wines  and  malt  liquors  with  the  directors.  Afterward,  however,  the 
managers  voted  against  the  former  measure  ;  the  question  was  carried 
into  the  courts,  and  remained  virtually1  undecided  during  the  Expo¬ 
sition. 

The  World’s  Columbian  Exposition  was  thus  created  under  pro¬ 
visions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  of  April  25,  1890.  The  President  of 


758 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  United  States,  on  December  24, 1890,  proclaimed  the  Exposition 
to  the  world,  and  invited  foreign  nations  to  participate  in  the  Colum¬ 
bian  jubilee. 

In  the  fall  of  1891  the  Exposition  managers  sent  a  commission 
to  Southern  Europe.  This  was  presided  over  by  Thomas  B.  Bryant 
one  of  the  commissioners-at-large.  The  portions  of  the  world  visited 
by  the  commission  had  not,  at  that  time,  manifested  the  slightest 
interest  in  the  Exposition ;  but  the  rulers  and  people  were  both  ap¬ 
pealed  to  by  the  commission,  and  were  fully  informed  of  the  enormous 
undertaking  in  which  the  United  States  had  embarked.  Five  months 
were  spent  in  spreading  broadcast  all  the  information  available,  which 
resulted  in  changing  most  materially  the  sentiment  of  these  foreign 
nations  and  inspiring  them  with  the  liveliest  interest.  Potentates 
began  to  respond  encouragingly,  and  even  the  Pope  acknowledged 
that  he  was  greatly  surprised  at  the  gigantic  project  of  the  Exposi¬ 
tion  and  its  grand  scale,  and  promised  to  contribute  to  its  success  in 
any  way  within  his  power.  He  wrote  a  cordial  letter,  and  sent  for 
exhibition  rare  treasures  never  before  permitted  to  leave  the  Vatican. 
After  the  return  of  the  Bryan  commission  from  Europe,  the  chairman 
kept  up  an  interesting  correspondence  with  the  powers  abroad,  in 
order  that  their  interest,  so  long  latent,  which  the  commission  had 
now  aroused,  might  not  subside. 

The  governments  of  all  distant  countries  seemed  at  first  dis¬ 
inclined  to  affiliate  with  the  United  States  and  its  projected  Expo¬ 
sition.  Honorable  Walter  Fearn  was  elected  chief  of  a  Department 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  fifty  nations  were  induced  to  participate  as  a 
result  of  the  work  of  this  Department.  The  wonderful  exhibitions 
of  mechanism  and  handicraft  made  by  these  countries  may  well  teach 
the  United  States  that,  however  unrivalled  its  progress  in  acquisition 
of  wealth  and  power  may  have  been,  our  country  has  yet  much  to 
learn  from  the  highly  cultivated  nations  of  the  Old  World. 

Next  followed  the  acts  of  appropriation  by  the  various  foreign 
nations.  Norway  and  Sweden  first  set  aside  $110,000,  and  Denmark 
$67,000,  to  provide  for  participation  in  the  Fair.  France  accepted 
the  invitation,  and  placed  $631,000  at  the  disposal  of  her  commis¬ 
sioners.  The  Emperor  of  Germany  took  personal  interest  in  the  part 
and  place  that  great  empire  was  to  have  in  the  Exposition  at  Chi¬ 
cago,  and  the  sum  of  $800,000  was  appropriated  for  the  proper 
acceptance  of  America’s  invitation.  Austria-Hungary  placed  $150,- 
000  florins  at  the  disposal  of  her  commission  as  a  preliminary  appro¬ 
priation,  and  the  Emperor’s  brother  acted  as  one  of  the  commission- 


CLEVELAND’S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


759 


ere.  The  government  of  Russia  assumed  entire  charge  of  the  exhibit 
from  that  country  ;  and  the  richest  and  finest  products  from  all  parts 
of  that  wonderful  domain  were  gathered  together.  One  million  dol¬ 
lars  would  perhaps  not  cover  the  expense  of  the  Russian  display. 
The  countries  under  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain  were  all  repre¬ 
sented  ;  and  probably  $1,500,000  would  not  exceed  the  amount  ex¬ 
pended  by  the  British  dependencies  in  their  preparations  to  comply 
with  the  invitation  to  participate  in  the  Fair.  The  Irish,  Welsh  and 
Scotch  were  all  well  represented.  Spain,  Portugal,  Greece,  Belgium, 
Turkey,  Switzerland  and  Egypt  all  responded  heartily  to  the  cordial 
invitation  of  the  United  States.  Brazil  set  aside  $600,000  for  the 
display  from  that  uncertain  but  growing  Republic.  Costa  Rica  voted 
$150,000 ;  Ecuador,  $125,000 ;  Guatemala,  $200,000 ;  Mexico,  $50,- 
000;  and  Japan,  $700,000.  All  the  leading  nations  of  the  world 
responded  to  the  friendly  call  of  our  country. 

As  soon  as  it  became  evident  that  the  United  States  would  hold 
the  World’s  Fair,  all  the  leading  American  cities  endeavored  to 
secure  the  Exposition.  The  rivalry  was  keen.  Chicago,  however, 
won  the  prize.  As  early  as  July,  1889,  the  council  of  that  city  passed 
a  resolution  instructing  the  mayor  to  appoint  a  committee  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  to  induce  Congress  to  locate  the  Fair  in  Chicago.  In  August 
of  the  same  year  subscription  books  were  opened  for  the  proposed 
corporation  entitled  “The  World’s  Exposition  of  1892,”  the  object  of 
which  was  the  holding  of  an  international  exhibition  in  the  City  of 
Chicago  to  commemorate  on  its  four  hundredth  anniversary  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  America.  Senator  Cullom,  of  Illinois,  introduced  the  first 
World’s  Fair  bill  in  the  United  States  Senate  ;  and  in  January,  1890, 
Chicago’s  application  was  placed  before  a  special  committee  of  that 
body. 

New  York,  also,  was  eager  for  the  Fair.  The  contest  was  bitterly 
waged  between  the  great  metropolis  of  the  East  and  the  newer  W est- 
ern  metropolis.  Nothing  that  could  influence  the  decision  of  Con¬ 
gress  was  left  undone  by  the  people  of  Chicago,  and  this  persistency 
was  rewarded  by  the  vote  of  Congress  on  February  24,  1890,  to  hold 
the  Exposition  in  Chicago.  Then  began  that  wonderful  ambition  on 
the  part  of  the  people  of  the  favored  city  to  make  the  Fair  the  most 
brilliant  achievement  of  the  age.  The  question  of  funds  was  met 
promptly  by  the  Illinois  Legislature ;  and,  although  the  National 
Congress  seemed  dilatory  and  at  times  unwilling  to  make  an  appro¬ 
priation  for  the  gigantic  undertaking,  the  energy  of  Chicago  proved 
indomitable,  and  the  great  work  went  on  despite  all  drawbacks  and 
hinderances. 


760 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


After  it  was  decided  to  hold  the  Fair  in  Chicago,  the  next  prob¬ 
lem  which  presented  itself  was  the  selection  of  a  suitable  site  for  the 
Exposition  buildings.  It  was  many  months  before  the  committee 
arrived  at  a  decision.  Jackson  Park  and  Midwdy  Plaisance,  an  un¬ 
inviting  strip  of  sand,  swamp  and  scrub-oaks  was  at  last  selected. 
This  portion  of  the  territory  of  Chicago  is  located  on  the  South  Side, 
and,  at  the  time  of  its  selection,  Jackson  Park  was  perhaps  as  unin¬ 
viting  a  spot  in  appearance  as  could  be  found  along  the  margin  of 
Lake  Michigan.  But  the  park  was  rapidly  transformed.  From  pos¬ 
sessing  at  first  no  redeeming  feature  save  area  and  location,  in  two 
years  it  became  the  most  beautiful  spot  in  the  entire  world  !  Before 
the  opening  of  the  Exposition  a  most  magnificent  transformation  had 
occurred.  Twenty-five  millions  of  dollars  had  been  expended  on 
buildings  and  improvements,  and  the  value  of  the  exhibits  these 
buildings  contained  was  estimated  at  $100,000,000.  Daniel  H.  Burn¬ 
ham  and  his  engineers,  architects  and  sculptors  had  transformed  the 
dreary  swamp  into  a  glistening  White  City  of  beautiful  palaces  and 
picturesque  islands. 

When  the  work  of  preparing  the  immense  area  of  Jackson  Park 
for  the  erection  of  large  buildings  was  begun,  the  larger  part  of  the 
site  to  be  dealt  with  was  liable  to  be  at  times  submerged  by  the  lake ; 
the  remainder  was  composed  of  sandy  ridges,  on  which  had  grown  a 
few  stunted  oak  trees.  The  prime  idea  of  the  committee  on  grounds 
and  buildings,  appointed  in  1890,  was  to  make  a  system  of  navigable 
waterways  by  dredging-boats,  working  inward  from  the  lake  through 
the  lowest  parts  of  the  grounds.  The  earth  lifted  by  the  boats  was 
deposited  so  as  to  increase  the  elevation  of  the  highest  parts,  and 
make  them  suitable  places  for  the  erection  of  the  heavy  Exposition 
buildings.  By  such  means  the  whole  area  was  better  adapted  to  the 
intended  uses. 

The  plan  of  the  grounds  contemplated  the  following  as  leading 
features  of  design  :  “  That  there  should  be  a  great  architectural  court, 
with  a  body  of  water  therein ;  that  this  court  should  serve  as  a  suit¬ 
ably  dignified  and  impressive  entrance-hall  to  the  Exposition,  and 
that  visitors  arriving  by  train  or  by  boat  should  all  pass  through  it; 
that  there  should  be  a  formal  canal  leading  northward  from  this 
court  to  a  series  of  broader  waters  of  a  larger  character,  by  which 
nearly  the  entire  site  would  be  penetrated,  so  that  the  principal  Ex¬ 
position  buildings  would  each  have  a  water  as  well  as  a  land  frontage, 
and  would  be  approachable  by  boats ;  that  near  the  middle  of  this 
lagoon  system  there  should  be  an  island  about  fifteen  acres  in  area, 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


761 


in  which  there  would  be  abounding  clusters  of  the  largest  trees  grow¬ 
ing  upon  the  site  ;  that  this  island  should  be  free  from  conspicuous 
buildings,  and  that  it  should  have  a  generally  secluded,  natural, 
sylvan  aspect,  the  existing  clusters  of  trees  serving  as  centres  for 
such  broad  and  simple  larger  masses  of  foliage  as  it  would  be  practi¬ 
cable  to  establish  in  a  year’s  time  by  plantations  of  young  trees  and 
bushes.  Since  the  water  in  the  lagoons  would  be  subject  to  consid¬ 
erable  fluctuations,  it  was  proposed  that  its  shores  should  be  occupied 
by  a  collection  of  such  aquatic  plants  as  would  endure  the  occasional 
submergence  and  yet  survive  an  occasional  withdrawal  of  water  from 
their  roots.”  This  general  outline  was  adopted  in  December,  1890, 
as  the  plan  of  the  Exposition,  and  in  twenty  months  nearly  seven 
hundred  acres  of  barren  land  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Michigan  was 
converted  into  a  suitable  place  for  the  exhibition  of  industries 
and  the  entertainment  by  the  Republic  of  representatives  from  all 
the  nations  of  the  world.  Within  this  period  more  than  a  score  of 
gigantic  palaces  were  built,  and  hundreds  of  other  buildings ;  great 
canals,  lagoons  and  islands  were  formed ;  towers,  bridges  and  piers 
were  constructed  ;  and  the  ablest  talent  in  the  land  was  employed  in 
order  that  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition  should  be  unexcelled* 
Ground  was  broken  for  the  first  building  —  Mines  and  Mining  — ■ 
July  2,  1 891 :  and  day  and  night  thereafter  the  work  went  on,  until 
Jackson  Park  became  by  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  Fair,  the 
greatest  wonder  the  world  had  ever  known. 

Friday,  October  21, 1892,  Avas  a  great  day  for  the  City  of  Cliicago- 
On  the  preceding  Thursday  had  begun  the  greatest  of  civic  parades.. 
A  procession  of  80,000  men  was  passed  in  review  before  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  Half  a  million  people  witnessed  this 
event;  116  bands  of  music  were  in  line.  Citizens  of  foreign  birth 
carried  the  red,  white  and  blue  flag  of  America,  and  the  music  was 
mostly  the  patriotic  airs  of  our  country.  It  was  an  army  of  men  of 
all  parties,  religions  and  nations.  On  Friday,  hundreds  of  trains 
arrived  in  the  city,  heavy  with  the  weight  of  thousands  of  men  and 
women  Avho  came  to  witness  and  take  part  in  the  opening  festivities. 
The  boulevards  were  crowded  all  day,  and  the  throngs  at  the  princi¬ 
pal  hotels  were  overwhelming.  Among  the  distinguished  arrivals 
were  Vice-President  Morton,  who  attended  in  place  of  President 
Harrison  ;  the  latter  had  been  called  to  the  bedside  of  an  invalid 
wife.  The  Vice-President  was  the  observed  of  all  observers ;  Chi¬ 
cago  received  him  as  the  representative  of  the  nation.  Bishop 
Fowler,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  of 


762 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Baltimore,  Archbishop  Satolli,  of  Rome,  Papal  Envoy  to  the  United 
States,  and  other  high  churchmen  were  conspicuous.  Senators  Stock- 
bridge,  Sherman  and  Brice  were  enthusiastically  received.  Diplo¬ 
mats  and  Cabinet  Officers  and  members  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  the  Governors  of  nearly  all  the  States  and  Territories 
in  the  Union  were  present.  In  the  evening,  there  was  a  grand  Dedi¬ 
cation  Ball  at  the  Auditorium  Hotel.  All  classes  of  people  and  rep¬ 
resentatives  from  many  nations  were  in  attendance.  So  gorgeous 
were  all  the  surroundings,  and  the  display  of  electric  lights  was  so 
brilliant,  that  the  scene  appeared  like  a  transcript  from  fairy-land. 

At  11  A.  M.,  the  opening  day,  the  grand  military  procession  and 
review  took  place,  and  also  the  dedicatory  exercises  at  Jackson  Park. 
Fifteen  thousand  soldiers  were  in  line  on  this  occasion.  The  day 
was  bright  and  beautiful.  Two  hundred  thousand  people  witnessed 
the  review  at  Washington  Park.  The  Marine  Band  of  Washington 
made  music,  and  thirty-eight  other  bands  were  in  the  procession. 
Vice-President  Morton,  Director-General  Davis,  Presidents  Palmer 
and  Higinbotham,  Ex-President  Hayes,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  Major-General  Schofield,  Senior  Com¬ 
mander  of  the  Army,  and  his  Staff,  and  Governors  of  thirty-one 
States  rode  in  carriages  to  the  park.  Cardinal  Gibbons,  the  National 
Commissioners,  Lady  Managers,  Foreign  Commissioners,  Directors, 
Chiefs  of  Departments,  members  of  City  Council  and  many  others 
were  also  of  the  procession,  which  was  applauded  through  the  whole 
line  of  march. 

In  the  afternoon  the  dedicatory  exercises  were  witnessed  by  one 
hundred  thousand  people.  The  music  was  in  charge  of  Theodore 
Thomas,  with  a  grand  orchestra  of  five  hundred  pieces  and  a  chorus 
of  five  thousand  voices.  Bishop  Fowler  made  the  opening  prayer, 
and  the  Director-General  the  opening  address.  At  the  conclusion  of 
his  address,  Hempstead  Washburne,  then  Mayor  of  Chicago,  made  a 
brilliant  speech  of  welcome,  saying  in  conclusion:  “  Our  hospitalities 
and  our  welcome  we  now  extend  without  reserve,  without  regard  to 
nationality,  creed  or  race.”  The  dedicatory  ode,  written  at  the  order 
of  the  Exposition  managers  by  Miss  Harriett  Stone  Munroe,  of  Chi¬ 
cago,  was  then  read  and  sung.  During  the  progress  of  the  dedicatory 
programme,  President  Higinbotham  bestowed  the  commemoratoiy 
medals  to  the  Board  of  Directors.  The  President  of  the  Columbian 
Commission  received  the  buildings  from  the  President  of  the  Exposi¬ 
tion,  and  the  latter  presented  them  to  the  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States  for  dedication.  Mr.  Morton  then  dedicated  them  in  a 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


763 


splendid  speech,  to  the  world’s  progress  in  art,  science,  agriculture 
and  manufactures.  “I  dedicate  them  to  humanity,”  he  concluded; 
“  God  save  the  United  States  of  America.”  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer, 
President  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers,  then  made  an  address, 
which  was  received  with  liberal  applause. 

Henry  Watterson,  editor  of  the  Louisville  Courier- Journal,  pro¬ 
nounced  the  dedicatory  oration.  The  address  was  grand  and  patri¬ 
otic.  The  speaker  touched  upon  all  the  salient  points  in  American 
history,  from  1492  to  the  present  time  —  from  the  Convent  of  La 
Rabida  to  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition. 

The  glowing  tribute  of  Chaunc'ey  M.  Depew,  of  New  York, 
followed  the  address  of  Mr.  Watterson.  In  conclusion,  the  speaker 
said :  “  All  hail,  Columbus,  discoverer,  dreamer,  hero  and  apostle  ! 
We,  here,  of  every  race  and  country,  recognize  the  horizon  which 
bounded  his  vision  and  the  infinite  scope  of  his  genius.  The  voice  of 
gratitude  and  praise  for  all  the  blessings  which  have  been  showered 
upon  mankind  by  his  adventures  is  limited  to  no  language,  but  is 
uttered  in  every  tongue.  Neither  brass  nor  marble  can  fitly  frame 
his  statue.  Continents  are  his  monuments,  and  unnumbered  mil¬ 
lions,  past,  present  and  to  come,  who  enjoy  in  their  liberty  and  their 
happiness  the  fruits  of  his  faith,  will  reverently  guard  and  preserve, 
from  century  to  century,  his  name  and  fame.” 

At  the  conclusion,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  of  Baltimore,  offered 
prayer,  and  Dr.  H.  C.  McCosh,  of  Philadelphia,  pronounced  the  ben¬ 
ediction.  A  national  salute  concluded  the  ceremonies  of  the  day. 
At  night,  the  fireworks  on  the  north,  south  and  west  of  Chicago  were 
witnessed  by  half  a  million  or  more  people. 

On  the  night  of  October  25th,  President  Palmer’s  banquet  at 
Chicago,  practically  closed  the  festivities  of  dedication.  The  guests 
on  this  occasion  included  all  the  great  persons  within  the  city,  and 
those  connected  responsibly  with  the  World’s.  Columbian  Exposition. 

Just  before  the  official  opening  of  the  Fair,  the  war  vessels  of 
many  nations  gathered  at  Fortress  Monroe.  The  ships  at  length 
made  their  way  to  New  York,  where  there  was  a  review  of  the  fleets 
on  the  Hudson  River. 

The  formal  opening  of  the  Exposition  had  been  fixed  for  the  1st 
of  May.  On  the  day  before  the  formal  opening,  President  Cleveland 
arrived  at  Chicago.  The  Duke  of  Yeragua,  a  grandee  of  Spain,  and 
lineal  descendant  of  Columbus,  accompanied  by  his  family  and  other 
distinguished  people,  also  arrived  and  were  warmly  welcomed.  The 
old  Liberty  Bell  was  brought  to  the  city  from  Philadelphia,  and  was 
received  bv  a  vast  multitude. 


764 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  1st  of  May,  1893,  was  one  of  the  greatest  days  in  the  social 
history  of  the  New  World.  It  was  the  day  of  the  formal  and  official 
opening  of  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition.  At  twelve  o’clock 
on  the  eventful  Monday  President  Cleveland  pressed  the  magic 
button  which  started  the  great  Allis  engine,  and  told  the  world  that 
the  Fair  was  begun.  Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  people  were 
present  on  the  occasion.  The  act  of  the  President  opened  an  elec¬ 
tric  current,  in  a  wire  circuit  2,000  feet  in  length,  which  connected 
with  minute  temporary  motors  at  the  gigantic  Allis  engine.  The 
golden  figure  of  the  Republic  was  also  unveiled.  The  spectacle  was 
grand  and  enlivening.  President  Cleveland  made  brief  remarks  upon 
the  opening  of  the  Fair,  announcing  the  readiness  of  the  management 
and  welcoming  the  crowds  who  were  to  throng  the  portals  of  Jackson 
Park  during  the  Exposition. 

After  the  selection  of  Chicago  and  Jackson  Park  as  the  scene  of 
the  Exposition,  the  Chief  of  Construction  recommended  the  direct 
appointment  of  architects  for  the  buildings,  rather  than  that  the 
designs  should  be  secured  by  competition.  The  following  were  the 
principal  edifices  erected :  Administration  Building,  Transportation 
Building,  Agricultural  Building,  Horticultural  Building,  Manufac¬ 
tures  and  Liberal  Arts  Building,  Fisheries  Building,  Machinery 
Hall,  Woman’s  Building,  Electrical  Building,  Stock  Ring  and  Pa¬ 
vilion,  Mines  and  Mining  Building,  Galleries  of  Fine  Arts,  Perist}de, 
Music  Hall  and  Casino,  Railway  Terminal  Station,  guard-stations, 
fire-stations,  balustrades,  bridges,  rostral  columns,  and  many  other  im¬ 
portant  structures.  The  first  named  main  buildings  of  the  Fair  cov¬ 
ered  an  aggregate  ground  area  of  5,382,000  square  feet,  or  over  125 
acres ;  other  buildings,  1,155,000  square  feet ;  foreign  buildings  290,000 
square  feet;  concession  buildings  about  1,050,000,  making  a  grand 
total  area  of  the  buildings  of  the  Fair  about  190  acres. 

These  great  structures  may  now  be  considered  in  their  order. 
The  Administration  Building  was  262  feet  square,  and  the  height  of 
the  outer  dome  277£  feet;  the  cost  $550,000.  This  structure  was 
beautiful  in  the  daytime  and  gorgeously  resplendent  with  electrichy  at 
night.  It  was  richly  ornamented  in  sculpture  and  frescoing.  Around 
the  base  of  the  dome,  on  the  corners  of  the  pavilions,  and  at  entrances 
were  groups  of  statuary,  emblematic  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  The 
building  contained  the  offices  of  the  Exposition  management,  the 
press  headquarters,  the  foreign  department,  the  post-office,  bank,  and 
information  bureau.  The  general  design  was  in  the  stvle  of  the 
French  Renaissance.  The  first  story  was  of  the  Doric  order,  sur- 


* 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION.  65 

rounded  by  a  lofty  balustrade.  The  Ionic  style  of  architecture  was 
represented  in  the  second  story  with  the  lofty  colonnade.  The  build¬ 
ing  was  situated  at  the  west  of  the  Grand  Court  of  Honor,  looking 
eastward  toward  the  Peristyle,  and  at  its  rear  were  the  transportation 
facilities  and  the  terminal  railway  building.  Its  huge,  gilded  dome 
was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  features  of  the  grounds,  and  at 
night  when  illuminated  could  be  seen  for  miles.  No  other  dome  in 
America,  with  the  possible  exception  of  that  of  the  Capitol  at  Wash¬ 
ington,  could  compare  with  it.  The  under  side  of  the  dome  was 
enriched  with  rare  sculpture  and  paintings.  The  space  covered  by 
the  painting  “  The  Glorification  of  the  Arts,”  was  315  feet  in  circum¬ 


ference,  and  40  feet  from  apex  to  base.  In  front  of  the  east  entrance 
was  the  plaza  200  yards  square,  and  in  front  of  this  the  Mac  Monnies 
fountain  and  the  lagoon;  beyond,  the  gilded  statue  of  the  “  Republic  ” 
and  the  Peristyle,  under  which  boats  from  the  lagoon  reached  the 
lake.  This  was  one  of  the  most  enchanting  spots  in  the  whole  world. 
The  lagoon  was  an  immense  basin  of  water,  3,000  by  1,000  feet  in 
size,  surrounded  by  a  stone  balustrade  containing  a  perfect  chain  of 
electric-light  globules.  The  wonderful  fountain  represented  Colum¬ 
bia  seated  on  the  Ship  of  State,  which  was  steered  by  Father  Time, 
on  the  prow  of  which  stood  the  figure  of  Fame.  This  vessel  was 
driven  through  the  water  by  eight  girls  standing  at  the  oars,  four  on 
either  side.  Around  the  basin  were  figures  of  young  men  on  half- 
submerged  horses,  and  .rniidens  and  cherubs  disporting  themselves  in 
the  waves  near  the  boat.  On  either  side  of  the  fountain  were  elec- 


766 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


trie  fountains,  spouting  iridescent  torrents.  The  completed  work  of 
this  grand  central  court  presented  a  magnificent,  a  gorgeous  spectacle 
by  night  when  elaborately  illuminated  by  electricity.  The  architect¬ 
ural  outlines  of  all  the  buildings  bordering  on  the  lagoon,  and  the 
shore  line  of  the  basin  were  delineated  in  incandescent  lights. 

The  great  feature  of  the  Transportation  Building,  aside  from  the 
exhibits  it  contained  was  the  main  entrance,  a  great  single  arch, 
elaborately  ornamented  and  treated  in  gold  leaf,  called  the  “  Golden 
Door.”  The  Transportation  exhibit  included  every  appliance  and 
vehicle  for  carrying  purposes,  from  a  cash-carrier  to  a  balloon,  and 
from  the  first  crude  conveyance  of  antiquity  to  a  Mogul  engine.  The 
Transportation  Building  was  an  interesting  and  educating  place. 
It  overlooked  the  Wooded  Island,  a  plot  of  land  containing  sixteen 
acres,  and  devoted  to  floriculture,  horticulture,  and  the  Japanese 
temple  and  garden.  Its  architecture  was  very  simple  ;  the  cost  of 
the  building  was  $488,183.  The  interior  was  like  a  Roman  basilica, 
with  broad  nave  and  aisles.  The  roof  had  three  divisions ;  the 
middle  one  rose  much  higher  than  the  others,  and  its  walls  were 
made  to  form  a  beautiful  arcade  above.  The  cupola  was  in  the 
centre  of  the  building,  and  rose  165  feet  above  the  ground  and  was 
reached  by  elevators.  The  divisions  of  the  main  building  were  256 
by  960  feet.  Besides  this,  however,  there  extended  westward  toward 
Stony  Island  a  large  annex,  one  story  high,  and  covering  nine  acres. 
Here  were  placed  the  more  bulky  exhibits.  Along  the  central  ave¬ 
nue  were  scores  of  locomotive  engines,  highly  polished.  The  Trans¬ 
portation  Building  was  the  only  colored  building  on  the  grounds. 
At  first,  it  was  thought  that  it  would  detract  from  the  beauty  of  the 
White  City ;  but  the  glaring  colors  merged  gradually  into  a  harmo¬ 
nious  whole,  pronounced  by  many  to  be  the  most  artistic  structure  on 
the  grounds,  serving,  as  it  did,  to  accentuate  the  dazzling  whiteness 
of  the  other  buildings.  It  was  built  for  use  in  displaying  historically 
the  ancient  and  modern  methods  of  transportation,  and  no  ornament 
was  attempted  save  the  main  entrance  or  “  Golden  Door.”  Here  one 
saw  the  wonderful  evolution  in  transportation,  from  the  original 
“  Rocket  ”  locomotive,  with  its  stove  boiler  and  barrels  of  water  on 
wheelbarrow  tenders,  to  the  modern  130-ton  locomotives  capable  of  a 
speed  of  one  hundred  miles  an  hour ;  or  from  the  two  joined  wheels, 
with  a  frame  and  saddle  made  forty  years  ago  by  an  enterprising 
Frenchman,  through  all  the  gradual  steps  of  improvement  to  the 
modern  pneumatic  safety  bicycle.  The  development  of  the  genius  of 
man  has  never  been  more  wonderfully  displayed. 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


767 


The  Agricultural  Building  proved  to  be  the  great  resort  for  farm¬ 
ers.  This  was  a  beautiful  structure  800  by  500  feet,  surrounded  by 
a  dome  130  feet  high.  The  annex  was  500  by  300  feet.  Cost  of  the 
main  building  was  $800,000.  In  connection  with  this  was  an  assem¬ 
bly  hall,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  about  1,500.  The  Agricultural 
Building  was  located  on  the  main  basin  of  the  lagoon,  opposite  the 
Manufactures  Building,  and  was  one  of  the  handsomest  and  largest 
on  the  grounds.  Its  main  entrance  was  64  feet  wide,  adorned  with 
Corinthian  pillars  50  feet  high  and  five  feet  in  diameter.  The  ro¬ 
tunda  was  100  feet  in  diameter,  surmounted  by  a  great  glass  dome, 


B 

mm 

m 

mm 

AGRICULTURAL  BUILDING. 


on  the  top  of  which  was  a  glittering  figure  of  the  goddess  Diana, 
with  a  drawn  bow  used  as  a  weather  vane.  The  entire  structure  was 
richly  ornamented  —  adorned  with  many  groups  of  statuary  of  heroic 
size.  Agriculture,  forestry,  dairy  and  live  stock  had  exhibition  space 
under  a  roof  of  69  acres,  the  building  costing  $1,218,000.  Inside  this 
building  were  avenues  of  extremely  unique  pavilions.  Twenty-nine 
States  and  Territories  were  represented  in  the  main  floor.  There 
were  in  all  19  acres  of  exhibits,  and  all  of  the  industries  were  pictur¬ 
esquely  shown.  There  was  also  a  novel  exhibit  of  the  Association 
of  American  Experimental  Stations  and  Agricultural  Colleges,  while 
all  the  essential  products  derived  from  agriculture  were  attractively 
displayed  in  the  galleries.  Grasses  and  grain,  varied  in  color,  were 
beautifully  blended  for  the  purpose  of  ornamentation.  Here  the 


768 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


largest  cheese  ever  made,  a  monster  weighing  eleven  tons,  was  exhib¬ 
ited  from  Ontario,  Canada.  The  State  exhibits  were  elaborate,  and 
the  Burdett-Coutt’s  stable  exhibit  attracted  great  attention.  There 
were  many  displays  from  foreign  lands,  mowers,  threshers,  harvesters 
and  plows  by  the  acre,  and  pumps  of  all  descriptions.  In  connection 
with  this  building  was  that  of  forestry.  The  Forestry  Building  was 
one  of  the  most  unique  of  all,  because  of  its  rustic  simplicity.  It 
was  made  by  grouping  most  effectively  the  different  natural  woods. 
Big  and  little  trees  from  all  over  the  world  were  here  displayed ; 
magnificent  specimens  of  tiiuber  growths  were  sent  from  all  coun- 


HORTICULTURAL  BUILDING. 

tries.  There  were  medicinal  trees,  lichens  and  mosses.  California 
sent  her  huge  sequivias.  Methods  of  testing,  transplanting  and 
measuring  were  illustrated,  as  was  also  the  protection  of  young  trees 
against  insects.  A  saw-mill  in  operation  was  another  exhibit  of 
interest.  There  was  not  a  single  nail  used  in  the  construction  of 
this  building.  This  was  to  show  the  peculiarly  American  methods 
of  joining  timbers  so  as  to  economize  material. 

The  Live  Stock  Pavilion  seated  six  hundred  people.  The  reg- 
ular  Stock  Show  commenced  August  21st,  sheep  and  swine  being 
exhibited  at  one  time,  and  cattle  and  horses  at  another.  There  were 
also  dog  shows  here,  and  carrier-pigeon  flights.  All  the  stock  exhib¬ 
ited  was  blooded,  bearing  long  and  famous  pedigrees. 

The  Horticultural  Building  was  the  completest  and  largest  of 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


769 


its  kind  ever  built.  It  contained  more  space  than  the  combined  areas 
of  the  buildings  used  for  a  similar  purpose  at  Paris,  the  Centennial 
and  New  Orleans.  It  was  1,800  feet  long  by  287  feet  wide.  The 
glass  dome  was  187  feet  in  diameter,  and  had  an  altitude  of  113  feet 
on  the  inside,  easily  accommodating  the  tallest  palms,  cacti,  etc. 
There  was  a  broad  promenade  gallery  inside  the  dome,  from  which 
visitors  misdit  view  the  wonderful  exhibits  below.  The  structure 
cost  $300,000.  The  plan  was  a  central  pavilion  with  two  end  pavil¬ 
ions,  each  connected  with  the  centre  by  front  and  rear  curtains, 
forming  two  interior  courts,  each  88  by  270  feet.  These  courts  were 
planted  with  shrubs  and  orange  and  lemon  trees. 

The  most  prominent  feature  of  the  Horticultural  Building  was 
the  floral  collection.  Rare  plants,  valued  at  more  than  a  half  a  mil¬ 
lion  dollars,  from  all  corners  of  the  globe  were  here  displayed.  There 
were  magnificent  exhibits  of  orchids,  roses,  carnations,  lilies,  rhodo¬ 
dendrons  and  callas,  from  New  York,  Canada,  Mexico  and  Japan  ; 
Australian  tree-ferns  six  hundred  years  old;  enormous  bamboos  from 
Trinidad,  and  century-plants  in  bloom ;  ferns  from  the  Fiji  Islands. 
Besides  flowers  and  plants,  fruit  from  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union 
was  exhibited,  such  as  the  finest  apples,  pears,  peaches,  plums,  etc. 
There  was  an  unexcelled  display  of  thirty  kinds  of  fruit  by  Califor¬ 
nia  ;  towers  and  figures  built  of  oranges  and  lemons,  or  dried  fruits ; 
gigantic  jars  of  preserved  fruits,  and  an  interesting  display  of  seeds. 
In  another  portion  of  the  building  was  an  array  of  garden  imple¬ 
ments,  lawn-mowers,  statuary  and  fancy  fences.  Horticulture  was 
also  represented  by  about  two  acres  of  nursery-trees  in  the  Midway 
Plaisance. 

The  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Building  was  the  largest  of 
the  extraordinary  World’s  Fair  structures.  It  was  the  largest  in  the 
world  —  the  largest  under  roof  ever  constructed  by  man.  The  dimen¬ 
sions  of  the  mammoth  edifice  were  1,687  by  787  feet,  the  exhibit  area 
being  forty  acres,  and  the  ground  area  thirty  and  one-half  acres.  The 
cost  was  $1,700,000.  A  central  hall  380  feet  wide  called  Columbia 
Avenue,  extended  through  the  building  and  was  spanned  by  single 
arches,  without  supports ;  there  were  twenty-two  trusses,  the  span  of 
each  measuring  382  feet,  requiring  12,000,000  pounds  of  steel,  each 
truss  weighing  125  tons.  It  required  600  flat  cars  to  carry  them  from 
the  iron-works  to  Chicago.  In  the  roof  of  the  nave  were  2,000,000 
pounds  of  iron.  Seventeen  million  feet  of  lumber  were  used  in  the 
construction  of  this  gigantic  building,  and  five  car-loads  of  nails. 
There  were  eleven  acres  of  skylight  and  forty  car-loads  of  glass  in 


770 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  roof.  The  building  was  100  feet  longer  than  the  Brooklyn 
Bridge  at  New  York,  with  iron  and  steel  enough  in  its  roof  alone  to 
build  two  such  bridges.  Three  hundred  thousand  people  could  be 
seated  in  it.  Russia’s  entire  standing  army  could  have  been  accom¬ 
modated  within.  The  building  was  in  the  Corinthian  style  of  archi¬ 
tecture,  classic  and  stupendous.  It  was  rectangular  in  form,  the 
interior  divided  into  a  great  central  hall,  surrounded  by  a  nave  107 
feet  wide.  Both  hall  and  nave  had  a  gallery  of  fifty  feet  in  width 
extending  entirely  around  them.  The  unequalled  size  of  the  struct¬ 
ure  made  it  one  of  the  architectural  wonders  of  the  world.  It  was 
three  times  larger  than  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter’s  in  Rome.*  It 


MANUFACTURES  AND  LIBERAL  ARTS  BUILDING. 


was  four  times  larger  than  the  Roman  Coliseum,  which  seated  80,000 
persons.  If  the  great  pyramid  of  Khufu  could  have  been  removed  to 
the  Exposition,  it  could  have  been  piled  up  in  this  building,  with  the 
galleries  left  from  which  to  view  the  stone. 

The  central  hall  of  the  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Building 
was  a  single  room  without  a  supporting  pillar  under  its  roof.  The 
space  on  the  ground  floor  was  allotted  mainly  on  the  basis  of 
nationality.  From  the  centre  of  the  hall,  where  the  building  was 
exactly  quartered,  branched  out  the  four  greatest  powers,  Great 
Britain,  Germany,  France  and  the  United  States.  In  the  northwest 
corner  were  the  exhibits  of  Austria  and  Japan.  In  the  southwest 
*  Any  church  in  Chicago  might  be  placed  in  the  vestibule  of  St.  Peter’s. 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


771 


were  Belgium,  Russia  and  Norway,  with  China  to  the  east.  To  the 
southwest  were  Denmark,  Brazil,  Italy  and  Spain,  while  to  the  west 
were  Jamaica,  India,  New  South  Wales,  Switzerland,  Mexico  and 
Persia. 

Articles  classed  under  manufactures  were  bewilderingly  nu¬ 
merous.  These  were  divided  into  thirty-five  groups,  each  group 
divided  into  ten  or  more  classes,  and  each  class  into  about  twenty 
smaller  departments ;  and  even  these  last  were  so  general  as  to  be 
exhibits  in  themselves.  More  than  thirty  foreign  governments  were 
here  represented,  many  of  them  having  pavilions  built  after  the 


FISH  AND  FISHERIES  BUILDING. 


designs  of  famous  palaces.  Germany’s  pavilion  was  wonderful, 
France’s  maomificent,  and  England’s  massive.  The  value  of  the 

o  7  o 

exhibits  in  this  building  was  estimated  to  be  more  than  $50,000,000. 
Costly  articles  were  contributed  for  exhibition  by  the  Emperor  of 
Germany  and  many  potentates  of  all  nationalities. 

The  most  important  educational  feature  of  the  Exposition  was 
the  department  of  Liberal  Arts,  under  the  same  roof  as  the  Manu¬ 
factures.  This  was  wonderful  and  complete  in  every  detail,  divided 
into  twelve  groups.  To  the  student  and  teacher,  this  department 
was  an  exhaustless  mine.  Here  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union  was 
represented,  and  nearly  every  country  in  the  world.  The  exhibits 
from  Montreal  and  Quebec  were  especially  remarkable,  as  was  also 
the  display  made  by  the  American  Bible  Society.  The  Lincoln  man- 


772 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UN  FT  ED  STATES. 


uscripts  were  there,  including  the  only  letter  Jefferson  Davis  wrote 
to  Lincoln.  The  unique  features  of  the  collection  were  remarkable. 

The  Fish  and  Fisheries  Building  was  365  feet  long  by  165  feet 
wide,  and  had  two  annexes.  These  were  circular  in  form,  135  feet 
in  diameter,  and  connected  with  the  main  building  by  arcades.  The 
cost  of  the  building  was  $225,000,  and  the  floor  area  measured  more 
than  three  acres.  It  was  considered  by  many  good  judges  as  the 
handsomest  building  in  the  grounds.  In  the  main  part  was  the 
general  fisheries  exhibit,  in  the  west  annex  the  angling  display,  and 
in  the  east  the  aquaria.  The  glass  fronts  of  the  aquaria  were  575 


MACHINERY  HALL. 

feet  in  length,  and  had  3,000  square  feet  of  surface.  The  water 
capacity  was  140,000  gallons.  Salt-water  fish  were  shown  in  40,000 
gallons  of  salt  water  taken  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  condensed  for 
shipment  to  half  of  its  bulk,  and  then  restored  at  the  tanks  with  fresh 
water.  The  aquaria  was  the  largest  in  the  world  except  the  one  near 
London.  Fish  propagation  was  a  feature  of  the  display  in  the  main 
building,  and  many  varieties  of  fishing  boats  were  exhibited.  Ten 
of  the  individual  States  of  the  Union  showed  collective  exhibits  of 
the  fisheries  of  their  waters.  The  boat  used  by  the  courageous  Grace 
Darling  in  her  heroic  life-saving  deeds,  was  also  there  on  exhibition. 
The  exterior  of  this  Fisheries  Building  was  especially  beautiful  and 
artistic. 

Machinery  Hall,  or  the  Palace  of  Mechanic  Arts,  as  it  was  some¬ 
times  called,  was  a  handsome  structure.  Its  dimensions  Avere  850 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


773 


by  500  feet,  and  its  cost  with  annex  and  power-house  $1,200,000. 
The  wonderful  Allis  engine,  the  one  started  by  the  President  on  the 
day  of  the  formal  opening  of  the  Exposition,  was  the  largest  in  the 
world.  The  entire  combination  of  iron  and  steel  in  the  monster 
weighed  225  tons,  its  wheel  and  shaft  alone  more  than  100  tons.  The 
Machinery  Hall  produced  an  aggregate  of  24,000  horse-power,  and 
was  the  largest  power-plant  in  the  world.  Of  this  power,  17,000 
parts  were  devoted  to  electricity,  there  being  two  dynamos,  each  with 
a  capacity  of  10,000  lights.  These  were  run  by  the  Allis  engine. 
The  Exposition  required  five  thousand  arc-lights  and  twelve  thousand 
incandescent-lights,  and  here  they  originated.  In  this  building  were 
ten  engines  averaging  2,000  horse-power  each  ;  a  fly-wheel,  thirty  feet 


in  diameter ;  machinery  of  every  description  in  operation  ;  manufact¬ 
uring  devices  and  machine  tools  by  thousands  ;  the  nearest  approach 
to  perpetual  motion,  and  many  things  in  process  of  manufacture 
before  the  observer.  Looms  of  all  sorts  wrere  exhibited,  and  the 
process  of  making  thread  shown  and  explained,  making  it  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  instructive  of  places.  The  structure  of  the 
main  building  had  the  appearance  of  three  train-houses,  side  by  side. 
The  tiers  of  roof  trusses  were  built  separately,  to  be  sold  after  the 
Fair.  In  the  nave  formed  by  each  space  was  an  elevated  travelling 
crane  for  moving  machinery.  Adjoining  this  building  in  the  south 
were  the  pumping-works,  power-house  and  machine-shops. 

The  Woman’s  Building  Avas  designed  by  Sophia  G.  Hayden,  a 
woman  architect  of  Boston,  and  was  388  by  199  feet  on  the  ground 
plan.  The  floor  area  Avas  three  and  three-tenths  acres,  and  the  cost 
$138,000.  This  structure  was  ten  stories  high,  Avith  an  elevation  of 
60  feet.  The  rotunda  Avas  70  by  65  feet,  reaching  through  the 


774 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


whole  extent  of  the  building,  and  covered  with  a  skylight.  On 
the  roof  of  the  pavilion  were  open  spaces  covered  with  awnings. 
One  served  as  a  cafe  and  the  other  as  a  tea-garden.  The  formal 
opening  took  place  the  afternoon  of  May  1,  1893 ;  and  the  last  nail 
(made  of  gold)  was  driven  with  a  silver  hammer  by  Mrs.  Potter 
Palmer,  President  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers.  In  this  building 
English  hospital  methods  were  illustrated,  and  surgical  instruments 
and  nurses’  clothing.  The  work  of  the  Navajo  Indian  women  was 
displayed,  and  also  that  of  the  East  Indian  races.  Rare  specimens  of 


ELECTRICITY  BUILDING. 

needle-work  were  a  feature  of  the  exhibit  in  this  building ;  and  Mrs. 
Rogers  gave  culinary  lectures  and  examples  in  cooking. 

The  Electricity  Building  carried  out  the  idea  of  the  Spanish  Re¬ 
naissance  somewhat  modified  by  Corinthian  effects.  It  was  345  feet 
wide  and  690  feet  long.  The  height  of  nave  was  112  feet;  width, 
115  feet.  The  transept  which  crossed  the  nave  was  of  the  same 
dimensions.  The  roof  of  the  rest  of  the  building1  was  62  feet  high. 
There  were  four  domes  and  ten  spires  or  towers,  the  two  highest 
being  195  feet.  It  covered  more  than  five  and  one-half  acres  and 
cost  $410,000.  The  building  was  especially  designed  for  electri¬ 
cal  illumination  at  night.  It  is  difficult  to  present  a  picture  of  this 
enormous  hall  brilliantly  flooded  with  light  from  two  thousand  con¬ 
cealed  incandescent  burners.  The  principal  room  was  ornamented 
with  six  massive  columns  composed  of  prismatic  glass.  Through 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


775 


these  the  lights  glowed  and  faded,  causing  a  vibration  of  rainbow 
tints  and  mingling  of  colors  throughout  the  entire  enclosure,  until 
the  observer  almost  feared  the  apparition  of  some  silent  unseen 
power. 

The  exhibits  of  the  Electrical  Building  consisted  of  annunciators, 
telephone  and  telegraph  apparatus,  multiple  drill  presses,  wire-insu¬ 
lating  machines,  cable-lajdng  devices,  and  every  other  article  of  elec¬ 
trical  manufacture.  Over  cases  in  which  displays  were  made,  the 
walls  were  in  purple  and  red  stones  relieved  by  gold.  In  the  gallery 
were  seen  thousands  of  new  devices  of  electrical  use  —  light-houses, 


MINES  AND  MINING  BUILDING. 

house-lights,  and  all  styles  of  electric  buttons,  and  revolving  cascades 
of  fantastic  incandescents.  The  Western  Electric  Company  built 
and  operated  a  small  theatre  complete  in  every  respect,  a  tiny,  beau¬ 
tiful  thing.  The  exhibit  of  Thomas  A.  Edison  was  wonderful  in  its 
startling  and  brilliant  effects.  Over  all  the  building  were  obelisks 
of  light  and  color,  spirals  of  incandescent  burners,  and  fountains  of 
mellow  radiance.  Corinthian  columns  were  ablaze  with  twinkling 
stars  and  fairy-like  flashes  of  beauty.  In  the  Edison  tower  there 
were  18,000  lights. 

The  dimensions  of  the  Mines  and  Mining  Building  were  350  by 
700  feet,  and  its  cost  $265,000.  The  cantilever  system,  as  applied  to 
roofs,  was  never  used  on  so  large  a  scale  before  as  in  the  trusses  of 
this  structure,  in  which  1,800,000  pounds  of  steel  were  used.  This 


776 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


department  of  Mines  and  Mining  excelled  all  other  exhibits  of  its 
kind.  Included  in  the  display  was  every  kind  of  material,  from  the 
rough  state  to  the  finished  product,  all  artistically  and  instructively 
grouped.  New  South  Wales  made  a  striking  exhibit,  and  the  State 
of  Michigan  an  excellent  display  of  copper  from  her  mines.  The 
departments  of  Missouri,  Canada  and  Montana  were  centres  of  attrac¬ 
tion,  the  latter  State  exhibiting  the  famous  Ada  Rehan  statue  of 
“Justice,”  composed  of  silver,  and  pedestal  of  gold.  The  California 
marble  and  onyx  exhibit  was  splendid,  commanding  universal  admira¬ 
tion.  Ponderous  mining  machinery  of  every  description  was  shown  in 


PALACE  OP  FINE  ARTS. 


operation,  as  well  as  miniature  mining  plants,  with  devices  for  boring, 
lighting,  hoisting  and  pulverizing  ores.  Methods  of  separating  ores 
were  illustrated,  and  all  new,  also  improved  implements  for  mining. 
The  coal  and  iron  exhibits  from  Ohio- and  Pennsylvania  were  mag¬ 
nificent,  and  the  German  exhibits  well-nigh  marvellous. 

The  Palace  of  Fine  Arts  was  the  largest  art  gallery  ever  con¬ 
structed,  and  was  magnificent  throughout.  Paintings  and  statuary 
were  shown  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  There  were  seventy-four 
galleries  in  the  building,  of  various  dimensions.  This  building,  as 
was  demanded  by  foreign  exhibitors,  was  made  fire-proof,  the  walls 
being  of  brick  covered  with  “staff,”  like  that  used  for  the  other 
structures  of  the  Exposition,  and  handsomely  ornamented.  The  main 
building  was  500  feet  by  320  feet,  in  ground  plan,  and  had  two  an¬ 
nexes,  each  120  by  200  feet.  The  floor  area  was  over  five  acres,  and 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


777 


the  wall  area  for  hanging  pictures  145,852  square  feet.  The  nave 
and  transept,  which  intersected  the  building  north,  south,  east  and 
west,  were  100  feet  w'ide  by  70  feet  high.  The  height  of  the  dome 
of  the  central  structure  was  125  feet  and  its  diameter  GO  feet.  The 
cost  of  the  whole  was  $670,000.  Thirteen  million  bricks  were  used, 
and  3,000,000  feet  of  lumber.  The  roof  of  the  structure,  floors  and 
galleries  were  of  iron,  of  which  1,359,000  pounds  were  used. 

The  Fine  Arts  Building  was  severe!)'  classic  in  appearance,  of 
the  Grecian-Ionic  style.  The  grand  central  dome  was  capped  by  a 
gigantic  statue  of  “  Winged  Victory.”  It  was  located  in  the  north¬ 
ern  part  of  the  park,  bordering  on  the  waters  of  the  lagoon,  with 
verdant  lawns  terraced  down  to  the  balustrades  at  the  water’s  edge. 
Flights  of  broad  marble  steps  led  down  from  the  main  portal  to  the 
lagoon,  where  there  was  a  most  picturesque  boat-landing.  The  east 
and  west  pavilions  connected  with  the  central  by  large  corridors, 
which  were  used  as  galleries.  The  east  pavilion  contained  the  ex¬ 
hibit  of  the  French  Government  and  also  French  masterpieces  owned 
by  Americans.  The  west  pavilion  contained  the  Italian  exhibit  and 
those  of  other  foreign  countries  whose  space  was  limited.  The  cen¬ 
tral  pavilion  had  ten  floors  devoted  to  the  exhibits ;  and  here  the 
United  States,  Great  Britain,  Canada,  Holland,  Spain,  Russia,  Japan 
and  Germany  were  represented  magnificently.  The  lighting  arrange¬ 
ments  were  faultless.  There  were  paintings  and  statuary  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  and  many  private  collections  on  exhibition.  Pict¬ 
ures  of  every  phase  of  life  and  nature,  and  animals  and  portraits  from 
all  lands,  and  loans  from  many  imperial  galleries,  especially  that  of 
the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph.  The  English  paintings  were  beautiful, 
and  the  art  works  of  France  were  equally  meritorious. 

The  Music  Hall  was  situated  at  the  north  end  of  the  Peristyle, 
and  was  260  by  140  feet.  The  audience  hall  had  a  seating  capacity 
of  two  .thousand,  and  an  orchestra  chorus  of  five  hundred  was  pro¬ 
vided  for.  The  Casino  was  at  the  other  end  of  the  Peristyle.  This 
structure  contained  restaurants  and  resting-rooms,  and  was  of  nearly 
the  same  dimensions  as  the  Music  Hall. 

The  United  States  Government  Building  was  415  by  345  feet, 
and  cost  $400,000.  The  Government  contribution  included  exhibits 
by  the  Departments  of  AVar,  State,  PosROffice,  Treasury,  Justice, 
Agriculture,  Interior,  Fish  Commission,  National  Museum  and  Smith¬ 
sonian  Institution.  The  A  lint  showed  every  coin  made  by  the  United 
States,  and  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  showed  samples 
of  “  paper  ”  money.  A  life-saving  station  was  in  operation  on  the 


778 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


lake  shore,  and  an  exhibit  of  heavy  guns  and  explosives.  The  Gov¬ 
ernment  Naval  exhibit  was  made  in  a  battle-ship,  an  exact  reproduc¬ 
tion  of  a  United  States  coast-liner.  The  ship  was  manned  by  a  crew 
detailed  by  the  Government,  and  the  discipline  and  life  on  a  man-of- 
war  was  illustrated. 

Special  buildings  were  erected  on  the  grounds  by  nearly  all  the 
great  nations  of  the  earth,  and  by  almost  every  State  and  Territory 
in  the  Union.  The  Illinois  Building  was  especially  fine  in  design 
and  construction.  Its  north  wing  was  a  fire-proof  memorial  hall, 
where  rare  relics  and  trophies  owned  by  the  State  were  kept. 


UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT  BUILDING. 


The  quaint  Convent  of  La  Iiabida  was  called  the  shrine  of  the 
Exposition.  This  was  an  exact  reproduction  of  that  convent  in 
Spain  where  Columbus,  under  the  friendship  of  Father  Juan  Perez, 
found  shelter  in  time  of  trouble,  and  where  he  developed  his  theory 
of  the  undiscovered  Indies.  This  building  cost  $50,000  and  had  a 
marvellous  collection  of  paintings  and  trophies,  ah  referring  to  the 
great  discoverer. 

As  already  said,  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  was  set  for  the 
first  of  May.  Notwithstanding  the  long  time  that  had  intervened 
since  the  enterprise  was  projected,  it  was  found  that  neither  the 
buildings  nor  the  exhibits  proper  were  ready  at  the  designated  time. 
This  has  always  happened  at  the  opening  of  international  expo¬ 
sitions.  It  seems  impossible  to  provide  in  advance  against  the  con¬ 
tingencies  of  delays.  So  vast  is  the  enterprise  that  it  surprises  the 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


i  79 


managers,  however  diligent,  with  unexpected  developments  requiring 
time  for  their  solution.  The  World’s  Columbian  Exposition  was  not 
at  the  date  of  opening  more  seriously  behindhand  than  those  of  Paris, 
London  and  Vienna.  While  there  still  remained  a  m-eat  deal  to  be 

O 

adjusted  before  the  Exposition  was  at  its  best,  so  much  had  been 
done  that  the  grounds  were  promptly  opened  on  the  appointed  day, 
and  the  dedicatory  exercises,  as  already  related,  given  with  eclat  and 
enthusiasm. 

One  drawback  on  the  success  of  the  opening  was  the  season. 
In  the  latitude  of  Chicago,  cold  airs  and  colder  earth  and  lake,  still 


BATTLE-SHIP. 


linger  at  the  nominal  beginning  of  spring,  and  this  was  particularly  true 
after  the  severe  winter  of  1892-93.  The  early  visitors  who  attended 
the  Exposition  were  much  chilled  with  the  remaining  severity  of  the 
season.  Nevertheless,  the  throngs  were  present  from  the  first  day, 
and  the  magnificent  grounds  and  buildings  were  darkened  with 
clouds  of  humanity  drifting  from  all  quarters  of  the  habitable  globe. 

It  might  be  noted  from  the  first  that  the  civilized  nations  had 
answered  the  invitation  from  the  United  States,  not  only  with  great 
displays  of  their  arts  and  industries,  but  also  with  large  contributions 
of  visitors.  The  incoming  ocean  steamers  from  every  port  of  Europe 
and  the  East  brought  long  lists  of  travellers,  adventurers,  scholars, 
artists,  statesmen,  and  mere  sight-seers,  to  attend  the  Exposition. 
Provision  had  been  made  in  advance  by  the  various  nations  for  the 
accommodation  of  their  own  contingents  of  visitors,  by  the  establish- 


780 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ment  of  national  headquarters  in  Jackson  Park,  and  by  agencies  in 
the  American  seaports  and  in  Chicago. 

The  German  Government  Building1  was  the  largest  and  most 
pretentious  of  all  the  foreign  buildings  of  the  Exposition.  It  was 
located  on  the  lake  shore.  The  outer  walls  of  this  building,  which 
had  a  frontage  of  150  feet,  and  a  tower  rising  150  feet  from  the 
ground,  were  decorated  with  imperial  eagles,  allegorical  figures,  and 
colored  flowers,  after  the  manner  of  old  German  houses.  The  boy 
Crown  Prince  of  Germany  presented  three  bells  to  the  Commission, 
and  these  were  hung  in  three  smaller  towers  at  different  corners  of 
the  building.  Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  was  expended  by 
the  German  Government  on  this  structure.  The  collection  contained 
a  display  of  Bismarck  souvenirs,  historical  documents  and  treatises, 
tapestry,  furniture,  statuary  and  paintings,  and  beautiful  work  in 
carved  oak. 

Great  Britain  expended  the  sum  of  $125,000  on  her  small  but 
artistic  building  called  “  Victoria  House.”  It  was  purely  English  in 
its  quiet  but  splendid  elegance  and  comfort,  majestic  but  not  gaudy. 
Different  parts  of  the  interior  were  copied  from  famous  English 
country-seats.  There  were  double  flights  of  broad  stair-cases  from 
Hadden  Hall,  in  Cheshire ;  ceilings  from  Queen  Elizabeth’s  place,  at 
Plas  Mawe  in  Wales;  and  a  library  from  Eton  Hall,  near  Chester. 
There  was  also  exhibited  a  fine  collection  of  furniture  and  rare  wood- 
carvings. 

At  the  north  end  of  the  Park,  not  far  from  the  German  Build¬ 
ing,  was  the  pavilion  of  France.  This  was  a  most  interesting  ana 
beautiful  place  surrounded  by  flowers.  Inside  the  building  was  an 
exact  reproduction  of  the  room  in  which  Franklin  was  received  by 
Louis  XVI,  that  famous  salon  in  the  palace  of  Versailles,  where  the 
treaty  of  Alliance  was  signed  which  secured  the  aid  of  France  for  the 
United  States  in  their  struggle  for  independence.  In  cases  in  this 
room  were  exhibited  the  sword  of  Lafayette,  and  numerous  other 
relics,  silver  vases,  etc. 

The  Spanish  Building  was  modelled  after  the  Casa  Lonja  of 
Valencia,  much  reduced  in  size.  It  was  formally  opened  in  June  by 
the  Infanta  Eulalie  who  visited  the  United  States  and  attended  the 
Exposition.  The  Duke  of  Veragua,  the  only  living  descendant  of 
Columbus,  contributed  the  original  commission  of  Columbus  and  the 
Royal  letters  from  Isabella  to  the  discoverer,  together  with  many 
other  certificates  and  documents,  greatly  enhancing  the  interest  of 
the  exhibit. 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


781 


The  Swedish  Building  was  made  of  modern  brick  and  terra-cotta 
from  Stockholm,  the  “  Venice  sof  the  North.”  Many  of  the  products 
of  Sweden  were  here  displayed,  and  a  fine  panorama  of  landscapes  of 
that  country.  The  cost  of  the  building  was  $40,000.  The  Nor¬ 
wegian  Building  was  quaint.  The  pavilion  was  what  is  known  as 
the  Star  Kirke  style,  copied  after  the  houses  they  have  been  building 
in  Norway  ever  since  the  twelfth  century.  It  was  built  of  Nor¬ 
wegian  pine  at  a  cost  of  $10,000. 

The  East  Indian  Building  was  called  the  Indian  Court.  It  was 
erected  through  the  public  spirit  of  a  few  wealthy  tea-merchants  of 
Calcutta.  It  was  a  large,  one-story  pavilion  of  staff,  after  the  East 
Indian  style  of  architecture,  with  a  gold-canopied  entrance,  where 
tea  was  constantly  served  by  natives.  There  were  some  exquisite 
carvings  of  ivory  exhibited,  and  robes,  shawls  and  carpets  of  inesti¬ 
mable  value.  The  building  was  dedicated  with  the  peculiar  rites  of 
the  land  of  Brahma  and  Buddha. 

Ceylon  had  an  attractive  building  and  some  curious  and  interest¬ 
ing  exhibits,  among  which  was  an  alleged  sacred  tootli  of  Buddha. 
Twenty-five  varieties  of  different  colored  wood  were  used  in  the 
interior  ornamentation  of  this  structure. 

Canada  and  New  South  Wales  were  well  represented,  and  their 
buildings  attractive.  The  provinces  of  Ontario  and  Quebec  displayed 
shrubbery  and  highly  polished  woods,  and  various  commercial, 
scientific,  agricultural  and  educational  articles.  New  South  Wales 
erected  a  classical  pavilion  which  was  a  credit  to  that  far  off  land. 

The  Turkish  Building  was  the  principal  exhibit  of  that  Empire. 
Here  the  resources  of  the  country  were  displayed  in  twelve  rooms  or 
sections.  The  structure  was  of  the  Moresque  Style,  in  imitation  of 
the  Hunkhar  Casque  (fountain)  of  Sultan  Ahmed  III,  in  Constanti¬ 
nople.  Damascus  rugs,  tapestries  and  many  carvings  were  here 
displayed. 

Costa  Rica  had  a  modest  but  pretty  pavilion,  where  was  ex¬ 
hibited  a  diminutive  monkey  with  hairy  coat,  and  silks  and  fabrics 
that  were  fairly  dazzling.  Natives  served  coffee  and  waffles  to  the 
people  of  all  climes. 

*  Guatemala’s  building 'was  square  in  plan  and  was.  colored  light 
green.  It  was  not  classical  nor  very  beautiful.  About  thirty-five 
feet  from  this  main  structure  was  a  rustic  hut,  and  at  the  end  of  it  a 
small  kiosk  for  testing  coffee.  Around  this  was  a  large  garden  rep¬ 
resenting  a  coffee  plantation,  banana  grove  and  other  plants,  and  In¬ 
dian  tents.  This  building  cost  $40,000. 


782 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Brazil  and  Venezuela,  the  two  South  American  republics, 
erected  beautiful  buildings.  That  of  Brazil  was  one  of  the  most  at¬ 
tractive  and  charming  on  the  grounds ;  both  pretentious  and  hand¬ 
some.  The  outer  walls  were  ornamented  with  twenty  medallions, 
each  bearing  the  name  of  one  of  the  twenty  States  which  comprise 
the  Brazilian  Republic.  A  coffee  exhibit  was  the  principal  feature 
of  the  interior,  aside  from  decorations. 

The  Venezuela  Building  was  externally  pretty  as  a  bit  of 
architecture,  colored  a  delicate  gray,  and  relieved  with  green  and 
gilt.  Here  also  coffee  was  served  to  thousands  every  day. 

Hayti  had  a  large  building,  interesting,  but  very  plain.  There 
was  a  comprehensive  exhibit  of  the  natural  resources  and  arts  of  the 
island,  and  many  historical  relics.  Woven  textiles  and  fabrics  of 
many  tints  were  displayed,  and  also  field  products  and  metals,  and 
thirty-four  different  kinds  of  coffee. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  places  at  the  Exposition  was  the 
“  White  Horse  Inn.”  This  was  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  English 
hostelry  made  famous  by  Dickens  in  the  “  Pickwick  Papers.”  Over 
the  main  entrance  was  the  old  sign  of  the  original  house,  a  life-size 
figure  of  a  white  horse.  A  wide  hall  led  into  a  square  court  around 
which,  at  the  second  story,  ran  a  rustic  balcony,  where  tables  were 
set,  and  where  a  band  of  music  played  constantly.  Genuine  English 
maids  served  edibles  and  drinks  supposed  to  be  peculiarly  British. 
In  the  bar  and  restaurant  were  large  brick  fireplaces,  adorned  with 
portraits  of  Dickens,  Pickwick,  Sam  Weller  and  other  characters 
taken  from  the  immortal  “  Papers.” 

Not  far  from  the  Inn  was  a  French  bakery  where,  in  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  patrons,  all  kinds  of  bread  and  cakes  were  made  in  great 
ovens,  larger  than  any  in  France.  Here  food  was  served  by  French 
maids  rarely  clad  in  the  dainty  apparel  of  their  country. 

The  most  impressive  exhibit  of  the  south  end  of  the  Park,  how¬ 
ever,  was  that  of  the  Krupps,  who  showed  the  largest  gun  in  the 
world.  The  Krupp  pavilion  consisted  of  an  iron  hall,  196  feet  long 
and  82  feet  wide,  made  by  Germans.  The  structure  was  ornamented 
with  square  towers  and  panels  decorated  with  coats  of  arms  of 
Westphalia  and  Rhineland.  On  the  cornice  of  the  building  were 
.  shields  bearing  the  coats  of  arms  of  the  different  States  of  Germany. 
Sixteen  monster  guns  lined  the  west  side  of  the  interior,  and  from 
the  centre  of  this  line  towered  the  gigantic  barrel  of  the  thunderer, 
17  feet  in  diameter.  Its  total  length  was  46  feet,  and  it  had  120 
grooves  in  rifling.  The  barrel,  which  had  the  immense  weight  of 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


783 


121  tons,  was  supported  by  a  front  pivot  carriage  with  a  weight  of 
projectile  of  2,205  pounds.  The  gun  was  made  in  1886,  and  has 
since  been  fired  in  sixteen  rounds  with  full  charges.  A  steel  armor 
shell  with  the  above  mentioned  initial  velocity,  can  perforate  a 
wrought  iron  plate  three  and  a  quarter  feet  in  thickness,  at  a  range 
of  two-thirds  of  a  mile.  The  gun  can  also  send  a  ball  or  shell  fifteen 
miles.  The  great  exhibit  cost  nearly  $1,000,000. 

The  Leather  and  Shoe  Trades  Building  was  575  feet  long  and 
150  feet  wide.  It  was  built  entirely  of  wood,  and  lighted  by  five 
hundred  and  twenty  windows  and  skylights.  It  contained  all  the 
domestic  exhibits  of  leather,  boots  and  shoes,  rubbers,  and  displays  of 
all  the  foreign  countries  exhibiting  at  the  Exposition.  A  model 
shoe-factory  was  here  in  operation,  and  more  than  a  thousand  pairs 
of  shoes  were  manufactured  daily  during  the  Fair. 

Another  very  pretty  structure  was  in  the  north  end  of  the 
grounds,  and  known  as  the  “  Merchant  Tailors.”  It  cost  $30,000. 
This  amount  was  raised  by  voluntary  subscriptions  from  leading 
merchant  tailors  in  the  United  States.  It  was  built  in  the  form  of  a 
Greek  temple,  a  reproduction  of  the  Erectheum,  at  Athens,  finished 
about  410  B.  C.,  planned  by  Pericles,  and  erected  under  the  super¬ 
vision  of  Phidias,  the  great  Greek  sculptor.  The  interior  of  the 
main  room  was  octagonal  in  shape,  the  walls  beautifully  finished  in 
cream  and  gold,  and  decorated  with  mural  paintings,  representing 
the  eight  historical  periods  of  dress :  first,  Adam  and  Eve,  making 
aprons  of  leaves ;  second,  a  barbarian  scene  ;  third,  Egyptian  ;  fourth, 
classical  Greek  ;  fifth,  mediaeval ;  sixth,  Renaissance  ;  seventh,  Louis 
the  XIY  to  XVI ;  eighth,  modern. 

Not  far  away  from  the  large  Terminal  Station,  which  cost  $400,- 
000,  was  the  Cold  Storage  Building,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  on 
the  10th  of  July,  and  where  twenty-one  people,  mostly  firemen, 
perished  in  the  flames. 

The  Intramural  Railway  was  an  elevated  electric  railway,  nearly 
four  miles  in  length,  which  ran  trains  every  ten  minutes  each  way  at 
ten  cents  a  trip,  and  carried  as  many  as  seventy  thousand  people  in 
one  day.  Its  car-house  and  power-house  was  east  of  the  dairy  barns. 
The  loops  made  by  the  high  iron  track  of  this  road  were  regarded  as 
marvels  by  the  visitors  at  the  Fair. 

Close  to  a  structure  known  as  the  Vermont  maple  sugar  and 
syrup  stand,  was  a  cluster  of  a  hundred  windmills,  representing  as 
many  makers  in  the  United  States.  The  old  Dutch  windmill  was  an 
exact  copy  of  one  which  has  stood  in  Amsterdam  since  1806.  Parts 


784 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


of  it  were  from  the  original  mill.  In  the  same  vicinity  were  the 
remarkable  sewage  system,  pumping-works,  and  the  Indian  School 
Building;  the  latter  a  typical  Government  structure,  containing  a 
bevy  of  Indian  children  from  Dakota  and  other  reservations. 

There  were  more  than  six  hundred  places  in  Jackson  Park  where 
water,  flowers  and  eatables  were  for  sale.  Some  of  the  buildings  not 
yet  spoken  of  were  the  New  England  Claim  Bake,  a  large  restaurant 
where  baked  clams  were  served  by  the  bushel  or  peck ;  the  Puck 
Building ;  White  Star  Line  Pavilion ;  Department  of  Public  Com¬ 
fort;  Emergency  Hospital ;  Woman’s  Hospital;  Cafe  de  la  Marine; 
and  the  Merck  Pharmacy. 

There  were  more  than  a  million  vegetable  growths  on  the 
Wooded  Island,  one  of  the  gems  of  the  Fair.  This  island,  or  these 
islands  —  made  plural  by  lagoons  dividing  them  — -were  fringed  with 
shrubbery  and  wild  flowers.  In  the  waters  were  all  sorts  of  aquatic 
plants.  There  were  planted  12,618  trees,  50,644  shrubs,  151,894 
hardy  perennial  and  miscellaneous  plants,  186,678  aquatic  and  semi- 
aquatic,  3,300  ferns,  9,582  vines  and  ornamental  grasses,  60,000  wil¬ 
low,  114,920  bulbs,  and  native  plants  by  the  car-load.  The  inner 
portion  was  laid  out  in  flower-beds  and  a  rose-garden,  where  50,000 
roses  were  in  flower  in  June  and  July.  There  were  thirty-five  speci¬ 
mens  of  sunflowers.  The  rhododendron  exhibit  during  June  was  gor¬ 
geous  and  luxuriant.  Some  of  these  plants  were  ten  feet  high.  Five 
hundred  clusters  of  the  dazzling  blossoms,  grouped  in  an  oval  mound, 
was  a  sight  of  unsurpassed  beauty.  At  the  end  of  the  island  was  a 
hunter’s  cabin,  a  novelty  to  younger  visitors.  At  the  northern  end 
was  the  Hoodi,  or  Japanese  Building  or  Temple,  erected  as  a  perma¬ 
nent  ornament  at  the  Peak.  The  Wooded  Island  was  indeed  a  Mecca 
to  the  fatigued  sight-seer,  as  he  rested  his  eyes  on  the  cool,  green 
beauty  of  its  lawns,  or  pleasurably  feasted  them  on  the  magnificent 
floral  display.  At  night,  the  scene  was  fairy-land.  Tiny  globules  of 
glass  of  all  colors  were  hung  among  the  shrubs,  trees  and  flowers, 
everywhere,  and  the  candles  inside  them  lighted.  No  pen  can  de¬ 
scribe  the  quiet  and  exquisite  beauty  of  this  dainty  spot ;  it  was, 
indeed,  a  glimpse  of  paradise. 

Perhaps  nothing  at  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposition  was  so 
impressive  in  its  beauty  as  the  Greek  Peristyle.  This  white  and 
stately  portico  separated  the  lagoon  of  the  Court  of  Honor  from  the 
waters  of  the  lake.  Nothing  like  it  had  ever  before  been  attempted. 
It  was  600  feet  long,  60  feet  wide,  and  60  feet  high.  The  grand 


CONNECTICUT  BUILDING. 


NEW  YORK  BUILDING. 


PENNSYLVANIA  BUILDING. 


MAINE  BUILDING. 


VERMONT  BUILDING. 


NEW  JERSEY  BUILDING. 


DELAWARE  BUILDING. 


MASSACHUSETTS  BUILDING. 


VIRGINIA  BUILDING 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


785 


arch  way  which  formed  the  connecting  portal  was  dedicated  to  Colum¬ 
bus,  and  was  inscribed  with  tiie  names  of  the  world’s  great  explorers. 
The  Peristyle  was  crowned  with  statuary,  and  bore  forty-eight  col¬ 
umns,  representing  the  States  and  Territories,  and  carrying  their 
respective  coats-of-arms.  The  cost  of  the  commanding  structure,  with 
that  of  the  Music  Hall  and  Casino  which  it  joined,  Avas  $300,000. 
No  prettier  stretch  of  scene  could  have  been  found  in  all  of  Jackson 
Park  than  that  seen  from  the  Peristyle,  or  from  a  brilliantly  canopied 
gondola  in  the  Court  d’Honneur,  especially  at  night,  when  the  Basin 
was  necklaced  with  a  double  chain  of  brilliants,  and  all  the  surround 
ing  buildings  ablaze  with  electric  lights. 

The  lagoon  and  water  system  at  the  Fair  was  a  marvel  of  suc¬ 
cess,  but  the  statuary  was  still,  more  remarkable.  It  was  made  prin¬ 
cipally  of  “  staff.”  This  was  a  new  material,  used  first  in  coating  the 
buildings  at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889.  It  has  the  properties  of 
both  plaster  and  cement,  and  can  easily  be  worked  into  any  required 
design.  In  hardening,  it  shows  an  ivory-like  surface,  which  may  be 
colored  in  any  tint.  This  it  was  which  made  the  buildings  look  like 
veritable  marble  palaces,  and  gave  the  name  of  “  White  City  ”  to  the 
Fair.  To  be  sure,  distance  lent  enchantment  to  the  statuary,  but  it 
was,  nevertheless,  most  impressive. 

Among  the  State  buildings  and  exhibits  Illinois  stood  first.  Her 
structure  was  the  largest  of  its  kind  on  the  grounds.  It  was  a  fair  in 
itself.  All  the  State  departments  were  represented,  and  the  exhibits 
told  the  history  of  Illinois  in  a  pictorial  way.  Maine  expended 
$20,000  on  its  building  —  octagonal  in  form,  hospitable  to  all.  New 
Hampshire,  the  Granite  State,  had  an  imitation  Swiss  cottage,  cost¬ 
ing  $9,000.  Vermont  expended  $8,000  in  a  picturesque  white  build¬ 
ing,  with  marble  fountains  and  Greek  windows.  It  was  small,  but 
its  Pompeiian  style  and  classic  detail  furnished  a  unique  contrast  to 
the  other  buildings.  Rhode  Island  erected  her  building  at  a  cost  of 
$7,000.  It  was  Greek,  with  Ionic  columns  and  entablature,  and 
French  windows.  The  Connecticut  Building,  costing  $12,500,  was 
a  type  of  the  old  Connecticut  colonial  residence.  It  had  circular 
windows  on  the  north  and  south,  and  a  circular  piazza  in  the  rear. 

New  York  had  the  handsomest  State  building  on  the  grounds. 
It  was  third  in  size,  but  occupied  the  finest  position,  just  north  of  the 
Art  Palace.  The  architectural  style  of  the  structure  was  that  of  a 
huge  summer-house,  or  villa,  in  the  st}de  of  the  Italian  Renaissance. ' 
It  was  three  stories  high,  its  roof  ornamented  with  small  bay-trees, 
confined  by  a  heavy  balustrade.  There  were  circular  porticos  on 


786 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


either  side  of  the  main  building,  where  fountains  played  surrounded 
by  flowering  plants.  A  broad  flight  of  steps  led  to  this  attractive 
mansion,  with  its  blue  and  white  awnings,  and  were  usually  crowded 
with  people.  The  cost  of  this  edifice  was  $150,000. 

Pennsylvania’s-  Building  was  modelled  after  Independence  Hall, 
old-fashioned  in  style,  very  large,  with  a  clock  in  its  dome.  Inside 

its  main  hall  was  the  famous 
cracked  Liberty  Bell,  which 
had  been  brought  from  its 
place  in  Philadelphia.  The 
building  was  supplied  with 
8D0  electric  lights,  and  cost 
$90,000. 

The  New  Jersey  Build¬ 
ing  was  colonial,  and  cost 
$19,000.  It  was  plain,  but 
dainty  and  tasteful  inside. 
Delaware  expended  $7,500 
on  its  building,  which  was 
constructed  wholly  of  na¬ 
tive  woods  and  materials. 
Massachusetts,  at  an  ex¬ 
pense  of  50,000,  copied  for 
its  State  building  the  old 
John  Hancock  residence  of 

LIBERTY  BELL.  . 

Boston.  It  was  strictly 
colonial  in  all  its  aspects,  and  surrounded  by  a  terrace.  There 
were  old-fashioned  flowers  and  flower-beds  in  the  yard,  and  a  grand¬ 
father’s  clock  in  the  hall.  Virginia  reproduced  Mount  Vernon,  the 
home  of  Washington.  It  was  admirably  done,  and  attracted  large 
crowds  of  people.  The  interior  of  the  building  was  also  a  reproduc¬ 
tion.  West  Virginia  erected  an  attractive  colonial  building,  which 
cost  $20,000.  That  of  Maryland  cost  $12,000. 

The  Southern  States  were  well  represented,  but  Florida  did  the 
most  unique  thing.  At  a  cost  of  $20,000  that  State  reproduced  Fort 
Marion,  St.  Augustine,  which  proved  a  great  attraction.  This  fort 
is  perhaps  the  oldest  structure  in  North  America,  and  an  architect¬ 
ural  specimen  of  the  days  when  the  Spanish  held  supremacy  in  the 
New  World.  The  erection  of  the  original  fort  was  begun  in  1720, 
and  continued  for  one  hundred  years.  To  equip  it  as  a  garrison  re¬ 
quired  one  hundred  guns  and  one  thousand  men. 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


787 


The  Louisiana  structure  was  an  exact  counterpart  of  a  well-to-do- 
Creole  house.  Texas  expended  830,000  on  a  pretty  building  in 
Southern  style,  the  money  for  which  was  raised  by  the  women  of  the 
Lone  Star  State. 

Kentucky  expended  820,000  on  a  building  suggestive  of  the 
better  class  of  Kentucky  homesteads,  and  surrounded  by  broad  piaz¬ 
zas.  Arkansas  and  Missouri  had  beautiful  buildings,  costing  815,000 
and  845,000  respectively.  The  joint  building  erected  by  the  Territo¬ 
ries  of  Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  Oklahoma  attracted  much. atten¬ 
tion.  It  was  two  stories  high,  the  lower  being  supported  by  Doric 
columns. 

The  States  bordering  on  the  Great  Lakes  all  did  themselves 
honor  in  their  respective  structures.  Ohio  was  represented  by  a  build¬ 
ing  costing  880,000,  a  type  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  and  looking 
something  like  the  State  Capitol  of  Columbus.  Buck-eyes  moulded 
into,  stucco  formed  the  decorations  of  the  main  interior  hall. 

The  Indiana  Building  cost  865,000.  From  its  beautiful  location 
could  be  seen  the  Wooded  Island,  and  the  romantic  lagoon.  It  was 
French-Gothic  in  design,  with  cathedral  windows,  turrets  and  towers, 
the  latter  of  oolitic  limestone  taken  from  its  State  quarries  at  Bed¬ 
ford.  Michigan  expended  850,000  in  a  splendid  structure.  Wiscon¬ 
sin  erected  a  brown-stone  building  at  a  cost  of  830,000. 

Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  the  four  great  wheat  and 
corn  producing  States,  had  good  buildings  costing  830,000,  835,000, 
825,000  and  820,000  respectively,  and  each  containing  fine  exhibits 
of  grain.  Montana,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Idaho,  Washington,  Ore¬ 
gon  and  Nevada,  the  two  Dakotas  and  Utah  had  each  an  admirable 
building,  t}'pical  of  Western  progress,  and  exhibiting  State  products. 
California  erected  one  of  the  most  noted  buildings  of  all.  It  was 
picturesque,  the  exterior  being  of  plain  plaster  artificially  cracked, 
and  seemed  to  look  like  an  old  adobe  mission  house.  The  Ionic  col¬ 
onnade  in  the  south  front,  was  reproduced  from  the  Mission  at  Santa 
Barbara ;  the  belfry,  towers  and  domes  being  imitated  from  other 
famous  missions  of  the  Golden  State.  The  exhibits  were  as  wonder¬ 
ful  as  the  structure  was  unique  and  interesting. 

The  so-called  Midway  Plaisance  at  the  World’s  Fair,  was  always 
crowded,  whatever  the  weather.  There  never  was,  perhaps  in  all 
history,  such  a  rendezvous  as  this  of  all  nations.  The  Plaisance  was 
a  mile  in  length,  and  an  eighth  of  a  mile  in  width.  On  either  side 
of  the  broad  street  were  representatives  of  forty-eight  races,  including 


788 


history  of  the  united  states. 


Arabians,  Chinese,  Turks,  Moors,  Persians,  Bedouins,  Dahomeyans, 
Japanese,  Laplanders,  Soudanese,  South  Sea  Islanders,  and  nearly  all 
the  Europeans.  All  languages  were  spoken  in  this  modern  Babel. 
These  people  came  not  thousands  of  miles  from  their  places  of  nativ¬ 
ity  merely  as  an  interesting  and  picturesque  feature  of  the  World’s 
Columbian  Exposition,  but  for  gain.  Money  was  the  all-absorbing 
aim  of  the  Midway  Plaisance  and  its  motley  assemblage.  Nearly  all 
of  them  Avere  Avily  professional  or  travelling  showmen  out  of  the 
East. 

In  the  Algerian  village  or  the  Soudanese  theatre  one  might  see 
dances  of  all  descriptions  never  hitherto  witnessed  in  America.  Here 
in  the  Plaisance  the  visitor  could  go  in  a  feAV  minutes  from  the  Alge¬ 
rian  desert  to  the  Lapland  village.  Children  of  the  tropics  sat  side 
by  side  Avith  children  of  the  regions  of  eternal  siioav.  In  the  village 
referred  to,  were  tAventy  or  more  Lapps  and  a  herd  of  reindeer.  The 
Lapps  are  not  a  handsome  race.  They  ha\Te  broad  faces  and  high 
cheek-bones,  Avith  short  chins.  Their  eyes  are  small  and  their  noses 
flat  and  retroussS.  At  the  Midway,  the  visitor  might  witness  at  an 
expense  of  ten  dollars  Avhat  it  would  require  a  considerable  fraction 
of  a  fortune  to  observe  in  travelling  around  the  Avorld. 

One  of  the  great  attractions  Avas  the  “  Street  of  Cairo  ”  with  its 
one  hundred  and  eighty  men,  women  and  children,  theatres,  camels, 
dogs  and  donkeys.  It  Avas  located  about  the  middle  of  the  thorough¬ 
fare,  and  Avas  a  combination  of  the  principal  architectural  features  of 
the  old  city  of  Cairo,  in  Egypt.  The  street  Avas  very  crooked.  The 
lower  floors  of  the  old  buildings  on  either  side  were  given  up  to 
business  purposes,  and  the  upper  part  used  as  chvellings.  There  was 
a  mosque,  a  theatre  where  strange  dances  Avere  performed,  and  many 
reproductions  of  famous  building  in  old  Cairo.  The  shops  were  filled 
with  everything  produced  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

The  Soudanese  in  their  village  performed  a  dance  in  which  seAr- 
eral  generations  figured.  The  Nubians  in  their  hut  also  contorted 
their  forms  to  the  movement  of  music.  They  Avear  their  hair  in  a 
most  peculiar  style,  as  they  have  done  for  four  thousand  years  ;  their 
locks  were  copiously  greased  Avith  perfumed  oil. 

West  of  the  Street  of  Cairo  Avas  the  Temple  of  Luxor,  an  exact 
reproduction  of  that  famous  place  of  Avorship  near  Thebes,  built  by 
Amenophis  III,  and  made  famous  by  Rameses  II.  0\'er  the  door  A\ras 
the  winged  disk,  illustrating  the  flight  of  life.  At  each  front  corner 
Avas  a  monolithic  obelisk  seventy-fwe  feet  high.  Near  these  Avere 
tAvo  large  statues  of  Rameses  II,  and  on  each  side  of  the  doorway  an 


MARYLAND  BUILDING, 


LOUISIANA  BUILDING, 


INDIANA  BUILDING. 


KENTUCKY  BUILDING. 


JOINT  TERRITORIAL  BUILDING, 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMIN  I  SLR  A  TION. 


789 


Egyptian  sphinx.  On  the  inside,  the  altar  was  a  facsimile  of  the 
altars  of  Isis,  with  native  women  playing  harps  on  either  hand. 
There  was  also  exhibited  in  this  temple  facsimiles  of  the  most 
famous  Egyptian  mummies. 

The  Turkish  village  represented  parts  of  Constantinople  on  the 
Bosphorus.  In  the  square  of  approach  to  the  village  was  set  up  an 
obelisk,  a  counterpart  of  one  erected  by  the  Romans  in  Constan¬ 
tinople  before ,  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Constantine.  Within  the 
village  was  represented  the  tent  of  the  Shah  of  Persia,  which  was 
worth  $5,000,000,  visitors  were  informed,  because  of  its  extraordinary 
tapestries.  One  of  the  most  striking  objects  of  the  Midway  was  to 
be  seen  in  this  village.  It  was  a  mosque  dedicated  to-  Allah,  which 
Christians  dared  not  enter.  Its  dome-like  roof  and  graceful  minarets 
were  objects  of  comment  with  all  siglit-seers.  The  shrine  in  the  in¬ 
terior  was  exceptionally  mystic  and  beautiful.  There  was  also  a 
theatre  in  this  village,  where  choruses  of  the  Orient  danced  and  sung. 
The  music  was  made  by  a  manjereh  with  a  daoul  obligato.  The 
former  was  a  long-drawn-out  flageolet,  and  the  latter  a  huge  kettle¬ 
drum  pounded  by  a  strong  Turk.  The  sounds  were  weird,  but  not 
enchanting. 

The  Moorish  Palace  was  another  great  attraction  of  the  Midway. 
It  was  filled  with  crystal  mazes  and  all  sorts  of  optical  illusions,  ex¬ 
cellent  wax  figures,  mirrored  labyrinths,  cafes  and  “  La  Dijonnaise.” 
The  latter  was  the  identical  guillotine  that  did  such  bloody  work  in 
the  days  of  the  first  French  revolution ;  its  blade  ended  the  life  of 
Marie  Antoinette. 

There  were  two  Irish  villages  —  Blarney  Castle  and  the  Village 
of  Irish  Industries,  and  Donegal  Castle.  In  the  former  was  a  portion 
of  the  original  Blarney  stone,  which  hundreds  climbed  up  to  kiss. 
The  latter  castle  was  not  so  striking  as  the  former,  but  contained  Irish 
industries,  Irish  cooking  and  Irish  maids. 

The  quaint  buildings  of  the  Javanese  were  quite  a  resort  for 
people.  These  were  constructed  of  bamboo,  and  were  occupied  by 
about  one  hundred  little  people  from  Java.  They  had  a  theatre,  a 
large  chimpanzee  in  a  cage,  and  other  characteristic  attractions.  The 
South  Sea  Islanders  had  a  great  exhibit  on  the  Plaisance,  where  they 
performed  the  cannibal  and  war  dances.  They  served,  also,  a  pecu¬ 
liar  drink  made  from  the  root  of  the  pepper-tree,  called  kava. 

The  German  village  became  famous.  In  this  was  the  typical 
town-hall  of  Hesse,  around  which  clustered  cottages  from  Westphalia 
and  the  Black  Forest,  Bavaria  and  the  Rhine.  The  music  here  was 
of  the  highest  excellence. 


790 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Old  Vienna  was  another  attractive  spot.  It  had  forty  shops  of 
all  sorts,  and  represented  the  old  parts  of  the  imperial  city  of  Aus¬ 
tria.  The  cookery  was  noted,  and  the  orchestra  of  the  finest  reputa¬ 
tion.  As  many  as  four  thousand  people  might  be  admitted  to  the  old 
village  at  one  time.  Its  charm  was  its  antiquity.  The  reproductions 
were  chiefly  of  Gorber  and  Bogner  Streets,  Vienna,  built  two  hun¬ 
dred  years  ago.  The  village  cost  $125,000. 

The  Chinese  village  was  peculiar  and  unique,  containing  a  native 
theatre.  There  was  an  electric  scenic  theatre,  a  charming  place  for 
visitors.  The  performances  here  given  were  purely  electrical,  repre¬ 
senting  a  Swiss  scene,  daybreak,  a  storm,  and  sunset  with  the  rising 
moon.  Across  the  way  from  this  was  a  Panorama  of  the  Alps,  which 
was  grand  to  behold  —  afterwards  receiving  a  medal. 

The  Libbey  Glass  Works  had  a  factory  complete  on  the  Midway, 
which  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  Fair.  The 
work  of  glass-weaving  and  glass-blowing  was  shown  to  the  public  in 
all  the  wonderful  processes  of  those  arts. 

The  Ferris  Wheel,  a  vast  periphery  of  carriage-boxes  for  passen¬ 
gers,  was  the  Eiffel  Tower  of  the  Exposition  of  1893.  It  was  250 
feet  in  diameter,  and  from  the  ground  to  the  apex  27 0  feet.  It  cost 
$400,000,  and  was  the  largest  piece  of  revolving  machinery  in  the 
world.  It  was  an  architectural  marvel,  requiring  1,700  tons  of  steel 
in  its  construction.  To  this  we  should  add  Hagenbeck’s  Menagerie, 
the  Dahomey  village,  and  the  Arabian  village,  all  of  which  attracted 
crowds  of  visitors.  There  were  besides,  many  other  places  of  inter¬ 
est  on  the  famous  Midway  Plaisance,  which  was  thronged  all  summer 
with  sight-seers,  gathered  from  every  quarter  of  the  habitable  globe. 

.  The  various  Congresses  held  during  the  Columbian  Exposition 
were  one  of  its  most  important  and  beneficial  features.  International 
meetings  were  conducted  by  the  ladies  during  all  the  months  of  the 
Fair,  but  among  the  most  important  of  the  large  assemblies  were  the 
following  : 

(1)  The  Congress  of  Peace  at  Washington  Hall,  which  occu¬ 
pied  a  week  in  the  month  of  August,  a  kind  of  soldiers’  reunion, 
with  an  excellent  closing  address  by  Dr.  Moxom,  of  Boston. 

(2)  The  Congress  of  the  Colored  Races,  held  for  a  day  or  two 
at  the  Art  Institute,  with  Fred  Douglas  as  presiding  officer. 

(3)  The  Congress  of  Science  and  Philosophy  also  convened  in 
August  —  a  body  divided  into  the  fifteen  sections  —  astronomy, 
chemistry,  pharmacy,  electricity,  meteorology,  geology,  philosophy, 
physical  science,  anthropology,  zoology,  social  and  economic  science, 


MINNESOTA  BUILDING. 


IOWA  BUILDING, 


NEBRASKA  BUILDING. 


COLORADO  BUILDING, 


WASHINGTON  BUILDING. 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  A DMINISTRA  TION. 


731 


statistics,  revenue,  taxation,  profit-sharing,  etc.  The  acutest  thinkers 
of  the  day  took  part  in  the  exercises.  Among  these  were  Dr.  Elisha 
Gray,  Thomas  A.  Edison,  and  Dr.  von  Helmholtz,  of  Germany. 

(4)  The  Congress  of  Geography  was  also  full  of  interest.  At 
this,  Paul  de  Chaillu,  the  distinguished  traveller  and  writer,  was 
present,  and  delivered  an  address. 

(5)  The  Parliament  of  Religions  began  its  sessions  early  in 
September,  and  continued  three  weeks.  It  was  attended  by  eminent 
men  of  all  denominations  and  faiths.  The  meetings  brought  together 
the  grandest  and  ablest  speakers,  and  elicited  the  most  profound 
learning  of  all.  Nothing  of  like  character  had  ever  been  known 
before  among  the  nations. 

The  principal  cities  of  the  United  States  had  each  its  “  day  ”  at 
the  Exposition.  The  attendance  on  these  special  occasions  ranged 
from  about  50,000  to  nearly  1,000,000  human  beings.  Chicago’s 
day  marked  a  total  attendance  of  754,261,  exceeding  anything  ever 
known  in  the  way  of  an  assembled  multitude.  The  greatest  attend¬ 
ance  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  Philadelphia  had  been  257,590, 
and  was  called  extraordinary.  The  great  day  at  Paris  in  1889,  was 
when  397,150  persons  passed  through  the  Exposition  gates.  At 
Chicago  three-quarters  of  a  million  people  moved  at  will  in  Jackson 
Park,  and  not  a  single  person  was  seriously  injured !  The  parades 
by  day  and  the  pyrotechnic  display  at  night,  surpassed  anything  be¬ 
fore  attempted  or  achieved  by  mankind.  Thus  October  9,  1893,  the 
day  assigned  to  Chicago,  was  the  high-water  mark  of  the  World’s 
Columbian  Exposition. 

The  closing  of  the  great  Fair  took  place  October  30,  1893,  and  the 
demolition  of  the  buildings  was  at  once  begun.  On  that  exquisite 
spot  of  beauty  and  verdure,  the  Wooded  Island,  the  first  shadow  of 
doom  fell ;  there  the  destruction  was  begun ;  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
fairy  scenes  of  the  summer. 

On  the  28th  of  October,  the  ladies  held  their  last  meeting  in  the 
Woman’s  Building.  Here  around  the  Lady  Managers  were  grouped 
representative  women  from  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  every 
country  on  the  globe.  Susan  B.  Anthony,  Mary  Love  Dickinson 
and  many  other  famous  women  made  addresses.  Mrs.  Palmer  then 
spoke  some  words  of  farewell,  and  Paul  de  Chaillu  addressed  the 
assembly  on  the  subject  of  women  in  foreign  lands. 

There  occurred  on  the  28th  also,  a  remarkable  gathering  of 
mayors  of  many  cities,  and  the  fearful  and  unexpected  tragedy  of  the 
assassination  of  Honorable  Carter  H.  Harrison,  Mayor  of  Chicago. 


792 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


This  event  seemed  to  mar  all  the  closing  festivities.  Only  a  few 
hours  before,  he  had  addressed  his  colleagues  from  all  over  the 
United  States.  He  was  shot  three  times  in  his  own  home  by  Eugene 
Prendergast,  and  died  in  twenty  minutes.  In  his  address  he  had 
gloried  in  Chicago  and  the  Exposition,  and  had  made  the  following 
glowing  prophecy : 

“  I,  myself,  have  taken  a  new  lease  of  life ;  and  I  believe  I  shall 
see  the  day  when  Chicago  will  be  the  greatest  city  in  America,  and 
the  third  on  the  face  of  the  globe.” 

Despite  the  funeral  pall  which  the  death  of  Carter  Harrison 
caused  to  envelop  the  city  and  grounds,  the  World’s  Columbian  Ex¬ 
position  was  officially  closed  Monday,  October  30,  1893.  All  con¬ 
templated  music,  orations  and  fireworks  were  abandoned;  but  never¬ 
theless,  208,173  persons  were  present  within  the  gates.  The  great 
search-lights,  scattered  through  Jackson  Park,  went  out  forever;  the 
fountains  ceased  to  play ;  and  the  flags  were  taken  down  from  the 
buildings,  over  which  they  had  waved  so  proudly. 

The  admission-fee  at  the  Fair  was  fifty  cents  for  an  adult,  and 
twenty-five  cents  for  children.  The  only  time  a  reduction  was  made 
in  this  rate  was  during  one  week  in  October,  when  Chicago  public- 
school  children  were  given  a  holiday,  and  the  price  of  admission  for 
all  children  under  eighteen  years  of  age  was  reduced  to  ten  cents. 
The  attendance  of  children  reached  on  a  single  day  the  number  of 
65,199.  The  total  number  of  passes  and  complimentary  cards  issued 
during  the  months  of  the  Exposition  was  6,059,380.  The  World’s 
Columbian  Exposition  had  proved  to  be  the  greatest  event  of  the 
closing  decade  pf  the  century. 

The  History  of  Our  Country  has  thus  been  recited  from  its 
discovery  by  the  adventurers  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century 
down  to  the  year  1894.  The  Quadricentennial  Story  is  com¬ 
plete  The  four  centuries  of  time  through  which  we  have  passed 
since  the  unveiling  of  the  continent,  have  brought  us  the  experience 
of  the  ages,  and,  let  us  hope,  the  wisdom  and  virtues  of  the  greatest 
nations  of  the  earth.  Our  Republic  has  passed  through  stormy  times, 
but  lias  come  at  last  in  full  splendor  and  with  uplifted  banners,  to  the 
great  anniversary  which  has  commemorated  the  discovery  of  the  New 
World  As  a  united  nation,  we  are  already  well  advanced  into  the 
second  century  of  our  existence.  Peace  and  tranquillity  are  abroad. 
Clouds  of  distrust  and  war  have  sunk  behind  the  horizon.  Here, 
at  least,  the  equality  of  all  men  in  rights  and  privileges  before  the  law 


SOUTH  DAKOTA  BUILDING, 


CALIFORNIA  BUILDING 


CLEVELAND'S  SECOND  ADMINISTRATION. 


793 


has  been  written  with  an  iron  pen  in  the  constitution  of  our  country. 
The  Union  of  the  States  has  been  consecrated  anew  within  our  mem¬ 
ories  by  the  blood  of  patriots  and  the  tears  of  the  lowly.  Best  of  all, 
the  temple  of  Freedom  reared  by  our  patriot  Fathers  still  stands  in 
undiminished  glory.  The  Past  has  taught  its  Lesson,  the 
Present  has  its  Duty,  and  the  Future  its  Hope. 


794 


HIST0R1  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES . 


CHAPTER  LXXIV. 

CONCLUSION. 

WHAT,  then,  of  the  outlook  for  the  American  Republic?  What 
shall  another  century  bring  forth  ?  What  is  to  be  the  destiny 
of  this  vigorous,  aggressive,  self-governing  Anglo-American  race? 
Ho  w  will  the  picture,  so  well  begun,  be  completed  by  the  annalists 
of  posterity  ?  Is  it  the  sad  fate  of  humanity,  after  all  its  struggles, 
toils,  and  sighing,  to  turn  forever  round  and  round  in  the  same 
beaten  circle,  climbing  the  long  ascent  from  the  degradation  of  sav¬ 
age  life  to  the  heights  of  national  renown  only  to  descend  again 
into  the  fenlands  of  despair?  Is  Lord  Byron’s  gloomy  picture  of 
th£  rise  and  fall  of  nations  indeed  a  true  portrayal  of  the  order  of  the 
world  ? — 

Here  is  the  moral  of  all  human  tales, — 

’Tis  but  the  same  rehearsal  of  the  past, 

First  freedom  and  then  glory  —  when  that  fails. 

Wealth,  vice,  corruption,  barbarism  at  last; 

And  History  with  all  her  volumes  vast 
Hath  but  one  page ! 

Or  has  the  human  race,  breaking  the  bonds  of  its  servitude  and  es¬ 
caping  at  last  from  its  long  imprisonment,  struck  out  across  the  fields 
of  sublime  possibility  the  promised  pathway  leading  to  the  final  tri¬ 
umph?  There  are  still  doubts  and  fears  —  perplexities,  anxieties,  and 
sometimes  anguish — arising  in  the  soul  of  the  philanthropist  as  he 
turns  his  gaze  to  the  future.  But  there  are  hopes  also,  grounds  of 
confidence,  au  spicious  omens,  tokens  of  the  substantial  victory  of  truth, 
inspirations  of  faith  welling  up  in  the  heart  of  the  watcher  as  he  scans 
the  dappled  horizon  of  the  coming  day. 

As  to  present  achievement  the  American  people  have  far  sur¬ 
passed  the  expectations  of  the  fathers.  The  visions  and  dreams  of  the 
Revolutionary  patriots  have  been  eclipsed  by  the  luster  of  actual  ac¬ 
complishment.  The  territorial  domains  of  the  Republic  enclose  the 
grandest  belt  of  forest,  valley,  and  plain  that  the  world  has  in  it. 
Since  the  beginning  of  time  no  other  people  have  possessed  such  a 
territory — so  rich  in  resources,  so  varied  in  products,  so  magnificent 
in  physical  aspect.  Soil  and  climate,  the  distribution  of  woods  and 


CONCLUSION. 


795 


lakes  and  rivers,  the  interposition  of  mountain  ranges,  and  the  fertil¬ 
ity  of  valley  and  prairie,  here  contribute  to  give  to  man  a  many-sided 
and  powerful  development.  Here  he  finds  bays  for  his  shipping, 
rivers  for  his  steamers,  fields  for  his  plow,  iron  for  his  forge,  gold  for 
his  cupidity,  landscapes  for  his  pencil,  sunshine  enough  for  song,  and 
snow  enough  for  courage.  Nor  has  the  Anglo-American  failed  to  profit 
by  the  advantages  of  his  surroundings.  He  has  planted  a  free  gov¬ 
ernment  on  the  largest  and  most  liberal  scale  known  in  history.  He 
has  espoused  the  cause  of  liberty  and  right.  He  has  fought  like  a 
hero  for  the  freedom  and  equality  of  all  men.  He  has  projected  a 
civilization  which,  though  as  yet  but  dimly  traced  in  outline,  is  the 
vastest  and  grandest  in  the  world.  Better  than  all,  he  believes  in  the 
times  to  come.  So  long  as  man  is  anxious  about  the  future  the  fu¬ 
ture  is  secure.  Only  when  he  falls  into  apathy,  sleeps  at  his  post,  and 
cares  no  longer  for  the  morrow,  is  the  world  in  danger  of  relapse  and 
barbarism. 

To  the  thoughtful  student  of  history  several  things  seem  neces¬ 
sary  to  the  perpetuity  and  complete  success  of  American  institutions. 
The  first  of  these  is  the  prevalence  of  the  Idea  of  National  Unity. 
Of  this  spake  Washington  in  his  Farewell  Address,  warning  his  coun¬ 
trymen  in  solemn  words  to  preserve  and  defend  that  government  which 
constituted  them  one  people.  Of  this  wrote  Hamilton  and  Adams. 
For  this  pleaded  Webster  in  his  great  orations.  Upon  this  the  far- 
seeing  statesmen  of  the  present  day,  rising  above  the  strifes  of  party 
and  the  turmoils  of  war,  plant  themselves  as  the  one  thing  vital  in 
American  politics.  The  idea  that  the  United  States  are  one  Nation , 
and  not  thirty-eight  nations,  is  the  grand  cardinal  doctrine  of  a  sound 
political  faith.  State  pride  and  sectional  attachment  are  natural  pas¬ 
sions  in  the  human  breast,  and  are  so  near  akin  to  patriotism  as  to  be 
distinguished  from  it  only  in  the  court  of  a  higher  reason.  But  there 
is  a  nobler  love  of  country  —  a  patriotism  that  rises  above  all  places 
and  sections,  that  knows  no  County,  no  State,  no  North,  no  South,  but 
only  native  land;  that  claims  no  mountain  slope;  that  clings  to  no 
river  bank;  that  worships  no  range  of  hills;  but  lifts  the  aspiring  eye 
to  a  continent  redeemed  from  barbarism  by  common  sacrifices  and 
made  sacred  by  the  shedding  of  kindred  blood.  Such  a  patriotism  is 
the  cable  and  sheet-anchor  of  our  hope. 

A  second  requisite  for  the  preservation  of  American  institutions 
is  the  Universal  Secular  Education  of  the  People.  Monarchies 
govern  their  subjects  by  authority  a»id  precedent;  republics  by  right 
reason  and  free  will.  Whether  one  method  or  the  other  will  be  better, 
49 


796 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


turns  wholly  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  governed.  If  th&  subject 
have  not  the  knowledge  and  discipline  necessary  to  govern  himself,  it 
is  better  that  a  king,  in  whom  some  skill  in  the  science  of  government 
is  presupposed,  should  rule  him.  As  between  two  stupendous  evils, 
the  rational  tyranny  of  the  intelligent  few  is  preferable  to  the  fufious 
and’  irrational  tyranny  of  the  ignorant  many.  No  force  which  has 
moved  among  men,  impelling  to  bad  action,  inspiring  to  crime,  o\-er- 
turning  order,  tearing  away  the  bulwarks  of  liberty  and  right,  a^d 
converting  civilization  into  a  waste,  has  been  so  full  of  evil  and  so 
powerful  to  destroy  as  a  blind,  ignorant,  and  factious  democracy.  A 
republic  without  intelligence  —  even  a  high  degree  of  intelligence-  -is 
a  paradox  and  an  impossibility.  What  means  that  principle  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  which  declares  the  consent  of  the  gov¬ 
erned  to  be  the  true  foundation  of  all  just  authority?  What  kind  of 
“ consent”  is  referred  to?  Manifestly  not  the  passive  and  unresisting 
acquiescence  of  the  mind  which,  like  the  potter’s  clay,  receives  what¬ 
ever  is  impressed  upon  it ;  but  that  active,  thinking,  resolute,  conscious, 
personal  consent  which  distinguishes  the  true  freeman  from  the  puppet. 
When  the  people  of  the  United  States  rise  to  the  heights  of  this  noble 
and  intelligent  self-assertion,  the  occupation  of  the  party  leader  —  most 
despicable  of  all  the  tyrants — will  be  gone  forever;  and  in  order  that 
the  people  may  ascend  to  that  high  plane,  the  means  by  which  intel¬ 
ligence  is  fostered,  right  reason  exalted,  and  a  calm  and  rational  pub¬ 
lic  opinion  produced,  must  be  universally  secured.  The  public  Free 
School  is  the  fountain  whose  streams  shall  make  glad  all  the  lands 
of  liberty.  We  must  educate  or  perish. 

A  third  thing  necessary  to  the  perpetuity  of  American  liberties 
is  Toleration  —  toleration  in  the  broadest  and  most  glorious  sense. 
In  the  colonial  times  intolerance  embittered  the  lives  of  our  fathers. 
Until  the  present  day  the  baleful  shadow  has  been  upon  the  land. 
The  proscriptive  vices  of  the  Middle  Age  have  flowed  down  with  the 
blood  of  the  race  and  tainted  the  life  that  now  is,  with  a  suspicion  and 
distrust  of  freedom.  Liberty  in  the  minds  of  men  has  meant  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  agreeing  with  the  majority.  Men  have  desired  free  thought, 
but  fear  has  stood  at  the  door.  It  remains  for  the  United  States  to 
build  a  highway,  broad  and  free,  into  every  field  of  liberal  inquiry, 
and  to  make  the  poorest  of  men  who  walks  therein,  more  secure  in  life 
and  reputation  than  the  soldier  who  sleeps  behind  the  rampart.  Pro¬ 
scription  has  no  part  nor  lot  in  the  American  system.  The  stake,  the 
gibbet,  and  the  rack,  thumb-screws,  sword,  and  pillory,  have  no  place 
on  this  side  of  the  sea.  Nature  is  diversified ;  so  are  human  faculties, 


CONCLUSION. 


797 


beliefs,  and  practices.  Essential  freedom  is  the  right  to  differ;  and 
that  right  must  be  sacredly  respected.  Nor  must  the  privilege  of  dis¬ 
sent  be  conceded  with  coldness  and  disdain,  but  openly,  cordially,  and 
with  good  will.  No  loss  of  rank,  abatement  of  character,  or  ostracism 
from  society  must  darken  the  pathway  of  the  humblest  of  the  seekers 
after  truth.  The  right  of  free  thought,  free  inquiry,  and  free  speech, 
is  as  clear  as  the  noonday  and  bounteous  as  the  air  and  ocean.  With¬ 
out  a  full  and  cheerful  recognition  of  this  right,  America  is  only  a 
name,  her  glory  a  dream,  her  institutions  a  mockery. 

The  fourth  idea,  essential  to  the  welfare  and  stability  of  the  Re¬ 
public,  is  the  Nobility  of  Labor.  It  is  the  mission  of  the  United 
States  to  ennoble  toil  and  honor  the  toiler.  In  other  lands  to  labor 
has  been  considered  the  lot  of  serfs  and  peasants;  to  gather  the  fruits 
and  consume  them  in  luxury  and  war,  the  business  of  the  great. 
Since  the  medieval  times  European  society  has  been  organized  on  the 
basis  of  a  nobility  and  a  people.  To  be  a  nobleman  was  to  be  distin¬ 
guished  from  the  people;  to  be  one  of  the  people  was  to  be  forever 
debarred  from  nobility.  Thus  has  been  set  on  human  industry  the 
stigma  of  perpetual  disgrace.  Something  of  this  has  been  transmitted 
to  the  new  civilization  in  the  West  —  a  certain  disposition  to  renew 
the  old  order  of  lord  and  laborer.  Let  the  odious  distinction  perish : 
the  true  lord  is  the  laborer  and  the  true  laborer  the  lord.  It  is  the 
genius  of  American  institutions,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  to  wipe  the 
last  opprobrious  stain  from  the  brow  of  toil  and  to  crown  the  toiler 
with  the  dignity,  luster,  and  honor  of  a  full  and  perfect  manhood. 

The  scroll  of  the  century  is  rolled  together.  The  work  is  done. 
Peace  to  the  memory  of  the  fathers!  Green  be  the  graves  where 
sleep  the  warriors,  patriots,  and  sages !  Calm  be  the  resting-place  of 
all  the  brave  and  true !  Gentle  be  the  summer  rains  on  famous  fields 
where  armies  met  in  battle!  Forgotten  be  the  animosities  and  heart¬ 
burnings  of  the  strife !  Sacred  be  the  trusts  committed  to  our  oare, 
and  bright  the  visions  of  the  coming  agesl 


APPENDIX  A 


&IR  JOHN  MANDEVTLLE’S  ARGUMENT  ON  THE  FIGURE 

OF  THE  EARTH. 

[Since  the  paragraph  in  the  text  has  been  the  subject  of  some  doubts  and  criticism, 
the  original  of  Sir  John  Mandeville’s  argument  is  here  appended.  The  orthography 
and  phraseology  are  not  more  quaint  than  the  logic  is  invincible.  In  order  that  the  ar¬ 
gument  may  be  more  easily  followed  and  clearly  understood,  a  translation  or  paraphrase, 
is  added.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  date  of  Sir  John’s  book  is  1356 — a  hundred 
and  thirty-six  years  before  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus. — The  Author.] 

In  that  Lond,  ne  in  many  othere  bezonde  that,  no  man  may  see  the  Sterre  trans- 
montane,  that  is  clept  the  Sterre  of  the  See,  that  is  unmevable,  and  that  is  toward  the 
Northe,  that  we  clepen  the  Lode  Sterre.  But  men  seen  another  Sterre,  the  contrarie  to 
him,  that  is  toward  the  Southe,  that  is  clept  Antartyk.  And  right  as  the  Schip  men 
taken  here  Avys  here,  and  governe  hem  be  the  Lode  Sterre,  right  so  don  Schip  men 
bezonde  the  parties,  be  the  Sterre  of  the  Southe,  the  whiche  Sterre  apperethe  not  to  us. 
And  this  Sterre,  that  is  toward  the  Northe,  that  wee  clepen  the  Lode  Sterre,  ne  apperethe 
not  to  hem.  For  whiche  cause,  men  may  wel  perceyve,  that  the  Lond  and  the  See  ben 
of  rownde  schapp  and  forme.  For  the  partie  of  the  Firmament  schewethe  in  o  Contree, 
that  schewethe  not  in  another  Contree.  And  men  may  well  preven  be  experience  and 
sotyle  compassement  of  Wytt,  that  zif  a  man  fond  passages  be  Schippes,  that  wolde  go 
to  serchen  the  World,  men  myghte  go  be  Schippe  alle  aboute  the  World,  and  aboven 
and  benethen.  The  whiche  thing  I  prove  thus,  aftre  that  I  have  seyn.  For  I  have 
ben  toward  the  parties  of  Braban,  and  beho’den  the  Astrolabre,*  that  the  Sterre  that  is 
clept  the  Transmontayne,  is  53  Degrees  highe.  And  more  forthere  in  Almayne  and 
Bewme,  it  hathe  58  Degrees.  And  more  fort’ie  toward  the  parties  septemtrioneles,  it  is 
62  Degrees  of  heghte,  and  certeyn  Mynutes.  For  I  my  self  have  mesured  it  by  the 
Astrolabre.  Now  schulle  ze  knowe,  that  azen  the  Transmontayne,  is  the  tother  Sterre, 
that  is  clept  Antartyke;  as  I  have  seyd  before.  And  tho  2  Sterres  ne  meeven  nevere. 
And  be  hem  turnethe  alle  the  Firmament,  righte  as  dothe  a  Wheel,  that  turnethe  be 
his  Axille  Tree:  so  that  tho  Sterres  beren  the  Firmament  in  2  egalle  parties;  so  that 
it  hathe  als  mochel  aboven,  as  it  hathe  benethen.  Aftre  this,  I  have  gon  toward  the 
parties  meridionales,  that  is  toward  the  Southe :  and  I  have  founden,  that  in  Lybye, 
men  seen  first  the  Sterre  Antartyk.  And  so  fer  I  have  gon  more  forthe  in  tho  Contrees, 
that  I  have  founde  that  Sterre  more  highe ;  so  that  toward  the  highe  Lybye,  it  is  18 
Degrees  of  heghte,  and  certeyn  Minutes  (of  the  whiche,  60  Minutes  maken  a  Degree). 
Aftre  goynge  be  See  and  be  Londe,  toward  this  Contree,  of  that  I  have  spoke,  and  to 
other  Yles  and  Londes  bezonde  that  Contree,  I  have  founden  the  Sterre  Antartyk  of  33 
Degrees  of  heghte,  and  mo  mynutes.  And  zif  I  hadde  had  Companve  and  Schippynge, 
for  to  go  more  bezonde,  I  trowe  wel  in  certeyn,  that  wee  scholde  have  seen  alle  the 

*In  Manderille’s  time,  Astronomers  had  attained  but  very  little  accuracy  in  taking  observations. 

798 


APPENDIX  A. 


799 


roundnesse  of  the  Firmament  alle  aboute.  ******  Be  the  whiche  I  seye 
zou  certeynly,  that  men  may  envirowne  alle  the  Erthe  of  alle  the  World,  as  wel  undre 
as  aboven,  and  turnen  azen  to  his  Contree,  that  hadde  Companye  and  Schippynge  and 
Conduyt:  and  alle  weyes  he  scholde  fynde  Men,  Londes,  and  Yles,  als  wel  as  in  this 
Contree.  For  zee  wyten  welle,  that  thei  that  ben  toward  the  Antartyk,  thei  ben 
•treghte,  feet  azen  feet  of  hem,  that  dwellen  undre  transmontane;  als  wel  as  wee  and 
thei  that  dwellyn  under  us,  ben  feet  azenst  feet.  For  alle  the  parties  of  See  and  of 
Lond  han  here  appositees,  habitables  or  trepassables,  and  thei  of  this  half  and  bezond 
half.  ******  And  whan  men  gon  bezonde  tho  iourneyes,  toward  Ynde  and 
to  the  foreyn  Yles,  alle  is  envyronynge  the  roundnesse  of  the  Erthe  and  of  the  See, 
undre  oure  Contrees  on  this  half.  And  therfore  hathe  it  befallen  many  tymes  of  o 
thing,  that  I  have  herd  cownted,  whan  I  was  zong;  how  a  worthi  man  departed  som- 
tyme  from  oure  Contrees,  for  to  go  serche  the  "World.  And  so  he  passed  Ynde,  and  the 
Y'les  bezonde  Ynde,  where  ben  mo  than  5000  YYes:  and  so  longe  he  wente  be  See  and 
Lond,  and  so  enviround  the  World  be  many  seysons,  that  he  fond  an  Yle,  where  he 
herde  speke  his  owne  Langage,  callynge  on  Oxen  in  the  Plowghe,  suche  Wordes  as  men 
speken  to  Bestes  in  his  owne  Contree:  whereof  he  hadde  gret  Mervayle :  for  he  knewe 
not  how  it  myghte  be.  But  I  seye,  that  he  had  gon  so  longe,  be  Londe  and  be  See,  that 
he  had  envyround  alle  the  erthe,  that  he  was  comen  azen  envirounynge,  that  is  to  seye, 
goynge  aboute,  unto  his  owne  Marches,  zif  he  wolde  have  passed  forthe,  til  he  had 
founden  his  Contree  and  his  owne  knouleche.  But  he  turned  azen  from  tliens,  from 
whens  he  was  come  fro;  and  so  he  loste  moche  peynefulle  labour,  as  him  self  seyde,  a 
gret  while  aftre,  that  he  was  comen  horn.  For  it  befelle  aftre,  that  he  wente  in  to  Nor- 
weye;  and  there  Tempest  of  the  See  toke  him  ;  and  he  arryved  in  an  Yle ;  and  whan 
he  was  in  that  Yle,  he  knew  wel,  that  it  was  the  Yle,  where  he  had  herd  speke  his  owne 
Langage  before,  and  the  callynge  of  the  Oxen  at  the  Plowghe :  and  that  was  possible 
thinge.  But  how  it  semethe  to  symple  men  unlerned,  that  men  ne  mowe  not  go  undre 
the  Erthe,  and  also  that  men  scholde  falle  toward  the  Hevene,  from  undre!  But  that 
may  not  be,  upon  lesse,  than  wee  mowe  falle  toward  Hevene,  fro  the  Erthe,  where  wee 
ben.  For  fro  what  partie  of  the  Erthe,  that  men  duelle,  outher  aboven  or  benethen,  it 
semethe  alweys  to  hem  that  duellen,  that  thei  gon  more  righte  than  ony  other  folk. 
And  righte  as  it  semethe  to  us,  that  thei  ben  undre  us,  righte  so  it  semethe  hem,  that 
wee  ben  undre  hem.  For  zif  a  man  myghte  falle  fro  the  Erthe  unto  the  Firmament; 
be  grettere  resoun,  the  Erthe  and  the  See,  that  ben  so  grete  and  so  hevy,  scholde  fallen 
to  the  Firmament:  but  that  may  not  be.  *  *  *  And  alle  be  it  that  it  be  possible 
thing,  that  men  may  so  envyronne  alle  the  World,  natheles  of  a  1000  persones,  on  ne 
myghte  not  happen  to  returnen  in  to  his  Contree.  For,  for  the  gretnesse  of  the  Erthe 
and  of  the  See,  men  may  go  be  a  1000  and  a  1000  other  weyes,  that  no  man  cowde  redye 
him  perfitely  toward  the  parties  that  he  cam  fro,  but  zif  it  were  be  aventure  and  happ,  or 
be  the  grace  of  God.  For  the  Erthe  is  fulle  large  and  fulle  gret,  and  holt  in  roundnesse 
and  aboute  envyroun,  be  aboven  and  be  benethen  20425  Myles,  aftre  the  opynyoun  of 
the  olde  wise  Astronomeres.  And  here  Seyenges  I  repreve  noughte.  But  aftre  my  lytylle 
wytt,  it  semethe  me,  savynge  here  reverence,  that  it  is  more.  And  for  to  have  bettere 
understondynge,  I  seye  thus,  Be  ther  ymagyned  a  Figure  that  hathe  a  gret  Compas; 
and  aboute  the  poynt  of  the  gret  Compas,  that  is  clept  the  Centre,  be  made  another 
litille  Compas:  than  aftre,  be  the  gret  Compas  devised  be  Lines  in  manve  parties;  and 
that  alle  the  Lynes  meeten  at  the  Centre ;  so  that  in  as  many  parties,  as  the  grete 
Compas  schal  be  departed,  in  als  manye  schalle  be  departed  the  litille,  that  is  aboute 
the  Centre,  alle  be  it  that  the  spaces  ben  lesse.  Now  thanne,  be  the  gret  compas 
represented  for  the  firmament,  and  the  litille  compas  represented  for  the  Erthe.  Now 
thanne  the  Firmament  is  devysed,  be  Astronomeres,  in  12  Signes ;  and  every  Signe  ia 


800 


MANDE VILLE'S  ARGUMENT. 


devysed  in  30  Degrees,  that  is  360  Degrees,  that  the  Firmament  hathe  ahoven.  Also, 
be  the  Erthe  devysed  in  als  many  parties,  as  the  Firmament;  and  lat  every  partye  an- 
swere  to  a  Degree  of  the  Firmament:  and  wytethe  it  wel,  that  aftre  the  Auctoures  of 
Astronomye,  700  Furlonges  of  Erthe  answeren  to  a  Degree  of  the  Firmament;  and  tho 
ben  87  Miles  and  4  Furlonges.  Now  be  that  here  multiplyed  by  360  sithes;  and  than 
tliei  ben  31500  Myles,  every  of  8  Furlonges,  aftre  Myles  of  oure  Contree.  So  moche 
hathe  the  Erthe  in  roundnesse,  and  of  heghte  enviroun,  aftre  myn  opynyoun  and  myn 
xmdirstondynge. 


[paraphrase.] 

In  that  land  and  in  others  beyond  no  man  may  see  the  fixed  star  of  the  North  which 
we  call  the  Lode  Star.  But  there  men  see  another  star  called  the  Antarctic,  opposite  to  the 
star  of  the  North.  And  just  as  mariners  in  this  hemisphere  take  their  reckoning  and 
govern  their  course  by  the  North  Star,  so  do  the  mariners  of  the  South  by  the  Antarctic. 
But  the  star  of  the  North  appears  not  to  the  people  of  the  South.  Wherefore  men  may 
easily  perceive  that  the  land  and  the  sea  are  of  round  shape  and  figure.  For  that  part  of  the 
firmament  which  is  seen  in  one  country  is  not  seen  in  another.  And  men  may  prove 
both  by  experience  and  sound  reasoning  that  if  a  man,  having  passage  by  ship,  should 
go  to  search  the  world,  he  might  with  his  vessel  sail  around  the  world ,  both  above  and  under  it. 
This  proposition  I  prove  as  follows:  I  have  myself  in  Prussia  seen  the  North  Star  Dy 
the  astrolabe  fifty-three  degrees  above  the  horizon.  Further  on  in  Bohemia  it  rises  to 
the  height  of  fifty-eight  degrees.  And  still  farther  northward  it  is  sixty-two  degrees 
and  some  minutes  high.  I  myself  have  so  measured  it.  Now  the  South  Pole  Star  is, 
as  I  have  said,  opposite  the  North  Pole  Star.  And  about  these  poles  the  whole  celestial 
sphere  revolves  like  a  wheel  about  the  axle;  and  the  firmament  is  thus  divided  into 
two  equal  parts.  From  the  North  I  have  turned  southward,  passed  the  equator,  and 
found  that  in  Lybia  the  Antarctic  Star  first  appears  above  the  horizon.  Farther  on  in 
those  lands  that  star  rises  higher,  until  in  southern  Lybia  it  reaches  the  height  of 
eighteen  degrees  and  certain  minutes,  sixty  minutes  making  a  degree.  After  going 
by  sea  and  by  land  towards  that  country  [Australia  perhaps]  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
I  have  found  the  Antarctic  Star  more  than  thirty-three  degrees  above  the  horizon. 
And  if  I  had  had  company  and  shipping  to  go  still  farther,  1  know  of  a  certainty  that  I  should 
have  seen  the  whole  circumference  of  the  heavens.  *  *  *  *  *  *  And  I  repeat  that  mm 
may  environ  the  whole  world,  as  well  under  as  above,  and  return  to  their  own  country ,  if  they  had 
company,  and  ships,  and  conduct.  And  always,  as  well  as  in  their  own  land  shall  they  find 
inhabited  continents  and  islands.  For  know  you  well  that  they  who  dwell  in  the 
southern  hemisphere  are  feet  against  feet  of  them  who  dwell  in  the  northern  hemi¬ 
sphere,  jwsi  as  we  and  they  that  dwell  under  us  are  feet  to  feet.  For  every  part  of  the  sea  and 
the  land  hath  its  antipode.  *****  Moreover  when  men  go  on  a  journey  toward 
India  and  the  foreign  islands,  they  do,  on  the  whole  route,  circle  the  circumference  of 
the  earth,  even  to  those  countries  which  are  under  us.  And  therefore  hath  that  same 
thing,  which  I  heard  recited  when  I  was  young,  happened  many  times.  Howbeit,  upon 
a  time,  a  worthy  man  departed  from  our  country  to  explore  the  world.  And  so  he 
passed  India  and  the  islands  beyond  India — more  than  five  thousand  in  number — and 
so  long  he  went  by  sea  and  land,  environing  the  world  for  many  seasons,  that  he  found 
an  island  where  he  heard  them  speaking  his  own  language,  hallooing  at  the  oxen  in 
the  plow  with  the  identical  words  spoken  to  beasts  in  his  own  country.  Forsooth,  he 
was  astonished ;  for  he  knew  not  how  the  thing  might  happen.  But  I  assure  you  that 


APPENDIX  A. 


801 


he  had  gone  so  far  by  land  and  sea  that  he  had  actually  gone  around  the  world  and 
was  come  again  through  the  long  circuit  to  his  own  district.  It  only  remained  for  him 
to  go  forth  and  find  his  particular  neighborhood.  Unfortunately  he  turned  from  the 
coast  which  he  had  reached,  and  thereby  lost  all  his  painful  labor,  as  he  himself  after¬ 
wards  acknowledged  when  he  returned  home.  For  it  happened  by  and  by  that  he 
went  into  Norway,  being  driven  thither  by  a  storm ;  and  there  he  recognized  an  island 
as  being  the  same  in  which  he  had  heard  men  calling  the  oxen  in  his  own  tongue: 
and  that  was  a  possible  thing.  And  yet  it  seemeth  to  simple  unlearned  rustics  that 
men  may  not  go  around  the  world,  and  if  they  did  they  would  fall  off!  But  that  absurd 
thing  never  could  happen  unless  we  ourselves  from  where  we  are  should  fall  toward 
heaven  1  Eor  upon  what  part  soever  of  the  earth  men  dwell,  whether  above  or  under, 
it  always  seemeth  to  them  that  they  walk  more  perpendicularly  than  other  folks  I  And 
just  as  it  seemeth  to  us  that  our  antipodes  are  under  us  head  downwards,  just  so  it 
seemeth  to  them  that  we  are  under  them  head  downwards.  If  a  man  might  fall  from 
the  earth  towards  heaven,  by  much  more  reason  the  earth  itself,  being  so  heavy,  should 
fall  to  heaven — an  impossible  thing.  *****  Perhaps  of  a  thousand  men  who 
should  go  around  the  world,  not  one  might  succeed  in  returning  to  his  own  particular 
neighborhood.  For  the  earth  is  indeed  a  body  of  great  size,  its  circumference  being — • 
according  to  the  old  wise  astronomers — twenty  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-five 
miles.  And  I  do  not  reject  their  estimates:  but  according  to  my  judgment,  saving  their 
reverence,  the  circumference  of  the  earth  is  somewhat  more  than  that.  And  in  order  to  have 
a  clearer  understanding  of  the  matter,  I  use  the  following  demonstration :  Let  there  be 
imagined  a  great  sphere,  and  about  the  point  called  the  center  another  smaller  sphere. 
Then  from  different  parts  of  the  great  sphere  let  lines  be  drawn  meeting  at  the  center. 
It  is  clear  that  by  this  means  the  two  spheres  will  be  divided  into  an  equal  number  of 
parts  having  the  same  relation  to  each  other;  but  between  the  divisions  on  the  smaller 
sphere  the  absolute  space  will  be  less.  Now  the  great  sphere  represents  the  heavens 
and  the  smaller  sphere  the  earth.  But  the  firmament  is  divided  by  astronomers  into 
twelve  Signs,  and  each  Sign  iuto  thirty  degrees,  making  three  hundred  and  sixty  de¬ 
grees  in  all.  On  the  surface  of  the  earth  there  will  be,  of  course,  divisions  exactly  cor¬ 
responding  to  those  of  the  celestial  sphere,  every  line,  degree  and  zone  of  the  latter 
answering  to  a  line,  degree  or  zone  of  the  former.  And  now  know  well  that  according 
to  the  authors  of  astronomy *  seven  hundred  furlongs,  or  eighty-seven  miles  and  four  fur¬ 
longs,  answer  to  a  degree  of  the  firmament.  Multiplying  eighty-seven  and  a  half  miles 
by  three  hundred  and  sixty — the  number  of  degrees  in  the  firmament — we  have  thirty- 
one  thousand  five  hundred  English  miles.  And  this  according  to  my  belief  and  dem¬ 
onstration  is  the  true  measurement  of  the  circumference  of  the  earth. 

*  An  everlasting  shame  be  to  the  “  olde  wise  Astronomeres  ” !  If  they  had  given  Sir  John  the  cor¬ 
rect  measurement  of  a  degree  of  latitude,  he  would  not  have  missed  the  circumference  of  the  world 
by  a*  much  as  ten  miles  l  His  argument  is  absolutely  correct  This,  too,  in  A.  D.  1856. 


APPENDIX  B 


A  PLAN  OF  PERPETUAL  UNION, 

FOR 

ms  majesty’s  colonies  in  north  America: 

PROPOSED  BY  BENJ.  FRANKLIN, 

AND 

Adopted  by  the  Colonial  Convention  at  Albany,  July  10th,  1754. 

[This  document  will  be  found  of  special  interest  as  containing  the  germ  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  this  “  Plan  of  Union,”  though  adopted  by  the  Congress  at  Albany — 
only  the  delegates  from  Connecticut  dissenting— was  rejected  both  by  the  colonial 
assemblies  and  the  British  Board  of  Trade, — by  the  former  as  being  too  despotic  a 
constitution  and  by  the  latter  as  a  piece  of  high  handed  presumption. — The  Author.] 

That  the  general  government  of  His  Majesty’s  Colonies  in  North  America  be 
administered  by  a  President-General,  to  be  appointed  and  supported  by  the  crown  ;  and 
a  Grand  Council,  to  be  chosen  by  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  the  several  colonies 
met  in  their  respective  Assemblies; 

Who  shall  meet  for  the  first  time  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  Pennsylvania,  being 
called  by  the  President-General  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be  after  his  appointment; 

That  there  shall  be  a  new  election  of  the  members  of  the  Grand  Council  every  three 
years;  and  on  the  death  or  resignation  of  any  member,  his  place  should  be  supplied  by  a 
new  choice  at  the  next  sitting  of  the  Assembly  of  the  colony  he  represented ; 

That  after  the  first  three  years,  when  the  proportion  of  money  arising  out  of  each 
colony  to  the  general  treasury  can  be  known,  the  number  of  members  to  be  chosen  for 
each  colony  shall  from  time  to  time,  in  all  ensuing  elections,  be  regulated  by  that  propor¬ 
tion,  yet  so  as  that  the  number  to  be  chosen  by  any  one  province  be  not  more  than  seven, 
nor  less  than  two; 

That  the  Grand  Council  shall  meet  once  in  every  year,  and  oftener  if  occasion  require, 
at  such  time  and  place  as  they  shall  adjourn  to  at  the  last  preceding  meeting,  or  as  they 
shall  be  called  to  meet  at  by  the  President-General  on  any  emergency ;  he  having  first 
obtained  in  writing  the  consent  of  seven  of  the  members  to  such  call,  and  sent  due  and 
timely  notice  to  the  whole ; 

That  the  Grand  Council  have  power  to  choose  their  speaker;  and  shall  neither  be 
dissolved,  prorogued,  nor  continued  sitting  longer  than  six  weeks  at  one  time,  without 
their  own  consent  or  the  special  command  of  the  crown  ; 

That  the  members  of  the  Grand  Council  shall  be  allowed  for  their  service  ten  shil¬ 
lings  per  diem,  during  their  session  and  journey  to  and  from  the  place  of  meeting;  twenty 
miles  to  be  reckoned  a  day’s  journey ; 

That  the  assent  of  the  President-General  be  requisite  to  all  acts  of  the  Grand 
Council,  and  that  it  be  his  office  and  duty  to  cause  them  to  be  carried  into  execution : 

That  the  President-General,  with  the  advice  of  the  Grand  Council,  hold  or  direct  all 

802 


FRANKLIN'S  CONSTITUTION. 


803 


Indian  treaties,  in  which  the  general  interest  of  the  colonies  may  be  concerned ;  and 
make  peace  or  declare  war  with  Indian  nations ; 

That  they  make  such  laws  as  they  judge  necessary  for  regulating  all  Indian  trade; 

That  they  make  all  purchases,  from  Indians  for  the  crown,  of  lands  not  now  within 
the  bounds  of  particular  colonies,  or  that  shall  not  be  within  their  bounds,  when  some  of 
them  are  reduced  to  more  convenient  dimensions; 

That  they  make  new  settlements  on  such  purchases,  by  granting  lands  in  the  king’s 
name,  reserving  a  quit-rent  to  the  crown  for  the  use  of  the  general  treasury ; 

That  they  make  laws  for  regulating  and  governing  such  new  settlements,  till  the 
crown  shall  think  fit  to  form  them  into  particular  governments; 

That  they  raise  and  pay  soldiers  and  build  forts  for  the  defence  of  any  of  the  colo¬ 
nies,  and  equip  vessels  of  force  to  guard  the  coasts  and  protect  the  trade  on  the  ocean, 
lakes,  or  great  rivers;  but  they  shall  not  impress  men  in  any  colony,  without  the  consent 
of  the  legislature ; 

That  for  these  purposes  they  have  power  to  make  laws,  and  lay  and  levy  such 
general  duties,  imposts,  or  taxes,  as  to  them  shall  appear  most  equal  and  just  (considering 
the  ability  and  other  circumstances  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  several  colonies,)  and  such 
as  maybe  collected  with  the  least  inconvenience  to  the  people;  rather  discouraging  luxury, 
than  loading  industry  with  unnecessary  burthens; 

That  they  may  appoint  a  General  Treasurer  and  Particular  Treasurer  in  each  gov¬ 
ernment,  when  necessary ;  and  from  time  to  time  may  order  the  sums  in  the  treasuries  of 
each  government  into  the  general  treasury,  or  draw  on  them  for  special  payments,  as  they 
find  most  convenient ; 

Yet  no  money  to  issue  but  by  joint  orders  of  the  President-General  and  Grand 
Council ;  except  where  sums  have  been  appropriated  to  particular  purposes,  and 
the  President-General  is  previously  empowered  by  an  act  to  draw  such  sums; 

That  the  general  accounts  shall  be  yearly  settled  and  reported  to  the  several 
Assemblies ; 

That  a  quorum  of  the  Grand  Council,  empowered  to  act  with  the  President-General, 
do  consist  of  twenty- five  members;  among  whom  there  shall  be  one  or  more  from  a  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  colonies ; 

That  the  laws  made  by  them  for  the  purposes  aforesaid  shall  not  be  repugnant,  but, 
as  near  as  may  be,  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  England,  and  shall  be  transmitted  to  the 
King  in  Council  for  approbation,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  their  passing;  and  if  not  disap¬ 
proved  within  three  years  after  presentation,  to  remain  in  force; 

That,  in  case  of  the  death  of  the  President-General,  the  Speaker  of  the  Grand  Council 
for  the  time  being  shall  succeed,  and  be  vested  with  the  same  powers  and  authorities  to 
continue  till  the  King’s  pleasure  be  know; 

That  all  military  commission  officers,  whether  for  land  or  sea  service,  to  act  under 
this  general  constitution,  shall  be  nominated  by  the  President-General;  but  the  appro¬ 
bation  of  the  Grand  Council  is  to  be  obtained,  before  they  receive  their  commissions;  and 
all  civil  officers  are  to  be  nominated  by  the  Grand  Council,  and  to  receive  the  President- 
General’s  approbation  before  they  officiate ; 

But,  in  case  of  vacancy  by  death  or  removal  of  any  officer  *nvil  or  military  under 
this  constitution,  the  Governor  of  the  province  in  which  such  vacancy  happens,  may 
appoint,  till  the  pleasure  of  the  President-General  and  Grand  Council  can  be  known; 

That  the  particular  military  as  well  as  civil  establishments  in  each  colony  remain 
in  their  present  state,  the  general  constitution  notwithstanding;  and  that  on  sudden 
emergencies  any  colony  may  defend  itself;  and  lay  the  accounts  of  expense  thence 
arising  before  the  President-General  and  General  Council,  who  may  allow  and  order 
payment  of  the  same,  as  far  as  they  judge  such  accounts  just  and  reasonable. 


APPENDIX  C 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE, 

Adopted  by  Congress,  July  4,  1776. 


A  DECLARATION  by  the  representatives  of  the  united  states  of 
AMERICA,  IN  CONGRESS  ASSEMBLED. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people  to  dissolve 
the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume  among  the 
powers  of  the  earth  the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of 
nature’s  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they 
should  declare  the  causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that  they 
are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness;  that,  to  secure  these  rights,  governments  are  insti¬ 
tuted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed;  that, 
whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the 
people  to  alter  or  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  government,  laying  its  foundation  on 
such  principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most 
likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  govern¬ 
ments  long  established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes;  and,  accord¬ 
ingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils 
are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accus¬ 
tomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same 
object,  evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  i9 
their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  a  government,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future 
security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  Colonies ;  and  such  is  now  the 
necessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems  of  government.  The  history 
of  the  present  King  of  Grea  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all 
having  in  direct  ol  ct  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  States.  To 
prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world : — 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary  for  the  public 
good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and  pressing  importance, 
unless  suspended  in  their  operations,  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained ;  and,  when  so 
suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  ha  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large  districts  of  people, 
unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  legislature;  a 
right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  uncomfortable,  and  dis¬ 
tant  from  the  repository  of  their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  the* 
into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

804 


DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


805 


He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly  for  opposing,  with  manly  firmness, 
his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause  others  to  be  elected ; 
whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  people  at 
large,  for  their  exercise ;  the  State  remaining,  in  the  mean  time,  exposed  to  all  the  dan¬ 
gers  of  invasions  from  without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States;  for  that  purpose, 
obstructing  the  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  foreigners ;  refusing  to  pass  others  to 
encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropriations 
of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice  by  refusing  his  assent  to  laws  for 
establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone,  for  the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and 
the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither  swarms  of  officers,  to  harass 
our  people,  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies,  without  the  consent  of 
our  legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign  to  our  consti¬ 
tution,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended 
legislation : — 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us; 

For  protecting  them,  by  mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any  murders  which  they 
should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  States; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent  ; 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury; 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended  offences; 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring  province,  establish¬ 
ing  therein  an  arbitrary  government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render  it  at 
once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into  these 
Colonies ; 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws,  and  altering,  funda¬ 
mentally,  the  powers  of  our  governments ; 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves  invested  with  power 
to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of  his  protection,  and  waging 
war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burned  our  towns,  and  destroyed 
the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to  complete  the 
works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already  begun  with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and 
perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of 
a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms 
against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall 
themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and  has  endeavored  to  bring  on 
the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of  war¬ 
fare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions. 

47 


80G 


APPENDIX  0. 


In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned  for  redress  in  the  most  hum¬ 
ble  terms;  our  repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  by  repeated  injury.  A  prince 
whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may  define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be 
the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attentions  to  our  British  brethren.  We  have  warned 
them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable 
jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration  and 
settlement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and  magnanimity,  and  we 
have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  of  our  common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations, 
which  would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and  correspondence.  They,  too,  have 
been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of  consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in 
the  necessity,  which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them,  as  we  hold  the  rest  of 
mankind,  enemies  in  war;  in  peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  general 
congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of 
our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  Colo¬ 
nies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare,  that  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to 
be,  I  ree  and  Independent  States  ;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British 
crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain  is, 
and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved  ;  and  that,  as  Free  and  Independent  States,  they  have 
full  power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  do 
all  other  acts  and  things  which  Independent  States  may  of  right  do.  And  for  the  support 
of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we 
mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor. 

John  Hancock. 

New  Hampshire. — Josiah  Bartlett,  William  Whipple,  Matthew  Thornton. 

Masschusetts  Bay. — Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams,  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Elbridge 
Gerry. 

Rhode  Island,  etc. — Stephen  Hopkins,  William  Ellery. 

Connecticut. — Roger  Sherman,  Samuel  Huntington,  William  Williams,  Oliver 
Wolcott. 

New  York. — William  Floyd,  Philip  Livingston,  Francis  Lewis,  Lewis  Morris. 

New  Jersey. — Richard  Stockton,  John  Witherspoon,  Francis  Hopkinson,  John 
Hart,  Abraham  Clark. 

Pennsylvania. — Robert  Morris,  Benjamin  Rush,  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Morton, 
George  Clymer,  James  Smith,  George  Tavlor,  James  Wilson,  George  Ross. 

Delaware. — Csesar  Rodney,  George  Read,  Thomas  M’Kean. 

Maryland. — Samuel  Chase,  William  Paca,  Thomas  Stone,  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton. 

Virginia. — George  Wythe,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Benjamin  Har¬ 
rison,  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee,  Carter  Braxton. 

North  Carolina. — William  Hooper,  Joseph  Hewes,  John  Penn. 

South  Carolina. — Edward  Rutledge,  Thomas  Hayward,  Jr.,  Thomas  Lynch,  Jr., 
Arthur  Middleton. 

Georgia. — Button  Gwinnett,  Lyman  Hall,  George  Walton. 


APPENDIX  D 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 

[The  Articles  of  Confederation  were  drawn  up  by  a  committee  of  gentlemen,  wh® 
were  appointed  by  Congress  for  this  purpose,  June  12,  1776,  and  finally  adopted,  No¬ 
vember  15,  1777.  The  committee  were  Messrs.  Bartlett,  Samuel  Adams,  Hopkins,  Sher¬ 
man,  R.  R.  Livingston,  Dickinson,  M’Kean,  Stone,  Nelson,  Howes,  E.  Rutledge,  and 
Gwinnet.] 

ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION  AND  PERPETUAL  UNION. 

Between  the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plan¬ 
tations,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia, 

North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 

ARTICLE  i. 

The  style  of  this  confederacy  shall  be,  “  The  United  States'  of  America.” 

ARTICLE  II. 

Each  State  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  independence,  and  every  power, 
jurisdiction,  and  right,  which  is  not  by  this  confederation  expressly  delegated  to  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled. 

ARTICLE  III. 

The  said  States  hereby  severally  enter  into  a  firm  league  of  friendship  with  each 
other,  for  their  common  defence,  the  security  of  their  liberties,  and  their  mutual  and 
general  welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist  each  other  against  all  force  offered  to,  or 
attacks  made  upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on  account  of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or 
any  other  pretence  whatever. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

Section  1. — The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate  mutual  friendship  and  intercourse 
among  the  people  of  the  different  States  in  this  union,  the  free  inhabitants  of  each  of 
these  States — paupers,  vagabonds,  and  fugitives  from  justice  excepted — shall  be  entitled 
to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  free  citizens  in  the  several  States;  and  the  people  of 
each  State  shall  have  free  ingress  and  egress  to  and  from  any  other  State,  and  shall 
enjoy  therein  all  the  privileges  of  trade  and  commerce,  subject  to  the  same  duties, 
impositions,  and  restrictions,  as  the  inhabitants  thereof  respectively ;  provided,  that 
such  restrictions  shall  not  extend  so  far  as  to  prevent  the  removal  of  property  imported 
into  any  State,  to  any  other  State,  of  which  the  owner  is  an  inhabitant;  provided  also, 
that  no  imposition,  duties,  or  restriction,  shall  be  laid  by  any  State  on  the  property  of 
the  United  States,  or  either  of  them. 

Sec.  2. — If  any  person,  guilty  of,  or  charged  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  high 
misdemeanor,  in  any  State,  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  any  of  the  United 
States,  he  shall,  upon  the  demand  of  the  Governor  or  executive  power  of  the  State 
from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed  to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  his 
otfence. 


807 


808 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


Sec.  3.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given,  in  each  of  these  States,  to  the  records, 
acts,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  the  courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other  State. 

AunciJ.  v. 

Section  1. — For  the  more  convenient  management  of  the  general  interests  of  the 
United  States,  delegates  shall  be  annually  appointed  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
of  each  State  shall  direct,  to  meet  in  Congress  on  the  first  Monday  in  November  in  every 
year,  with  a  power  reserved  to  each  State  to  recall  its  delegates,  or  any  of  them,  at  any 
time  within  the  year,  and  to  send  others  in  their  stead,  for  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

Sec.  2. — No  State  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by  less  than  two,  nor  more  than 
seven  members ;  and  no  person  shall  be  capable  of  being  a  delegate  for  more  than  three 
years,  in  any  term  of  six  years;  nor  shall  any  person,  being  a  delegate,  be  capable  of 
holding  any  office  under  the  United  States,  for  which  he,  or  any  other  for  his  benefit, 
receives  any  salary,  fees,  or  emolument,  of  any  kind. 

Sec.  3. — Each  State  shall  maintain  its  own  delegates  in  a  meeting  of  the  States,  and 
while  they  act  as  members  of  the  committee  of  these  States. 

Sec.  4. — In  determining  questions  in  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  each 
State  shall  have  one  vote. 

Sec.  5. — Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall  not  be  impeached  or 
questioned  in  any  court  or  place  out  of  Congress,  and  the  members  of  Congress  shall  be 
protected  in  their  persons  from  arrests  and  imprisonments  during  the  time  of  their 
going  to  and  from,  and  attendance  on  Congress,  except  for  treason,  felony,  or  breach  of 
the  peace. 

article  vi. 

Section  1. — No  State,  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assem¬ 
bled,  shall  send  any  embassy  to,  or  receive  any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into  any  confer¬ 
ence,  agreement,  alliance,  or  treaty  with  any  king,  prince,  or  State,  nor  shall  any  person 
holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them,  accept  of 
any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or 
foreign  state;  nor  shall  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  or  any  of  them,  grant 
any  title  of  nobility. 

Sec.  2. — No  two  or  more  States  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  confederation,  or  alli¬ 
ance  whatever,  between  them,  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  specifying  accurately  the  purposes  for  which  the  same  is  to  be  entered  into, 
and  how  long  it  shall  continue. 

Sec.  3. — No  State  shall  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  which  may  interfere  with  any 
stipulations  in  treaties  entered  into  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  with  any 
king,  prince,  or  State,  in  pursuance  of  any  treaties  already  proposed  by  Congress  to  the 
courts  of  France  and  Spain. 

Sec.  4. — No  vessels  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  by  any  State,  except 
such  number  only  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assem¬ 
bled,  for  the  defence  of  such  State,  or  its  trade;  nor  shall  any  body  of  forces  be  kept  up 
by  any  State,  in  time  of  peace,  except  such  number  only  as,  in  the  judgment  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  be  deemed  requisite  to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for 
the  defence  of  such  State;  but  every  State  shall  always  keep  up  a  well-regulated  and 
disciplined  militia,  sufficiently  armed  and  accoutred,  and  shall  provide  and  constantly 
have  ready  for  use,  in  public  stores,  a  due  number  of  field-pieces  and  tents,  and  a  proper 
quantity  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  camp  equipage. 

Sec.  5. — No  State  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States 
in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such  State  be  actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall  have 
received  certain  advice  of  a  resolution  being  formed  by  -o  ,tion  of  Indians  to  invade 


APPENDIX  D. 


809 


such  State,  and  the  danger  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  admit  of  delay  till  the  United  States 
in  Congress  assembled  can  be  consulted;  nor  shall  any  State  grant  commissions  to  any 
ships  or  vessels  of  war,  nor  letters  of  marque  or  reprisal,  except  it  be  after  a  declaration 
of  war  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  and  then  only  against  the  kingdom 
or  State,  and  the  subjects  thereof,  against  which  war  has  been  so  declared,  and  under  such 
regulations  as  shall  be  established  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  unless 
such  State  be  infested  by  pirates,  in  which  case  vessels  of  war  may  be  fitted  out  for  that 
occasion,  and  kept  so  long  as  the  danger  shall  continue,  or  until  tiie  United  States  la 
Congress  assembled  shall  determine  otherwise. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

When  land  forces  are  raised  by  any  State  for  the  common  defence,  all  officers  of  or 
under  the  rank  of  colonel,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  legislature  of  each  State  respect¬ 
ively  by  whom  such  forces  shall  be  raised,  or  in  such  manner  as  such  State  shall  direct, 
and  all  vacancies  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  State  which  first  made  the  appointment. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  expenses  that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common 
defence  or  general  welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled, 
shall  he  defrayed  out  of  a  common  treasury,  which  shall  be  supplied  by  the  several 
States,  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  all  land  within  each  State,  granted  to  or  surveyed 
for  any  person,  as  such  land  and  the  buildings  and  improvements  thereon  shall  be  esti¬ 
mated,  according  to  such  mode  as  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall,  from 
time  to  time,  direct  and  appoint.  The  taxes  for  paying  that  proportion  shall  be  laid 
and  levied  by  the  authority  and  direction  of  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States  within 
the  time  agreed  upon  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

Section  1. — The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  have  the  sole  and 
exclusive  right  and  power  of  determining  on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the  cases  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  sixth  article,  of  sending  and  receiving  ambassadors ;  entering  into  treaties 
and  alliances,  provided  that  no  treaty  of  commerce  shall  be  made,  whereby  the  legisla¬ 
tive  power  of  the  respective  States  shall  be  restrained  from  imposing  such  imposts  and 
duties  on  foreigners,  as  their  own  people  are  subjected  to,  or  from  prohibiting  the 
exportation  or  importation  of  any  species  of  goods  or  commodities  whatsoever;  ol 
establishing  rules  for  deciding  in  all  cases  what  captures  on  land  or  water  shall  be  legal, 
and  in  what  manner  prizes  taken  by  land  or  naval  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  divided  or  appropriated ;  of  granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in 
times  of  peace;  appointing  courts  for  the  trial  of  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on 
the  high  seas;  and  establishing  courts  for  receiving  and  determining  finally  appeals  in 
all  cases  of  .capture;  provided  that  no  member  of  Congress  shall  be  appointed  a  judge 
of  any  of  the  said  courts. 

Sec.  2. — The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also  be  the  last  resort  on 
appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences  now  subsisting,  or  that  hereafter  may  arise  between 
two  or  more  States  concerning  boundary,  jurisdiction,  or  any  other  cause  whatever; 
which  authority  shall  always  be  exercised  in  the  manner  following:  Whenever  the 
legislative  or  executive  authority  or  lawful  agent  of  any  State  in  controversy  with 
another,  shall  present  a  petition  to  Congress,  stating  the  matter  in  question,  and  pray¬ 
ing  for  a  hearing,  notice  thereof  shall  be  given  by  order  of  Congress  to  the  legislative 
or  executive  authority  of  the  other  State  in  controversy,  and  a  day  assigned  for  the 
appearance  of  tin*,  parties  by  their  lawful  agents,  who  shall  then  be  directed  to  appoint. 


810 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


by  joint  consent,  commissioners  or  judges  to  constitute  a  court  for  hearing  and  deter¬ 
mining  the  matter  in  question ;  but  if  they  can  not  agree,  Congress  shall  name  three 
persons  out  of  each  of  the  United  States,  and  from  the  list  of  such  persons  each  party 
shall  alternately  strike  out  one,  the  petitioners  beginning,  until  the  number  shall  be 
reduced  to  thirteen  ;  and  from  that  number  not  less  than  seven,  nor  more  than  nine 
names,  as  Congress  shall  direct,  shall,  in  the  presence  of  Congress,  be  drawn  out  by  lot ; 
and  the  persons  whose  names  shall  be  so  drawn,  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  commis¬ 
sioners  or  judges  to  hear  and  finally  determine  the  controversy,  so  always  as  a  major 
part  of  the  judges,  who  shall  hear  the  cause,  shall  agree  in  the  determination :  and  if 
either  party  shall  neglect  to  attend  at  the  day  appointed,  without  showing  reasons 
which  Congress  shall  judge  sufficient,  or  being  present,  shall  refuse  to  strike,  the  Con¬ 
gress  shall  proceed  to  nominate  three  persons  out  of  each  State,  and  the  secretary  of 
Congress  shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  party  absent  or  refusing;  and  the  judgment  and 
sentence  of  the  court,  to  be  appointed  in  the  manner  before  prescribed,  shall  be  final 
and  conclusive;  and  if  any  of  the  parties  shall  refuse  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  such 
court,  or  to  appear  or  defend  their  claim  or  cause,  the  court  shall  nevertheless  proceed 
to  pronounce  sentence,  or  judgment,  whichshall  in  like  manner  be  final  and  decisive ;  the 
judgment  or  sentence  and  other  proceedings  being  in  either  case  transmitted  to  Congress, 
and  lodged  among  the  acts  of  Congress,  for  the  security  of  the  parties  concerned :  pro¬ 
vided  that  every  commissioner,  before  he  sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an  oath,  to  be 
administered  by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  or  superior  court  of  the  State  where  the 
cause  shall  be  tried,  “  well  and  truly  to  hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question,  according 
to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  without  favor,  affection,  or  hope  of  reward.”  Provided,  also, 
that  no  State  shall  be  deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  3. — All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil  claimed  under  dif¬ 
ferent  grants  of  two  or  more  States,  whose  jurisdiction,  as  they  may  respect  such  lands, 
and  the  States  which  passed  such  grants  are  adjusted,  the  said  grants  or  either  of  them 
being  at  the  same  time  claimed  to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such  settlement  of 
jurisdiction,  shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
be  finally  determined,  as  near  as  may  be,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  before  prescribed  for 
deciding  disputes  respecting  territorial  jurisdiction  between  different  States. 

Sec.  4. — The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also  have  the  sole  and 
exclusive  right  and  power  of  regulating  the  alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own 
authority,  or  by  that  of  the  respective  States;  fixing  the  standard  of  weights  and  meas¬ 
ures  throughout  the  United  States;  regulating  the  trade,  and  managing  all  affairs  with 
the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  of  the  States;  provided  that  the  legislative  right  of 
any  State,  within  its  own  limits,  be  not  infringed  or  violated;  establishing  and  regu¬ 
lating  post  offices  from  one  State  to  another  throughout  all  the  United  States,  and 
exacting  such  postage  on  the  papers  passing  through  the  same,  as  may  be  requisite  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  said  office ;  appointing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  excepting  regimental  officers;  appointing  all  the  officers 
of  the  naval  forces,  and  commissioning  all  officers  whatever  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States;  making  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  said  land  and  naval 
forces,  and  directing  their  operations. 

Sec.  5. — The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  have  authority  to  appoint 
a  committee  to  sit  in  the  recess  of  Congress,  to  be  denominated,  “A  Committee  of  the 
States ,”  and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  State;  and  to  appoint  such  other  com¬ 
mittees  and  civil  officers  as  may  be  necessary  for  managing  the  general  affairs  of  the 
United  States  under  their  direction;  to  appoint  one  of  their  number  to  preside;  pro¬ 
vided  that  no  person  be  allowed  to  serve  in  the  office  of  president  more  than  one  year 
in  any  term  of  three  years ;  to  ascertain  the  necessary  sums  of  money  to  be  raised  for 


APPENDIX  D. 


811 


the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  to  appropriate  and  apply  the  same  for  defraying 
the  public  expenses;  to  borrow  money  or  emit  bills  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States, 
transmitting  every  half-year  to  the  respective  States  an  account  of  the  sums  of  money 
so  borrowed  or  emitted ;  to  build  and  equip  a  navy ;  to  agree  upon  the  number  of  land 
forces,  and  to  make  requisitions  from  each  State  for  its  quota,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  white  inhabitants  in  such  State,  which  requisition  shall  be  binding;  and 
thereupon  the  legislature  of  each  State  shall  appoint  the  regimental  officers,  raise  the 
men,  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  'them,  in  a  soldier-like  manner,  at  the  expense  of  the 
United  States ;  and  the  officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped,  shall  march 
to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled ;  but  if  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall,  on  consideration  of 
circumstances,  judge  proper  that  any  State  should  not  raise  men,  or  should  raise  a 
Smaller  number  than  its  quota,  and  that  any  other  State  should  raise  a  greater  number 
of  men  than  the  quota  thereof,  such  extra  number  shall  be  raised,  officered,  clothed, 
armed,  and  equipped,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  quota  of  such  State,  unless  the  legis¬ 
lature  of  such  State  shall  judge  that  such  extra  number  can  not  be  safely  spared  out  erf 
the  same,  in  which  case  they  shall  raise,  officer,  clothe,  arm,  and  equip,  as  many  of  such 
extra  number  a$  they  judge  can  be  safely  spared,  and  the  officer’s  and  men  so  clothed, 
armed,  and  equipped,  shall  march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed 
on  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

Sec.  6. — The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  never  engage  in  a  war,  nor 
'grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  in  time  of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or 
alliances,  nor  coin  money,  nor  regulate  the  value  thereof,  nor  ascertain  the  sums  and 
expenses  necessary  for  the  defence  and  welfare  of  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them, 
nor  emit  bills,  nor  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  nor  appropriate 
money,  nor  agree  upon  the  number  of  vessels  of  war  to  be  built  or  purchased,  or  the 
number  of  land  or  sea  forces  to  be  raised,  nor  appoint  a  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  or  navy,  unless  nine  States  assent  to  the  same :  nor  shall  a  question  on  any  other 
point,  except  for  adjourning  from  day  to  day,  be  determined,  unless  by  the  votes  of  a 
majority  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

Sec.  7. — The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have  power  to  adjourn  to  any 
time  within  the  year,  and  to  any  place  within  the  United  States,  so  that  no  period  of 
adjournment  be  for  a  longer  duration  than  the  space  of  six  months,  and  shall  publish 
the  journal  of  their  proceedings  monthly,  except  such  parts  thereof  relating  to  treaties, 
alliances,  or  military  operations,  as  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy;  and  the  yeas 
and  nays  of  the  delegates  of  each  State,  on  any  question,  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal, 
when  it  is  desired  by  any  delegate ;  and  the  delegates  of  a  State,  or  any  of  them,  at  his 
or  their  request,  shall  be  furnished  with  a  transcript  of  the  said  journal,  except  such 
parts  as  are  above  excepted,  to  lay  before  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States. 

ARTICLE  x. 

The  Committee  of  the  States,  or  any  nine  of  them,  shall  be  authorized  to  execute* 
in  the  recess  of  Congress,  such  of  the  powers  of  Congress  as  the  United  States,  in  Con¬ 
gress  assembled,  by  the  consent  of  nine  States,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  think  expedient 
to  vest  them  with ;  provided  that  no  power  be  delegated  to  the  said  committee,  for  the 
exercise  of  which,  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  the  voice  of  nine  States,  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  assembled,  is  requisite. 

ARTICLE  XI. 

Canada,  acceding  to  this  Confederation,  and  joining  in  the  measures  oi  the  United 
States,  shall  be  admitted  into  and  entitled  to  all  the  advantages  of  this  Union:  But 

50 


812 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


no  other  colony  shall  be  admitted  into  the  same,  unless  such  admission  be  agreed  to  by 
nine  States. 

ARTICLE  XII. 

All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys  borrowed,  and  debts  contracted  by  or  under  the 
authority  of  Congress,  before  the  assembling  of  the  United  States,  in  pursuance  of  the 
present  Confederation,  shall  be  deemed  and  considered  as  a  charge  against  the  United 
States,  for  payment  and  satisfaction  whereof  the  said  United  States  and  the  public  f^ith 
are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

ARTICLE  xm. 

Every  State  shall  abide  by  the  determination  of  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  in  all  questions  which  by  this  Confederation  are  submitted  to  them.  And 
the  articles  of  this  Confederation  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  every  State,  and 
the  union  shall  be  perpetual;  nor  shall  any  alteration  at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in 
any  of  them ;  unless  such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  be  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  legislature  of  every  State. 

And  whereas  it  hath  pleased  the  great  Governor  of  the  world  to  incline  the  hearts 
of  the  legislatures  we  respective.y  represent  in  Congress  to  approve  of,  and  to  authorize 
us  to  ratify  the  said  Articles  of  Con  ederation  and  Perpetual  Union,  Know  ye,  that  we, 
the  undersigned  delegates,  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  authority  to  us  given  for  that# 
purpose,  do  by  these  presents,  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of  our  respective  constituents, 
fully  and  entirely  ratify  and  confirm  each  and  every  of  the  said  Articles  of  Confed* 
eration  and  Perpetual  Union,  and  all  and  singular  the  matters  and  things  therein  con¬ 
tained.  And  we  do  further  solemnly  plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our  respective 
constituents,  that  they  shall  abide  by  the  determinations  of  the  United  States  in  Con¬ 
gress  assembled,  in  all  questions  which  by  the  said  Confederation  are  submitted  to 
them;  and  that  the  articles  thereof  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  the  States  we 
respectively  represent,  and  that  the  union  shall  be  perpetual.  In  witness  whereof  we 
have  hereunto  set  our  hands  in  Congress. 

Done  at  Philadelphia ,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  the  9th  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 

1778,  and  in  the  third  year  of  the  Independence  of  America. 

New  Hampshire. — Josiah  Bartlett,  John  Wentworth,  Jr. 

Massachusetts  Bay. — John  Hancock,  Samuel  Adams,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Francis 
Dana,  James  Lovel,  Samuel  Holton. 

Bhode  Island,  etc. — William  Ellery,  Henry  Marchant,  John  Collins. 

Connecticut. — Roger  Sherman,  Samuel  Huntington,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Titus  Hos 
mer,  Andrew  Adams. 

New  York. — James  Duane,  Francis  Lewis,  William  Duer,  Gouverneur  Morris. 

New  Jersey. — John  Witherspoon,  Nath.  Scudder. 

Pennsylvania. — Robert  Morris,  Daniel  Roberdeau,  Jona  Bayard  Smith,  William 
Clingan,  Joseph  Reed. 

Delaware. — Thomas  M'Kean,  John  Dickinson,  Nicholas  Van  Dyke. 

Maryland. — John  Hanson,  Daniel  Carroll. 

Virginia. — Richard  Henry  Lee,  John  Banister,  Thomas  Adams,  John  Harvie, 
Francis  Lightfoot  Lee. 

North  Carolina. — John  Penn,  Cons.  Harnett,  John  Williams. 

South  Carolina. — Henry  Laurens,  Wm.  Henry  Drayton,  John  Matthews,  Richard 
Hutson,  Thomas  Heyward,  Jr. 

Georgia. — John  Walton,  Edward  Telfair,  Edward  Lang  worthy. 


APPENDIX  E 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

We,  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish 
justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  gen¬ 
eral  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain 
and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  North  America. 

ARTICLE  i. 

Section  1. — All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Con¬ 
gress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives. 

Sec.  2. — The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members  chosen 
every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,  and  the  electors  in  each  State 
shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the 
State  legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  oi 
twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States 
which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which 
shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  including  those 
bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of 
all  other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of 
ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  representatives 
shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand  ;  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one 
representative;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire 
shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massachusetts,  eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations,  one,  Connecticut,  five,  New  York,  six,  New  Jersey,  four,  Pennsylvania, 
eight,  Delaware,  one,  Maryland,  six,  Virginia,  ten,  North  Carolina,  five,  South  Carolina, 
five,  and  Georgia,  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State,  the  executive 
authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  speaker  and  other  officers;  and 
shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Sec.  3. — The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two  senators  from 
each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six  years ;  and  each  senator  shall  have 
one  vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of  the  first  election, 
they  shall  be  divided,  as  equally  as  may  be,  into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the 
senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the 

813 


814 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


•econd  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expira¬ 
tion  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year;  and  if 
vacancies  happen,  by  resignation  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of 
any  State,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next 
meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty  years, 
and  been  nine  years  a 'citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be 
an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  president  of  the  Senate,  but  shall 
have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  president  pro  tempore,  in  the 
absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  as  President  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments.  When  sitting  for 
that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the  United 
States  is  tried,  the  chie.f-justice  shall  preside ;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without 
the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

Judgment,  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  not  extend  further  than  to  removal  from 
office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under 
the  United  States ;  but  the  party  convicted  shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to 
indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

Sec.  4. — The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  senators  and  rep¬ 
resentatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  legislature  thereof;  but  the  Con¬ 
gress  may,  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  places 
of  choosing  senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at*  least  once  in  every  year;  and  such  meeting 
shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  dif¬ 
ferent  day. 

Sec.  5. — Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and  qualifications 
of  its  own  members;  and  a  majority  of' each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business; 
but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel 
the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each 
house  may  provide. 

Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its  members  for 
disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member. 

Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to  time  publish 
the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy;  and  the  yeas 
and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house,  on  any  question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one- 
fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the 
other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the 
two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Sec.  6. — The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compensation  for  their 
services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 
They  shall,  in  all  cases  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged 
from  arrest  during  their  attendance  on  the  session  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in 
going  to  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and,  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house, 
they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was  elected,  be 
appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States  which  shall  have 
bee»>  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  increased,  during  such  time; 


APPENDIX  E.  815 

*,nd  no  person  lidding  any  office  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  member  of  either 
house  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

Sec.  7. — All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments,  as  on  other  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate, 
ehall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States;  if  he 
approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house 
in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their 
journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that 
house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  b„  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the 
•other  house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and,  if  approved  by  two-thirds 
of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But,  in  all  such  cases,  the  votes  of  both  houses 
shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays;  and  th:  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and 
against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill 
shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall 
have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed 
it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall 
not  be  a  law. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  adjournment),  shall  be 
presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and,  before  the  same  shall  take  effect, 
shall  be  approved  by  him,  or,  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two- 
tliirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limita¬ 
tions  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Sec.  8. — The  Congress  shall  have  power  :— 

To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts,  and  provide 
for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare,  of  the  United  States;  but  all  duties, 
imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States: 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States: 

To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several  States,  and 
•with  the  Indian  tribes  : 

To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on  the  subject  of 
bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States: 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix  the  standard 
of  weights  and  measures: 

To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and  current  coin  of 
the  United  States : 

To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads  : 

To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  securing  for  limited 
times,  to  authors  and  inventors,  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and 
discoveries:  • 

To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court: 

To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas,  and 
offences  against  the  law  of  nations : 

To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rule,:  concerning 
•captures  on  land  and  water : 

To  raise  and  support  armies;  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that  use  shall  be 
for  a  longer  term  than  two  years : 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy  • 

To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land  and  naval 
forces : 


816 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union,  suppress 
Insurrections,  and  repel  invasions : 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and  for  governing 
such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to 
the  States  respectively,  the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training 
the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress : 

To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  such  district  (not 
exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  States,  and  the  acceptance 
of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like 
authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in 
which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and 
other  needful  buildings: — And 

To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into  execution 
the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

Sec.  9. — The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons,  as  any  of  the  States  now 
existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight;  but  a  tax,  or  duty,  may  be  imposed  on 
such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  ior  each  person. 

The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless  when  in 
cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the  census, 
or  enumeration,  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken. 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  State.  No  preference 
shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over 
those  of  another;  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to  ux  from  one  State  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear 
or  pay  duties,  in  another. 

No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in  consequence  of  appropriations 
made  by  law  ;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of 
all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States;  and  no  person  holding 
any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress, 
accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king, 
prince,  or  foreign  state. 

Sec.  10. — No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation;  grant 
letters  of  marque  and  reprisal;  coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  any  thing 
but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder, 
ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts;  or  grant  any  title  of 
nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  on 
imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspec¬ 
tion  laws;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts  laid  by  any  State  on  imports 
or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States;  and  all  such  laws 
shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the  Congress.  No  State  shall,  without 
the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time 
of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State  or  with  a  foreign 
power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will 
not  admit  of  delay. 


APPENDIX  E. 


817 


ARTICLE  n. 

Section  1. — The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four  years,  jmd  together 
with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be  elected  as  follows: — 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  thereof  may  direct,  a 
number  of  electors  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  senators  and  representatives  to 
which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress  ;  but  no  senator  or  representative,  or 
person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed 
an  elector. 

The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  two  per¬ 
sons,  of  whom  one,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  them¬ 
selves.  And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of 
votes  for  each ;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  president  of  the  Senate.  The 
president  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
open  all  the  certificates ;  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such 
majority,  and  have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
immediately  choose,  by  ballot,  one  of  them  for  President ;  and  if  no  person  have  a 
majority,  then,  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list,  the  said  house  shall,  in  like  manner, 
choose  the  President.  But,  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
States;  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose 
shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States ;  and  a  majority  of 
all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the 
President,  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  Vice- 
President.  But,  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Senate 
shall  choose  from  them,, by  ballot,  the  Vice-President. 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors,  and  the  day  on 
which  they  shall  give  their  votes;  which  day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United 
States. 

No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  at  the 
time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President; 
neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age 
of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the  United  States. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his  death,  resignation,  or 
inability  to  discharge  the  powers  or  duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on 
the  Vice-President;  and  the  Congress  may,  by  law,  provide  for  the  case  of  removal, 
death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  declaring 
what  officer  shall  then  act  as  President;  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until 
the  disability  be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a  compensation,  which 
shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have 
been  elected ;  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from 
the  United  States  or  any  of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the  following  oath  or 
affirmation : — 

“I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  office  of  Pres¬ 
ident  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and 
defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.” 


818 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Sec.  2. — The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  service 
of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in 
each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their 
respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences 
against  the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make 
treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  senators  present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and. 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint,  ambassadors,  other 
public  ministers,  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  ail  other  officers  of  the 
United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which 
shall  be  established  by  law  :  but  the  Congress  may,  by  law,  vest  the  appointment  of 
such  inferior  officers  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law, 
or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that  may  happen  during 
the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions,  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of 
their  next  session. 

Sec.  3. — He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the  state 
of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge 
necessary  and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  both  houses,  or 
either  of  them,  and,  in  case  of  disagreement  between  them  with  respect  to  the  time 
of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper;  he  shall 
receive  ambassadors  and  other  public  ministers;  lie  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be 
faithfully  executed ;  and  shall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  4. — Tne  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for  and  conviction  of  treason,  bribery, 
or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  III. 

Section  1. — The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  a  Supreme 
Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and 
establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  courts,  shall  hold  their  oflees 
during  good  behavior;  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  services  a  compen¬ 
sation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Sec.  2. — The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and  equity,  arising 
under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which 
shall  be  made,  under  their  authority  ;  to  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public 
ministers  and  consuls;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction;  to  contro¬ 
versies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party;  to  controversies  between  two  or 
more  States,  between  a  State  and  citizens  of  another  State,  between  citizens  of  different 
States,  between  citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different 
States,  and  between  a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  citizens,  or 
subjects. 

In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  and  those  in 
which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In 
all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdic¬ 
tion  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and  under  such  regulations  as  the 
Congress  shall  make. 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by  jury ;  and 
such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed; 


APPENDIX  E. 


819 


but,  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as 
the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Sec.  3. — Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levying  war  against 
them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  co  afort.  No  person  shall 
be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  10  the  same  overt  act, 
or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason,  but  nc 
attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood  or  forfeiture,  except  during 
the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

Section  1. — Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public  acts, 
records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress  may  by  gen¬ 
eral  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records,  and  proceedings  shall  be 
proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Sec.  2. — The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities 
of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  crime,  who  shall  flee 
from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority 
of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having 
jurisdiction  of  the  crime.  , 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping 
into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged 
from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom 
such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Sec.  3. — New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union ;  but 
no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State; 
nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts  of  States, 
without  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  States  concerned,  as  well  of  the 
Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regu¬ 
lations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States;  and 
nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Sec.  4. — The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  repub¬ 
lican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion ;  and  on 
application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  executive  (when  the  legislature  can  not  be 
convened),  against  domestic  violence. 


article  v. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it  necessary.  6hall 
propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of  the  legislatures  of 
two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments, 
which,  i~i  either  case,  shall  be  valid,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part  of  this  Consti¬ 
tution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  con¬ 
ventions  in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be 
proposed  by  the  Congress ;  Provided,  that  no  amendment,  which  may  be  made  prior  to 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and 
fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article;  and  that  no  State,  without  its 
consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 


820 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ARTICLE  VI. 

All  debts  contracted,  and  engagements  entered  into,  before  tbe  adoption  of  this  Con¬ 
stitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under 
the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be  made  in  pursu¬ 
ance  thereof;  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  the  judges  in  every  State  shall 
be  bound  thereby,  any  thing  in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  not¬ 
withstanding. 

The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the  members  of  the  several 
State  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Con¬ 
stitution  ;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office 
or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  Convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States  ■present ,  the  seventeenth  day  of  Sep 

tember,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  of  the 

Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof  we  have 

hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

George  Washington,  President, 

and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 

New  Hampshire. — John  Langdon,  Nicholas  Gilman. 

Massachusetts. — Nathaniel  Gorham,  Rufus  King.  , 

Connecticut. — William  Samuel  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman. 

New  York. — Alexander  Hamilton. 

New  Jersey. — William  Livingston,  David  Bearly,  William  Patterson,  Jonathan 
Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. — Benjamin  Franklin,  Thomas  Mifflin,  Robert  Morris,  George  Clv- 
mer,  Thomas  Fitzsimons,  Jared  Ingersoll,  James  Wilson,  Gouverneur  Morris. 

Delaware. — George  Read,  Gunning  Bedford,  Jr.,  John  Dickinson,  Richard  Bas¬ 
sett,  Jacob  Broom. 

Maryland. — James  McHenry,  Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer,  Daniel  Carroll. 

Virginia. — John  Blair,  James  Madison,  Jr. 

North  Carolina. — William  Blount,  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,  Hugh  Williamson. 

South  Carolina. — John  Rutledge,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  Charles  Pinck 
ney,  Pierce  Butler. 

Georgia. — William  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin. 


Attest; 


William  Jackson,  Secretary. 


APPENDIX  E. 


821 


AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 


ARTICLE  I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting 
the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press;  or  the 
right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of 
grievances. 

article  n. 

A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free  State,  the  right  of 
the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house  without  the  consent 
of  the  owner ;  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects, 
against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated ;  and  no  warrants 
shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly 
describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  person  or  things  to  be  seized. 

article  v. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless 
on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or 
naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger ; 
nor  shall  any  person  be  subject,  for  the  same  offence,  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life 
or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled,  in  any  criminal  case,  to  be  a  witness  against  himself; 
nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law  ;  nor  shall  pri¬ 
vate  property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 

article  vi. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and 
public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have 
been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law;  and  to 
be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation;  to  be  confronted  with  the  wit¬ 
nesses  against  him ;  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor- 
and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars, 
the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved  ;  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  other¬ 
wise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  United  States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
common  law. 

48 


822 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ARTICLE  VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and 
unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights,  shall  not  be  construed  to 
deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

ARTICLE  x. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited 
by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XI. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit 
in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens 
of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  State. 

article  xn. 

The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  President 
and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State 
with  themselves;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and 
in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President;  and  they  shall  make  distinct 
lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President, 
and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  president  of  the 
Senate ;  the  president  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted  ;  the  per¬ 
son  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have 
such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding  three 
on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose 
immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But,  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall 
be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for 
this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a 
majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives  shall  not  choose  a  President,  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon 
them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act 
as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the  Pres¬ 
ident. 

The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice-President,  shall  be  the 
Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed; 
and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the 
Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-President;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be 
necessary  to  a  choice. 

But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  President,  shall  be  eligible 
to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 


APPENDIX  E. 


823 


ARTICLE  Xin. 

Section  1. — Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punishment  for 
crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within  the  United 
States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

Sec.  2. — Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  Article  by  appropriate  leg¬ 
islation. 

ARTICLE  XIV. 

Section  1. — All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  subject  to 
the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they 
reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges 
or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person 
of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within 
its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Sec.  2. — Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States,  according 
to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State, 
excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  choice  of 
electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  representatives  in  Con¬ 
gress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  legislature 
thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State  being  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation 
in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in 
the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number 
of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

Sec.  3. — No  person  shall  be  a  senator,  or  representative  in  Congress,  or  elector  of 
President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  United 
States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath  as  a  member  of  Con¬ 
gress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State  legislature,  or  as 
an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or 
comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof;  but  Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of*eaeh 
house,  remove  such  disability. 

Sec.  4. — The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States  authorized  by  law, 
including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions,  and  bounties  for  services  in  suppress¬ 
ing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the  United  States, 
nor  any  State,  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection 
or  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any 
slave ;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Sec.  5. — The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  appropriate  legislation  the 
provisions  of  this  Article. 

article  xv. 

Section  1. — The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied 
or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous 
condition  of  servitude. 

Sec.  2. — The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  Article  by  appropriate 
legislation. 


APPENDIX  F 


WASHINGTON’S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

Friends  and  Fellow-Citizens: — 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  citizen  to  administer  tlie  executive  government 
of  the  United  States  being  not  far  distant,  and  the  time  actually  arrived  when  your 
thoughts  must  be  employed  in  designating  the  person  who  is  to  be  clothed  with  that 
important  trust,  it  appears  to  me  proper,  especially  as  it  may  conduce  to  a  more  dis¬ 
tinct  expression  of  the  public  voice,  that  I  should  now  apprise  you  of  the  resolution  I 
have  formed,  to  decline  being  considered  among  the  number  of  those  out  of  whom  a 
choice  is  to  be  made. 

I  beg  you,  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be  assured  that  this  resolution 
has  not  been  taken  without  a  strict  regard  to  all  the  considerations  appertaining  to  the 
relation  which  hinds  a  dutiful  citizen  to  his  country;  and  that,  in  withdrawing  the 
tender  of  service,  which  silence  in  my  situation  might  imply,  I  am  influenced  by  no 
diminution  of  zeal  for  your  future  interest;  no  deficiency  of  grateful  respect  for  your 
past  kindness;  but  am  supported  by  a  full  conviction  that  the  step  is  compatible 
with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the  office  to  which  your  suffrages 
have  twice  called  me,  have  been  a  uniform  sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the  opinion  of 
duty,  and  to  a  deference  for  what  appeared  to  be  your  desire.  I  constantly  hoped  that 
it  would  have  been  much  earlier  in  my  power,  consistently  with  motives  which  I  was 
not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to  that  retirement  from  which  I  had  been  reluc¬ 
tantly  drawn.  The  strength  of  my  inclination  to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last  election, 
had  even  led  to  the  preparation  of  an  address  to  declare  it  to  you;  but  mature  reflec¬ 
tion  on  the  then  perplexed  and  critical  posture  of  our  affairs  with  foreign  nations,  and 
the  unanimous  advice  of  persons  entitled  to  my  confidence,  impelled  me  to  abandon 
the  idea. 

I  rejoice  that  the  state  of  your  concerns,  external  as  well  as  internal,  no  longer 
renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  incompatible  with  the  sentiment  of  duty  or  propriety; 
and  am  persuaded,  whatever  partiality  may  be  retained  for  my  services,  that,  in  the 
present  circumstances  of  our  country,  you  will  not  disapprove  of  my  determination  to 
retire. 

The  impressions  with  which  I  first  undertook  the  arduous  trust  were  explained  on 
the  proper  occasion.  In  the  discharge  of  this  trust,  I  will  only  say  that  I  have,  with 
good  intentions,  contributed  towards  the  organization  and  administration  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  the  best  exertions  of  which  a  very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  Not  uncon¬ 
scious  in  the  outset  of  the  inferiority  of  any  qualifications,  experience,  in  my  own  eyes — 
perhaps  still  more  in  the  eyes  of  others — has  strengthened  the  motives  to  diffidence  of 
myself;  and  every  day  the  increasing  weight  of  years  admonishes  me,  more  and  more, 
that  the  shade  of  retirement  is  as  necessary  to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome.  Satisfied  that 
if  any  circumstances  have  given  peculiar  value  to  my  services  they  were  temporary,  I 

824 


APPENDIX  F.  395 

have  the  consolation  to  believe  that,  while  choice  and  prudence  invite  me  to  quit  the 
political  scene,  patriotism  does  not  forbid  it. 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment  which  is  intended  to  terminate  the  career  of  ray 
public  life,  my  feelings  do  not  permit  me  to  suspend  the  deep  acknowledgment  of  that 
debt  of  gratitude  which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country  for  the  many  honors  it  has  con¬ 
ferred  upon  me;  still  more  for  the  steadfast  confidence  with  which  it  has  supported  me; 
and  for  the  opportunities  I  have  thence  enjoyed  of  manifesting  my  inviolable  attach¬ 
ment,  by  services  faithful  and  persevering,  though  in  usefulness  unequal  to  my  zeal. 
If  benefits  have  resulted  to  our  country  irom  these  services,  let  it  always  be  remembered 
to  your  pu-aise,  and  as  an  instructive  example  in  our  annals,  that,  under  circumstances 
in  which  the  passions,  agitated  in  every  direction,  were  liable  to  mislead ;  amidst 
appearances  sometimes  dubious,  vicissitudes  of  fortune  often  discouraging;  in  situations 
in  which,  not  unfrequently,  want  of  success  has  countenanced  the  spirit  of  criticism — 
the  constancy  of  your  support  was  the  essential  prop  of  the  efforts,  and  a  guarantee  of 
the  plans,  by  which  they  were  effected.  Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall 
carry  it  with  me  to  my  grave,  as  a  strong  incitement  to  unceasing  wishes,  that  Heaven 
may  continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens  of  its  beneficence ;  that  your  union  and  broth¬ 
erly  affection  may  be  perpetual ;  that  the  free  Constitution,  which  is  the  work  of  your 
hands,  may  be  sacredly  maintained;  that  its  administration,  in  every  department,  may 
be  stamped  with  wisdom  and  virtue;  that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the  people  of  these 
States,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  may  be  made  complete,  by  so  careful  a  preserva¬ 
tion  and  so  prudent  a  use  of  this  blessing  as  will  acquire  to  them  the  glory  of  recom¬ 
mending  it  to  the  applause,  the  affection,  and  adoption  of  every  nation  which  is  yet 
a  stranger  to  it. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop;  but  a  solicitude  for  your  welfare,  which  can  not 
end  but  with  my  life,  and  the  apprehension  of  danger  natural  to  that  solicitude,  urge 
me,  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer  to  your  solemn  contemplation,  and  to 
recommend  to  your  frequent  review,  some  sentiments  which  are  the  result  of  much 
reflection,  of  no  inconsiderable  observation,  and  which  appear  to  me  all-important  to 
the  permanency  of  your  felicity  as  a  people.  These  will  be  offered  to  you  with  the 
more  freedom, -as  you  can  only  see  in  them  the  disinterested  warnings  of  a  parting 
friend,  who  can  possibly  have  no  personal  motive  to  bias*his  counsels;  nor  can  I  forget, 
as  an  encouragement  to  it,  your  indulgent  reception  of  my  sentiments  on  a  former  and 
not  dissimilar  occasion. 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  ligament  of  your  hearts,  no  recom¬ 
mendation  of  mine  is  necessaiy  to  fortify  or  confirm  the  attachment. 

The  Unity  of  Government,  which  constitutes  you  one  people,  is  also  now  dear  to 
you.  It  is  justly  so;  for  it. is  a  main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  your  real  independence — 
the  support  of  your  tranquillity  at  home,  your  peace  abroad,  of  your  safety,  of  your 
prosperity,  of  that  very  liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize.  But  as  it  is  easy  to  foresee 
that,  from  different  causes  and  from  different  quarters,  much  pains  will  be  taken,  many 
artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in  your  minds  the  conviction  of  this  truth;  as  this  is  the 
point  in  your  political  fortress  against  which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external  ene¬ 
mies  will  be  most  constantly  and  actively  (though  often  covertly  and  insidiously) 
directed — it  is  of  infinite  moment  that  you  should  properly  estimate  the  immense  value 
of  your  National  Union  to  your  collective  and  individual  happiness;  that  you  should 
cherish  a  cordial,  habitual,  and  immovable  attachment  to  it;  accustoming  yourselves 
to  think  and  speak  of  it  as  the  palladium  oi  yTour  political  safety  and  prosperity; 
watching  for  its  preservation  with  jealous  anxiety ;  discountenancing  whatever  may 
suggest  even  a  suspicion  that  it  can,  in  any  event,  be  abandoned ;  and  indignantly 
frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our 


826 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 


country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link  together  the 
Various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and  interest.  Citizens  by  birth 
or  choice,  of  a  common  country,  that  country  has  a  right  to  concentrate  your  affections. 
The  name  of  American,  which  belongs  to  you  in  your  national  capacity,  must  always 
exalt  the  just  pride  of  patriotism,  more  than  any  appellation  derived  from  local  dis¬ 
criminations.  With  slight  shades  of  difference,  you  have  the  same  religion,  manners, 
habits,  and  political  principles.  You  have,  in  a  common  cause,  fought  and  triumphed 
together;  the  independence  and  liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  counsels  and 
joint  efforts — of  common  dangers,  sufferings,  and  successes. 

But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they  address  themselves  to  your 
sensibility,  are  greatly  outweighed  by  those  which  apply  more  immediately  to  your 
interest :  here  every  portion  of  our  country  finds  the  most  commanding  motives  for 
carefully  guarding  and  preserving  the  union  of  the  whole. 

The  North,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  with  the  South,  protected  by  the  equal 
laws  of  a  common  government,  finds,  in  the  productions  of  the  latter,  great  additional 
resources  of  maritime  and  commercial  enterprise,  and  precious  materials  of  manu¬ 
facturing  industry.  The  South,  in  the  same  intercourse,  benefiting  by  the  agency  of 
the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow,  and  its  commerce  expand.  Turning  partly  into  its 
own  channels  the  seamen  of  the  North,  it  finds  its  particular  navigation  invigorated; 
and  while  it  contributes,  in  different  way  ,  to  nourish  and  increase  the  general  mass  of 
the  national  navigation,  it  looks  forward  to  the  protection  of  a  maritime  strength  to 
which  itself  is  unequally  adapted.  The  East,  in  a  like  intercourse  with  the  West,  already 
finds,  and  in  the  progressive  improvement  of  interior  communications,  by  land  and 
water,  will  more  and  more  find  a  valuable  vent  for  the  commodities  which  it  brings 
from  abroad,  or  manufactures  at  home.  The  West  derives  from  the  East  supplies 
requisite  to  its  growth  and  comfort — and  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  consequence, 
it  must  of  necessity  owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispensable  outlets  for  its  own  pro¬ 
ductions  to  the  weight,  influence,  and  the  future  maritime  strength  of  the  Atlantic  side 
of  the  Union,  directed  by  an  indissoluble  community  of  interest  as  oue  nation.  Any 
other  tenure  by  which  the  West  can  hold  this  essential  advantage,  whether  derived 
from  its  own  separate  strength,  or  from  an  apostate  and  unnatural  connection  with  any 
foreign  power,  must  be  intrinsically  precarious. 

While,  then,  every  part  of  our  country  thus  feels  an  immediate  and  particular 
interest  in  Union,  all  the  parts  combined  can  not  fail  to  find  in  the  united  mass  of 
mean’s  and  efforts,  greater  strength,  greater  resource,  proportionably  greater  security 
from  external  danger,  a  less  frequent  interruption  of  their  peace  by  foreign  nations; 
and  what  is  of  inestimable  value,  they  must  derive  from  Union  an  exemption  from 
those  broils  and  wars  between  themselves,  which  so  frequently  afflict  neighboring 
countries,  not  tied  together  by  the  same  government;  which  their  own  rivalships  alone 
would  be  sufficient  to  produce,  but  which  opposite  foreign  alliances,  attachments,  and 
intrigues  would  stimulate  and  embitter.  Hence,  likewise,  they  will  avoid  the  necessity 
of  those  overgrown  military  establishments,  which  under  any  form  of  government  are 
inauspicious  to  liberty,  and  which  are  to  be  regarded  as  particularly  hostile  to  Repub¬ 
lican  Liberty.  In  this  sense  it  is,  that  your  Union  ought  to  be  considered  as  the  main 
prop  of  your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the  one  ought  to  endear  to  you  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to  every  reflecting  and  virtuous 
mind,  and  exhibit  the  continuance  of  the  Union  as  a  primary  object  of  patriotic  desire. 
Is  there  a  doubt  whether  a  common  government  can  embrace  so  large  a  sphere?  Let 
experience  solve  it.  To  listen  to  mere  speculation  in  such  a  case  were  criminal.  Wo 


APPENDIX  F. 


81T 


are  authorized  to  hope  that  a  proper  organization  of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary 
agency  of  governments  for  the  respective  subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy  issue 
to  the  experiment.  It  is  well  worth  a  fair  and  full  experiment.  With  such  pow¬ 
erful  and  obvious  motives  to  Union  affecting  all  parts  of  our  country,  while  expe¬ 
rience  shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability,  there  will  always  be  reason 
to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those  who  in  any  quarter  may  endeavor  to  weaken 
its  bands. 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our  Union,  it  occurs  as  matter  oi 
serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should  have  been  furnished  for  characterizing  parties 
by  geographical  discriminations — Northern  and  Southern,  Atlantic  and  Western ;  whence 
designing  men  may  endeavor  to  excite  a  belief  that  there  is  a  real  difference  of  local  inter¬ 
ests  and  views.  One  of  the  expedients  of  party  to  acquire  influence,  within  particular 
districts,  is  to  misrepresent  the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts.  You  can  not  shield 
yourselves  too  much  against  the  jealousies  and  heart-burnings  which  spring  from  these 
misrepresentations;  they  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to  be 
bound  together  by  fraternal  affection.  The  inhabitants  of  our  Western  country  have 
lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on  this  head :  they  have  seen,  in  the  negotiation  by  the  exec¬ 
utive,  and  in  the  unanimous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  01  the  treaty  with  Spain,  and 
in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  the  event  throughout  the  United  States,  a  decisive  proof 
how  unfounded  were  the  suspicions  propagated  among  them  of  a  policy  in  the  general 
government,  and  in  the  Atlantic  States,  unfriendly  to  their  interests  in  regard  to  the 
Mississippi:  they  have  been  witnesses  to  the  formation  o.  two  treaties,  that  with  Great 
Britain  and  that  with  Spain,  which  secure  to  them  every  thing  they  could  desire, 
in  respect  to  our  foreign  relations,  towards  confirming  their  prosperity.  Will  it  not 
be  their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preservation  of  these  advantages  on  the  Union  by 
which  they  were  procured?  Will  they  not  henceforth  be  deaf  to  those  advisers, 
if  such  there  are,  who  would  sever  them  from  their  brethren,  and  connect  them 
with  aliens? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union,  a  government  for  the  whole  is 
indispensable.  No  alliances,  however  strict,  between  the  parts  can  be  an  adequate 
substitute;  they  must  inevitably  experience  the  infractions  and  interruptions  which 
all  alliances  in  all  times  have  experienced.  Sensible  of  this  momentous  truth,  you 
have  improved  upon  your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of  a  Constitution  of  government 
better  calculated  than  your  former  for  an  intimate  Union,  and  for  the  efficacious  man¬ 
agement  of  your  common  concerns.  This  government,  the  offspring  of  your  own 
choice,  uninfluenced  and  unawed,  adopted  upon  full  investigation  and  mature  delib'- 
eration,  completely  free  in  its  principles,  in  the  distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting 
security  with  energy,  and  containing  within  itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amendment, 
has  a  just  claim  to  your  confidence  and  your  support.  Bespect  for  its  authority,  com¬ 
pliance  with  its  laws,  acquiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the  funda¬ 
mental  maxims  of  true  liberty.  The  basis  of  our  political  systems  is  the  right  of  ,the 
people  to  make,  and  to  alter  their  constitutions  of  government.  But  the  constitution 
which  at  any  time  exists,  until  changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole 
people,  is  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  power  and  the  right  of 
the  people  to  establish  government,  presupposes  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  obey 
the  established  government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  all  combinations  and  associations, 
under  whatever  plausible  character,  with  the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  counteract, 
or  awe  the  regular  deliberation  and  action  of  he  constituted  authorities,  are  destructive 
of  this  fundamental  principle,  and  of  fats’  jndency.  They  serve  to  organize  faction, 
to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary  lorce — to  put  in  the  place  of  the  delegated 
ol 


828 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 


will  of  the  nation,  the  will  of  a  party,  often  a  small  but  artful  and  enterprising  minor¬ 
ity  of  the  community  ;  and,  according  to  the  alternate  triumphs  of  different  parties,  to 
make  the  public  administration  the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted  and  incongruous 
projects  of  faction,  rather  than  the  organ  of  consistent  and  wholesome  plans  digested 
by  common  councils  and  modified  by  mutual  interests. 

However  combinations  or  associations  of  the  above  description  may  now  and  then 
answer  popular  ends,  they  are  likely,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  to  become 
potent  engines,  by  which  cunning,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men  will  be  ena¬ 
bled  to  subvert  the  power  of  the  people,  and  to  usurp  for  themselves  the  reins  of 
government;  destroying  afterward  the  very  engines  which  have  lifted  them  to  unjust 
dominion. 

Towards  the  preservation  of  your  government,  and  the  permanency  of  your  present 
happy  state,  it  is  requisite,  not  only  that  you  steadily  discountenance  irregular 
opposition  to  its  acknowledged  authority,  but  also  that  you  resist  with  care  the 
spirit  of  innovation  upon  its  principles,  however  specious  the  pretexts.  One  metli  t 
of  assault  may  be  to  effect  in  the  forms  of  the  Constitution  alterations  which  w... 
impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  and  thus  to  undermine  what  can  not  be  direct  iy 
overthrown.  In  all  the  changes  to  which  you  may  be  invited,  remember  that  time 
and  habit  are  at  least  as  necessary  to  fix  the  true  character  of  governments,  as 
of  other  human  institutions ;  that  experience  is  the  surest  standard  by  which  to  test 
the  real  tendency  of  the  existing  constitution  of  a  country — that  facility  in  changes 
upon  the  credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and  opinion,  exposes  to  perpetual  change  from 
the  endless  variety  of  hypothesis  and  opinion;  and  remember,  especially,  that  for 
the  efficient  management  of  your  common  interests,  in  a  country  so  extensive  as 
ours,  a  government  of  as  much  vigor  as  is  consistent  with  the  perfect  security  of 
liberty,  is  indispensable.  Liberty  itself  will  find  in  such  a  government,  with  powers 
properly  distributed  and  adjusted,  its  surest  guardian.  It  is,  indeed,  little  else 
than  a  name,  where  the  government  is  too  feeble  to  withstand  the  enterprises  of  fac¬ 
tion,  to  confine  each  member  of  the  society  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the  laws, 
and  to  maintain  all  in  the  secure  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person  and 
property. 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  parties  in  the  state,  with  particular 
reference  to  the  founding  of  them  on  geographical  discriminations. .  Let  me  now  take 
a  more  comprehensive  view,  and  warn  you-  in  the  most  solemn  manner  against  the 
baneful  effects  of  the  spirit  of  party,  generally. 

This  spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  our  nature,  having  its  root  in  the 
strongest  passions  of  the  human  mind.  It  exists  under  different  shapes  in  all  govern¬ 
ments,  more  or  less  stifled,  controlled,  or  repressed  ;  but  in  those  of  the  popular  form,  it 
is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  it  is  truly  their  worst  enemy. 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another,  sharpened  by  the  spirit  of 
revenge,  natural  to  party  dissension,  which  in  different  ages  and  countries  has  perpe¬ 
trated  the  most  horrid  enormities,  is  itself  a  frightful  despotism.  But  this  leads  at 
length  to  a  more  formal  and  permanent  despotism.  The  disorders  and  miseries  w'hich 
result,  gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to  seek  security  and  repose  in  the  absolute 
power  of  an  individual ;  and  sooner  or  later  the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction,  more 
able  or  more  fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turns  this  disposition  to  the  purposes  of 
his  own  elevation,  on  the  ruins  of  public  liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind  (which,  nevertheless,  ought 
not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight),  the  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of 
party  are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  the  duty  of  a  wise  people  to  discourage 
and  restrain  it. 


APPENDIX  F. 


829 


It  serves  always  to  distract  the  public  councils,  and  enfeeble  the  public  adminis¬ 
tration.  It  agitates  the  community  with  ill-founded  jealousies  and  "false  alarms;  kin¬ 
dles  the  animosity  of  one  part  against  another,  foments  occasionally  riot  and  insurrection. 
It  opens  the  door  to  foreign  influence  and  corruption,  which  find  a  facilitated  access  to 
the  government  itself  through  the  channels  of  party  passions.  Thus  the  policy  and 
the  will  of  one  country  are  subjected  to  the  policy  and  will  of  another. 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties  in  free  countries  are  useful  checks  upon  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  government,  and  serve  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  liberty.  This  within 
certain  limits  is  probably  true;  and  in  governments  of  a  monarchical  cast,  patriotism 
may  look  with  indulgence,  if  not  with  favor,  upon  the  spirit  of  party.  But  in  those  of 
the  popular  character,  in  governments  purely  elective,  it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encour¬ 
aged.  From  their  natural  tendency  it  is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of  that 
spirit  for  every  salutary  purpose.  And  there  being  constant  danger  of  excess,  the  effort 
ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public  opinion,  to  mitigate  and  assuage  it.  A  fire  not.to  be 
quenched,  it  demands  a  uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into  a  flame,  lest,  in¬ 
stead  of  warming,  it  should  consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits,  of  thinking,  in  a  free  country,  should 
inspire  caution  in  those  intrusted  with  its  administration,  to  confine  themselves  within 
their  respective  constitutional  spheres,  avoiding  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  one 
department  to  encroach  upon  another.  The  spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to  con¬ 
solidate  the  powers  of  all  the  departments  in  one,  and  thus  to  create,  whatever  the  form 
of  government,  a  real  despotism.  A  just  estimate  of  that  love  of  power,  and  prone¬ 
ness  to  abuse  it,  which  predominates  in  the  human  heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us 
of  the  truth  of  this  position.  The  necessity  of  reciprocal  checks  in  the  exercise 
of  political  power,  by  dividing  and  distributing  it  into  different  depositories,  and 
constituting  each  the  guardian  of  the  public  weal  against  invasions  by  the  others, 
has  been  evinced  by  experiments  ancient  and  modern ;  some  of  them  in  our  country 
and  under  our  own  eyes.  To  preserve  them  must  be  as  necessary  as  to  institute  them. 
If,  in  the  opinion  of  the  people,  the  distribution  or  modification  of  the  constitutional 
powers  be  in  any  particular  wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an  amendment  in  the  way 
which  the  Constitution  designates.  But  let  there  be  no  change  by  usurpation;  for 
though  this,  in  one  instance,  may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it  is  the  customary 
weapon  by  which  free  governments  are  destroyed.  The  precedent  must  always  greatly 
overbalance  in  permanent  evil  any  partial  or  transient  benefit  which  the  use  can  at  any 
time  yield. 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  political  prosperity,  religion  and 
morality  are  indispensable  supports.  In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of 
patriotism,  who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these 
firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  The  mere  politician,  equally  with  the 
pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them.  A  volume  could  not  trace  all  their 
connections  with  private  and  public  felicity.  Let  it  simply  be  asked,  where  is  the 
security  for  property,  for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation  desert 
the  oaths  which  are  the  instruments  of  investigation  in  courts  of  justice?  And  let  us 
with  caution  indulge  the  supposition,  that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion. 
Whatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds  of  peculiar 
structure,  reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national  morality  can 
prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious  principle. 

It  is  substantially  true,  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a  necessary  spring  of  popular 
government.  The  rule  indeed  extends  with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of  free 
government.  Who  that  is  a  sincere  friend  to  it,  can  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts 
to  shake  the  foundation  of  the  fabric? 


830 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 


Promote  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  institutions  for  the  general  dif¬ 
fusion  of  knowledge.  In  proportion  as  the  structure  of  a  government  gives  force  to 
public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should  be  enlightened. 

As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security,  cherish  public  credit.  One 
method  of  preserving  it  is  to  use  it  as  sparingly  as  possible,  avoiding  occasions  of  ex¬ 
pense  by  cultivating  peace;  but  remembering  also  that  timely  disbursements  to  prepare 
for  danger,  frequently  prevent  much  greater  disbursements  to  repel  it;  avoiding  like¬ 
wise  the  accumulation  of  debt,  not  only  by  shunning  occasions  of  expense,  but  by  vig¬ 
orous  exertions  in  time  of  peace  to  discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable  wars  may 
have  occasioned,  not  ungenerously  throwing  upon  posterity  the  burden  which  we  our¬ 
selves  ought  to  bear.  The  execution  of  these  maxims  belongs  to  your  Representatives, 
but  it  is  necessary  that  public  opinion  should  co-operate.  To  facilitate  to  them  the 
performance  of  their  duty,  it  is  essential  that  you  should  practically  bear  in  mind,  that 
toward  the  payment  of  debts  there  must  be  revenue;  that  to  have  revenue  there  must  be 
taxes ;  that  no  taxes  can  be  devised  which  are  not  more  or  less  inconvenient  and 
unpleasant;  that  the  intrinsic  embarrassment  inseparable  from  the  selection  of  the  proper 
objects  (which  is  always  a  choice  of  difficulties)  ought  to  be  a  decisive  motive  for  a 
candid  construction  of  the  conduct  of  the  government  in  making  it,  and  for  a  spirit  of 
acquiescence  in  the  measures  for  obtaining  revenue  which  the  public  exigencies  may  at 
any  time  dictate. 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  nations,  cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with 
all ;  religion  and  morality  enjoin  this  conduct,  and  can  it  be  that  good  policy  does  not 
equally  enjoin  it?  It  will  be  worthy  of  a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant  period,  a 
great  nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too  novel  example  of  a  people 
always  guided  by  an  exalted  justice  and  benevolence.  Who  can  doubt  but  that  in  the 
course  of  time  and  things,  the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would  richly  repay  any  temporary 
advantage  which  might  he  lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  it?  Can  it  be  that  Providence 
has  not  connected  the  permanent  felicity  of  a  nation  with  its  virtue?  The  experiment, 
at  least,  is  recommended  by  every  sentiment  which  ennobles  human  nature.  Alas!  is  it 
rendered  impossible  by  its  vices? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan,  nothing  is  more  essential  than  that  permanent, 
inyeterate  antipathies  against  particular  nations,  and  passionate  attachments  for  others, 
should  be  excluded  ;  and  that  in  place  of  them  just  and  amicable  feelings  towards  all 
should  be  cultivated.  The  nation  which  indulges  toward  another  an  habitual  hatred  or 
an  habitual  fondness,  is  in  some  degree  a  slave.  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity  or  its  affec¬ 
tion,  either  of  which  is  sufficient  to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its  interests.  Antip¬ 
athy  in  one  nation  against  another,  disposes  each  more  readily  to  offer  insult  and  injury, 
to  lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of  umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  intractable,  when 
accidental  or  trifling  occasions  of  dispute  occur.  Hence  frequent  collisions,  obstinate, 
envenomed,  and  bloody  contests.  The  nation,  prompted  by  ill-will  and  resentment, 
sometimes  impels  to  war  the  government,  contrary  to  the  best  calculations  of  policy. 
The  government  sometimes  participates  in  the  national  propensity,  and  adopts  through 
passion  what  reason  would  reject;  at  other  times,  it  makes  the  animosity  of  the  nation 
subservient  to  projects  of  hostility  instigated  by  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister  and 
pernicious  motives.  The  peace  often,  sometimes  perhaps  the  liberty,  of  nations  has 
been  the  victim. 

So,  likewise,  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  nation  for  another  produces  a  variety 
of  evils.  Sympathy  for  the  favorite  nation,  facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary 
common  interest  in  cases  where  no  real  common  interest  exists,  and  infusing  into  one 
the  enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  the  former  into  a  participation  in  the  quarrels 
and  wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate  inducement  or  justification.  It  leads  also 


APPENDIX  F. 


#il 

to  concessions  to  the  favorite  nation  of  privileges  denied  to  others,  which  is  apt 
doubly  to  injure  the  nation  making  the  concessions,  by  unnecessarily  parting  with 
what  ought  to  have  been  retained ;  and  by  exciting  jealousy,  ill-will,  and  a  dispo¬ 
sition  to  retaliate,  in  the  parties  from  whom  equal  privileges  are  withheld.  And 
it  gives  to  ambitious,  corrupted,  or  deluded  citizens  (who  devote  themselves  to 
the  favorite  nation)  facility  to  betray  or  sacrifice  the  interests  of  their  own  country, 
without  odium,  sometimes  even  with  popularity;  gilding  with  the  appearance  of  a 
virtuous  sense  of  obligation  a  commendable  deference  for  public  opinion,  or  a  laudable 
zeal  for  public  good,  the  base  or  foolish  compliances  of  ambition,  corruption,  or 
infatuation. 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways,  such  attachments  are 
particularly  alarming  to  the  truly  enlightened  and  independent  patriot.  How  many 
opportunities  do  they  afford  to  tamper  with  domestic  factions;  to  practice  the  arts  of 
sedition,  to  mislead  public  opinion,  to  influence  or  awe  the  public  councils!  Such  an 
attachment  of  a  small  and  weak,  towards  a  great  and  powerful  nation,  dooms  the  former 
to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter.  Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence  (I 
conjure  you  to  believe  me,  fellow-citizens,)  the  jealousy  of  a  free  people  ought  to  be 
constantly  awake;  since  history  and  experience  prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one  of 
the  most  baneful  foes  of  Republican  Government.  But  that  jealousy  be  useful  must 
be  impartial;  else  it  becomes  the  instrument  of  the  very  influence  to  be  avoided,  instead 
of  a  defence  against  it.  Excessive  partiality  for  one  foreign  nation,  and  excessive 
dislike  of  another,  cause  those  whom  they  actuate  to  see  danger  only  on  one  side,  and 
serve  to  veil  and  even  second  the  arts  of  influence  on  the  other.  Beal  patriots,  who 
may  resist  the  intrigues  of  the  favorite,  are  liable  to  become  suspected  and  odious; 
while  its  tools  and  dupes  usurp  the  applause  and  confidence  of  the  people,  to  surrender 
their  interest. 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  foreign  nations,  is,  in  extending  our 
commercial  relations,  to  have  with  them  as  little  'political  connection  as  possible.  So 
far  as  we  have  already  formed  engagements,  let  them  be  fulfilled  with  perfect  good  faith. 
Here  let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have  none,  or  a  very  remote 
relation.  Hence  she  must  be  engaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which  are 
essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns.  Hence,  therefore,  it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to  impli¬ 
cate  ourselves,  by  artificial  ties,  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her  politics,  or  the  ordi¬ 
nary  combinations  and  collisions  of  her  friendships  or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables  us  to  pursue  a  different 
course.  If  we  remain  one  people,  under  an  efficient  government,  the  period  is 
not  far  off  when  we  may  defy  material  injury  from  external  annoyance;  when  we 
take  such  an  attitude  as  will  cause  the  neutrality  we  may  at  any  time  resolve 
upon  to  be  scrupulously  respected ;  when  belligerent  nations,  under  the  impossi¬ 
bility  of  making  acquisitions  upon  us,  will  not  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provo¬ 
cation  ;  when  we  may  choose  peace  or  war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by  justice,  shall 
counsel. 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  ?  Why  quit  your  own  to 
stand  upon  foreign  ground?  Why,  by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part 
of  Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambition,  rival- 
ship,  interest,  humor,  or  caprice? 

It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alliances  with  any  portion  of 
the  foreign  world — so  far,  I  mean,  as  we  are  now  at  liberty  to  do  it;  for  let  me  not 
be  understood  as  capable  of  patronizing  infidelity  to  existing  engagements.  I  hold 
the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to  public  than  to  private  affairs,  that  honesty  is  always 


832 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 


the  best  policy.  I  repeat  it,  therefore,  let  those  engagements  be  observed  in  their 
genuine  sense.  But,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  unnecessary,  and  would  be  unwise  to  extend 
them. 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  establishments,  on  a  respectable 
defensive  posture,  we  may  safely  trust  to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary  emer¬ 
gencies. 

Harmony,  and  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are  recommended  by  policy, 
humanity,  and  interest. 

But  even  our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and  impartial  hand;  neither 
seeking  nor  granting  exclusive  favors  or  preferences; — consulting  the  natural  course 
of  things;  diffusing  and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the  streams  of  commerce,  but 
forcing  nothing;  establishing,  with  powers  so  disposed,  in  order  to  give  trade  a  stable 
course,  to  define  the  rights  of  our  merchants,  and  to  enable  the  government  to  support 
them,  conventional  rules  of  intercourse,  the  best  that  present  circumstances  and  mutual 
opinion  will  permit,  but’ temporary,  and  liable  to  be  from  time  to  time  abandoned 
or  varied,  as  experience  and  circumstances  shall  dictate ;  constantly  keeping  in  view, 
that  it  is  folly  in  one  nation  to  look  for  disinterested  favors  from  another;  that  it 
must  pay  with  a  portion  of  its  independence  for  whatever  it  may  accept  under  that  char¬ 
acter;  that  by  such  acceptance,  it  may  place  itself  in  the  condition  of  having  given 
equivalents  for  nominal  favors,  and  yet  of  being  reproached  with  ingratitude  for  not 
giving  more.  There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to  expect,  or  calculate  upon,  real 
favors  from  nation  to  nation.  It  is  an  illusion  which  experience  must  cure,  which  a  just 
pride  ought  to  discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an  old  and  affectionate  friend., 
I  dare  not  hope  they  will  make  the  strong  and  lasting  impression  I  could  wish — that 
they  will  control  the  usual  current  of  the  passions,  or  prevent  our  nation  from  running  the 
course  which  has  hitherto  marked  the  destiny  of  nations.  But  if  I  may  even  flatter  my¬ 
self  that  they  may  be  productive  of  some  partial  benefit,  some  occasional  good;  that  they 
may  now  and  then  recur  to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to  warn  against  the  mis¬ 
chiefs  of  foreign  intrigue,  to  guard  against  the  impostures  of  pretended  patriotism  ;  this 
hope  will  be  a  full  recompense  for  the  solicitude  for  your  welfare  by  which  they  have 
been  dictated. 

How  far  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties  I  have  been  guided  by  the  principles 
which  have  been  delineated,  the  public  records  and  other  evidences  of  ray  conduct  must 
witness  to  you  and  to  the  world.  To  myself,  the  assurance  of  my  own  conscience  is,  that 
I  have  at  least  believed  myself  to  be  guided  by  them.  • 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  war  in  Europe,  my  proclamation  of  the  22d 
of  April,  1793,  is  the  index  to  my  plan.  Sanctioned  by  your  approving  voice,  and 
by  that  of  your  Representatives  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  the  spirit  of  that  measure 
has  continually  governed  me,  uninfluenced  by  any  attempts  to  deter  or  divert  me 
from  it. 

After  deliberate  examination,  with  the  aid  of  the  best  lights  I  could  obtain,  I  was 
well  satisfied  that  our  country,  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right  to 
take,  and  was  bound  in  duty  and  interest  to  take,  a  neutral  position.  Having  taken  it, 
I  determined,  as  far  as  should  depend  upon  me,  to  maintain  it  with  moderation,  perse¬ 
verance,  and  firmness. 

The  considerations  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this  conduct,  it  is  not  necessary 
on  this  occasion  to  detail.  I  will  only  observe,  that,  according  to  my  understanding  of 
the  matter,  that  right,  so  far  from  being  denied  by  any  of  the  belligerent  Powers,  has 
been  virtually  admitted  by  all. 

The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral  conduct  may  be  inferred,  without  any  thing  more. 


APPENDIX  F. 


833 


from  the  obligation  which  justice  and  humanity  imposes  on  every  nation,  in  cases  in 
which  it  is  free  to  act  to  maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of  peace  and  amity  towards 
other  nalions. 

The  inducements  of  interest  for  observing  that  conduct  will  best  be  referred 
to  your  own  reflections  and  experience.  With  me,  a  predominant  motive  has  been 
to  endeavor  to  gain  time  to  our  country  to  settle  and  mature  its  yet  recent  insti¬ 
tutions,  and  to  progress,  without  interruption,  to  that  degree  of  strength  and  con¬ 
sistency  which  is  necessary  to  give  it,  humanly  speaking,  the  command  of  its  own 
fortunes. 

Though,  in  reviewing  the  incidents  o,  my  administration,  I  am  unconscious  oi 
intentional  error,  I  am  nevertheless  too  sensible  of  my  defects,  not  to  think  it  prob¬ 
able  that  I  may  have  committed  many  errors.  Whatever  they  may  be,  I  fervently 
beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend.  I  shall 
also  carry  with  me  the  hope  that  my  country  will  never  cease  to  view  them  with  indul¬ 
gence;  and  that  after  forty-five  years  of  my  life  dedicated  to  its  service,  with  an  upright 
zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent  abilities  will  be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself  must 
soon  be  to  the  mansions  of  rest. 

Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this  as  in  other  things,  and  actuated  by  that  fervent 
love  towards  it,  which  is  so  natural  to  a  man  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  him¬ 
self  and  his  progenitors  for  several  generations;  I  anticipate  with  pleasing  expec¬ 
tation  that  retreat,  in  which  I  promise  myself  to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet 
enjoyment  of  partaking,  in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign  influence  of 
good  laws  under  a  free  government — the  ever  favorite  object  of  my  heart,  and  the 
happy  reward,  as  I  trust,  of  our  mutual  cares,  labors,  and  dangers. 

G-  Washiitgtok. 


Uiuted  States,  17  th  September,  1796. 


APPENDIX  O 


THE  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION. 

» 

BY  THE  PRESIDENT  OE  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

[If  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  cause  of  the  freedom 
of  the  African  race  in  the  United  States,  then  indeed  must  it  be  considered  as  among 
the  most  important  documents  known  in  history:  perhaps  the  most  important  of  all. 
The  truer  view  of  the  case,. however,  seems  to  be  this:  The  inexorable  Logic  of 
Events  was  rapidly  bringing  about  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  The  National 
government  fell  under  a  stringent  necessity  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  labor  system  of 
the  Southern  States.  With  every  struggle  of  the  war  the  sentiment  of  abolition  at 
the  North  rose  higher  and  higher.  The  President  himself  and  the  chief  supporters 
of  his  administration  had  for  years  made  no  concealment  of  their  desire  that  all  men 
every-where  should  be  free.  The  occasion  was  at  hand.  Mr.  Lincoln  seized  and 
generalized  the  facts,  embodied  them  in  his  owa  words,  and  became  for  all  time 
the  oracle  and  interpreter  of  National  Necessity. — The  Author.] 

Whereas,  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  on» 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  a  proclamation  wras  issued  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  containing  among  other  things  the  following,  to  wit: 

“That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  any  State,  or  designated 
part  of  a  State,  the  people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  shall  be  then,  thenceforward  and  forever  free,  and  the  executive  government  of 
the  United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authority  thereof,  will  recognize 
and  maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress  such 
persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts  they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

“  That  the  executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January  aforesaid,  by  proclama¬ 
tion,  designate  the  States  and  parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the  people  thereof 
respectively  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States;  and  the  fact  that 
any  State,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented  in 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elections  wherein  a 
majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  such  State  shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the 
absence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence  that  such 
State  and  the  people  thereof  are  not  then  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States.” 

Now,  therefore,  T,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  by  virtue 
of  the  power  in  me  vested  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the 
United  States  in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against  the  authority  and  government 
of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  fit  and  necessary  war  measure  for  suppressing  said 

834 


APPENDIX  G. 


835 


rebellion,  do,  on  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly 
proclaim  for  the  full  period  of  one  hundred  days  from  the  day  the  first  above- 
mentioned,  order  and  designate,  as  the  States  and  parts  of  States  wherein  the  people 
thereof  respectively  are  this  day  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  the  following, 
to  wit: 

Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana,  (except  the  parishes  of  St.  Bernard,  Plaquemines, 
Jefferson,  St.  John,  St.  Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  Assumption,  Terre  Bonne, 
Lafourche,  St.  Mary,  St.  Martin,  and  Orleans,  including  the  city  of  New  Orleans),  Mis¬ 
sissippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  and 
Virginia  (except  the  forty-eight  counties  designated  as  West  Virginia,  and  also  the 
counties  of  Berkley,  Accomac,  Northampton,  Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess  Ann,  and 
Norfolk,  including  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth),  and  which  excepted  parts 
are,  for  the  present,  left  precisely  as  if  this  Proclamation  were  not  issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  I  do  order  and  declare 
that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  said  designated  States  and  parts  of  States  are,  and 
henceforward  shall  be  free ;  and  that  the  executive  government  of  the  United  States, 
including  the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the 
freedom  of  said  persons. 

And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be  free,  to  abstain  from  all 
violence,  unless  in  necessary  self-defence,  and  I  recommend  to  them  that  in  all  cases, 
when  allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 

And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such  persons  of  suitable  condition 
will  be  received  into  the  armed  service  of  the  United  States  to  garrison  forts,  positions, 
stations,  and  other  places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice,  warranted  by  the 
Constitution,  upon  military  necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind 
and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God. 


In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  name,  and  caused  the  seal  of  the 
United  States  to  be  affixed. 


Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our 
[  L.  s.  ]  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  of  the  Independence 

of  the  United  States  the  eighty-seventh. 


By  the  President : 


Abraham  Lincoln.  . 


William  H.  Seward, 

Secretary  of  State. 


PRONTOTCIATIOlSr  OF  PROPER  IsTAMES. 

[E.,  English;  F.,  French;  S.,  Spanish;  P.,  Portugese;  It.,  Italian;  G.,  German;  N.,  Norse;  8w. 
Swedish;  Pol.,  Polish;  L.,  Latin;  I.,  Indian.] 


Abenaki  [I.],  8,b-e-nah-kl. 

Abercrombie  [E.],  ftb-er-kruin-bi. 

Adet  [F.],  ah-da. 

Adolphus  [L.],  a-dol-fus. 

Aix-la-Chapelle  [F.],  aks-lah-shah-pfil. 
Algonquin  [I.],  &I-g6n-kbu. 

Almonte  [S.],  al-mon-te. 

Alvarado  [S.],  al-va-rali-dO. 

Ambrister  [E.],  hm-bris-ter. 

Amerigo  Vespucci  [It.],  ali-mer-e-gO  ves- 
poot-che. 

Amidas  [E.],  um-id-S.s. 

Ampudia  [S.],  am-poo-di-a. 

Andre  [F.],  iin-dra. 

Antietam  [E.],  an-te-t2,m. 

Antonio  de  Espego  [S.],  ahn-to-m-O  da  es- 
pa-hc. 

Arbuthnot  [E.],  ahr-buth-not. 

Arista  [S.],  ah-ris-ta. 

Armada  [S.],  ahr-mah-da. 

Ashe  [E.],  ftsh. 

Au  Glaize  [F.],  C-glaz. 

Ayavalia  [S.],  l-ah-vakl-yil. 

Ayotla  [S.],  I-ot-la. 

Aztecs  [I.],  Sz-teks. 

Bahia  [S.],  bah-e-a. 

Balfour  [E.],  bal-foor. 

Barron  [E.],  bahr-ron. 

Baum  [E.],  bavin. 

Baumarchais  [F.],  bo-mahr-sha. 

Bayard  [E.^,  bi-ahrd. 

Beaujeu  [F.],  b5-zhii. 

Beauregard  [F.]}  bo-ra-gahrd. 

Beau-Sejout  [F.],  bO-sa-zhoor. 

Bellomont  [E.],  bvl-o-mont. 

Bernard  [E.],  ber-nahrtl. 

Bienville  [F.],  be-ong-vel. 

Blennerhassett  [E.],  blen-ner-h&s-sfit. 

Blyth  [E.],  hlith. 

Boscawen  [E.],  bos-kaw-en. 

Buddhist  [Sanscrit],  bood-dist. 

Bulkeley  [E.],  bulk-li. 

Burgoyne  [E.],  bur-goin 
Cabot  [E.],  kftb-5t. 

Cadwallader  [E.],  k5.d-wahl-ia-d§r. 
Canonchet  [I.],  ka-non-shet. 

Canon icus  [I.],  ka-non-i-kus. 

Canseau  [F.],  k&n-s5. 

Carleton  [E.]  kahrl-tun. 

Cartier  [F.],  kahr-ti-a. 

Casimer  [Sw.],  kits -i-rnSr. 

Castin  [F.],  kas-tfin. 

Chabot  [F.],  sha-bo. 

Cham  [Tartar],  kftin. 

Champe  [EJ,  kfimp. 

Champlain  [F.],  sh&m-pllla. 

836 


Chapultepec  [S.],  kah-pool-t5-pSk. 
Chaudiere  [F.],  sho-de-ar. 

Chauncey  [E.],  eliawn-.se. 

Cherbourg  [F.],  sher-boorg. 

Cherokee  [I.],  chfer-O-ke. 

Chickamauga  [E.],  chik-a-maw-gA 
Chickasaws  [1.],  chik-a-sawz. 

Chicora  [S.],  che-ko-ra. 

Chignecto  [I.],  she-nek-tO. 

Chihuahau  [S.],  she-wali-wah. 

Choctaws  [I.],  chok-tawz. 

Christison  [Sw.],  krls-tl-suo. 

Christophe  [S.],  kris-to-fe. 

Chrysler  [E.],  kris-ler. 

Churubusco  [S.],  koo-roo-boos-kO. 
Clarendon  [E.],  klhr  en-dun. 

Cochrane  [E.],  kok-ran. 

Coligni  [F.],  ko-len-ye. 

Columbus  [L.],  kO-luin-bus. 

Comancbes  [I.],  kO-m&n-chez. 

Conde  [F.],  kon-da. 

Contreras  [S.],  kon-tra-ras. 

Copernicus  [L.],  ko-per-m-kus. 

Copley  [E.],  kop-le. 

Corees  [I.],  ko-rez. 

Cornwallis  [E.],  kawrn-wahl-lis. 

Credit  Mobil ier  [F.],  cra-di-mC-bil-I-Sj; 
Croghan  [E.],  krog-han. 

Dacres  [E.],  dilk-erz. 

Dahlgren  [E.],  d&l-gren. 

Darrah  [E.],  dalir-rah. 

D’Anville  [F.],  dong-vel. 

D’Aubrey  [F.J,  dG-bra. 

Daye  [E.],  da. 

De  Barras  [F.],  du  bahr-rafcu 
Decatur  [E.],  de-ka-tur. 

De  Fleury  [F.J,  du  flur-L 
De  Grasse  [F.J,  du  grds. 

De  Kalb  [F.J,  du  kahlb. 

Delaplace  [F.],  du-l&plftg. 

De  Monts  [F.],  du  ■nong. 

D’Estaing  [F.],  da-stdng. 

De  Ternay  [F.],  du  ter-na. 

De  Vaca  [S.],  da  vali-kA 
De  Vergor  [F.],  du-var-gor. 

De  Villiers  [F.j,  du-vel-yar. 

De  Vries  [F.],  du  vrez. 

Dieskau  [F.],  de-es-ko. 

Dominic  de  Gourges  [F.],  dO-min-Bk  dfl 
goorg. 

Dongan  [E.],  diin-g&n. 

Doniphan  [E.],  don-i-fan. 

Dupont  [E.],  du-pont. 

Du  Quesne  [F.],  de-kan. 

Dvar  [E.],  di-Sir. 

Eldorado  [S.],  el-dO-rah-dO. 


PRONUNCIATION  OF  PROPER  NAMES. 


837 


Elkswatawa  [I.],  elks-wah-tah-wah. 
Emucfau  [I.],  e-mook-faw. 

Endicott  [E.],  en-di-kot. 

Ericsson  [E.],  er-Iks-sun. 

Erskine  [E.],  er-slun. 

Esopus  [E.],  e-so-pus. 

Esquimaux  [I.],  es-ki-mSz. 

Farragut  [E.]  falir-ra-gu. 

Ferdinand  de  Soto  [S.],  fer-di-nahnd  da 
so-to. 

Ferdinand  Gorges  [E.],  fer-dl-nand  gor-jez. 
Ferdinand  Magellen  [P.],  fer-di-nand  ma- 
jel-lan. 

Ferguson  [E.],  fur-gu-sun. 

Fernandez  de  Cordova  [S.],  fer-nahn-deth 
da  kor-do-va. 

Fernando  Cortez  [S.],  fer-nahn-d<3  kor-teth. 
Fouchet  [F.],  foo-sha. 

Fraser  [E.],  tra-zer. 

Freneau  [E.],  fre-no. 

Frobisher  [E.],  frob-Ish-er. 

Frontenac  [F.],  fron-te-n&k. 

Gabarus  [E.],  ga-bdr-us. 

Galileo  [It.],  gah-ll-la-o. 

Gambier  [F.],  gahm-bi-a. 

Ganowanian  [I.],  galm-5-wahn-I.an. 
Gaspar  Cortereal  [P.],  gahs-palir  kOr-td-ra- 
altl. 

Gaspe  [F.],  gas-pa. 

Gawen  [E.j,  gaw-en. 

Genet  [F.L  zhe-na. 

Gillis  [G.J,  gil-lis. 

Gladwyn  [E.],  gldd-win. 

Gloucester  [E.],  glos-ter. 

Godyn  [El],  go-din. 

Goffe  [E.],  gawf. 

Gorgeana  [E.],  gor-je-dn-a. 

Gosnold  [E.],  gos-nOld. 

^oulburn  [E.],  gool-burn. 

Grierson  [E.],  grer-sun. 

Grijalva  [S.],  gre-halil-va. 

Guerriere  [F.],  ger-rl-ar. 

Gustavus  [L.],  gus-ta-vus. 

Hakluyt  [E.],  hdk-loot. 

Havre  de  Grace  [F.],  hahver-du-grds. 
Hayne  [E.],  han. 

Heister  [G.],  hls-ter. 

Herjr'.fson  [N.],  har-yoolf-s5n. 

Herkimer  [E.],  hur-ki-mer. 

Hertel  [F.],  her-tel. 

Hochelaga  [I.],  hok-e-lah-ga. 

Hosset  [G.],  hos-set. 

Houston  [E.],  hows-tun. 

Hovenden  [E.],  ho-ven-den. 

Hugenots  [F.],  hu-ge-nots. 

Iroquois  [I.],  ir-0-kwal». 

Isabella  [S.],  iz-a-bSl-la. 

Isle-aux-Noix  [F.],  el-O-nooah. 

Iuka  [E.],  !-yoo-ka. 

Jameson  [E.],  jdin-e-sun. 

Joris  [G.],  yo-ris. 

Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  [S.],  hwahn  pon*tha 
da  la-on. 

49 


Juarez  [S.],  bwaw-rgth. 

Jumonville  [F.],  zhe-mong-vel. 
Kamtchatkans  [I.],  kam-tchdt-k&nz. 
Kearney  [E.],  kahr-ne. 

Kearsarge  [E.],  kalir-sahr-gS,  or  kftr-eahij 
Kieft  [E.],  keft. 

Klamaths  [I.],  kldm-aths. 

Knowlton  [E.],  nol-tun. 

Knyphausen  [G.],  nep-how-sen. 

Kosciusko  [Pol.],  kds-sl-tts-ko. 

Kossuth  [G.],  k5s-shoot. 

Koszta  [Hungarian],  kot-ta. 

La  Colle  [F.],  la-kol. 

La  Fayette  [F.],  la-fa-et. 

La  Fitte  [F.],  la-fit. 

La  Roche  [F.],  la-rosh. 

La  Roque  [F.],  la-rok. 

La  Salle  [F.],  la-sdl. 

Lathrop  [E.],  la-thrup. 

Laudonniere  [F.],  lo-dSn-ni-ar. 

Laurie  [E.],  law-rl. 

La  Vega  [S.],  lab  va-ga. 

Le  Bceuf  [F.],  lu-buf. 

Leddra  [E.],  led-ra. 

Ledyard  [E.],  Ied-yahrd. 

Leisler  [G.],  lis-ler. 

Leitch  [E  ],  lech. 

Leverett  [E.],  lev-er-et. 

Leyden  [G  ],  11-den. 

Lief  Erickson  [N.],  lef  6r-ik-sun. 

Lionel  [E.],  ll-o-nel. 

Lopez  [S.],  lo-peth. 

Loudoun  [E.],  loo-<loon. 

Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  [S.],  loo-kahe 
vahs-keth  da  Il-yon. 

Liitzen  [G.],  letz-en. 

Luzerne  [Swiss],  loo-zern. 

Maedonough  [E.],  mak-don-(5. 

Macdougall  [E.],  mak-doo-gal. 

Macomb  [E.],  ma-kom. 

Magaw  [E.],  ma-gaw. 

Mandeville  [E.],  mfin-de-vll. 

Manteo  [I.],  malin-te-o. 

Manuel  [P.],  malin-oo-al. 

Markham  [E.],  niahrk-am. 

Marlborough  [E],  mahrl-bru. 

Massasoit  [I.],  mas-sds-O-it. 

Mather  [E.],  mdthe-er. 

Matoaka  [I.],  mat-5-dk-a. 

Matthews  [E.],  mdth-uz. 

Maurepas  [F.],  mO-re-pah. 

Maximilian  [G.],  max-i-mil-ydn. 
McCullough  [E.],  mak-kul-lc. 

McIntosh  [E.],  mdk-in-tosh. 

Meacham  [E.],  me-cham.  • 

Meigs  [E.],  raegz. 

Meta  Incognita  [L.],  me-ta  in-c6g-nI-tS» 
Miantonomoh  [I.],  mi-an-t5-no-m0. 
Micanopy  [I.],  mI-kfin-6-pi. 

Minuit  [G.],  mln-oo-xt. 

Mohegan  [I.],  mo-he-gdn. 

Monckton  [E.],  munk-tun. 

Monk  [E.],  m ii nk. 


838 


PRONUNCIATION  OF  PROPER  NAMES. 


Montcalm  [F.],  mont-kahm. 

Monteano  [S.],  mOn-ta-ahn-O. 

Montezuma  [I.],  mon-te-zoo-mS,. 
Montmorenci  [F.],  mont-mO-ren-si. 

Mosley  [E.],  inos-le. 

Moultrie  [E.],  mol-tri. 

Nairne  [E.],  narn. 

Nassau  [F.],  nas-so. 

Naumkeag  [1.],  nawm-ke-fig. 

Nipmucks  [I.],  nip-muks. 

Nueces  [S.],  nwa-ses. 

Ocklawaha  [I.],  ok-la-wah-hah. 

Odeneal  [E.],  o-den-el. 

Oglethorpe  [E.],  o-gel -thorp. 

O’Hara  [E.],  O-halir-ra. 

Ojeda  [S.],  O-ha-da. 

Okeechobee  [I.],  O-kg-cho-be. 

Oldham  [E.],  old-am. 

Olustee  [E.],  O-lus-te. 

Opecancanough  [I.],  0-pe-k&n-k&n-6. 
Orapax  [I.],  or-a  pakx. 

Osceola  [I.],  os-se-o-la. 

Oswald  [E.],  os-wawld. 

Ouatanon  [I.],  waht-a-n5n. 

Oxenstiern  [Sw.],  oks-en-stgrn. 

Pamphilo  de  Narvaez  [_S.],  pahm-fe-lO  da 
nahr-vali-eth. 

Pascua  Florida  [L.],  pahs-koo-a  flor-x-da. 
Pauw  [Gr.],  paw. 

Pedro  Menendez  [S.].  pa-drO  ma-len-deth. 
Peraaquid  [I.],  pem-a-kwld. 

Pepperell  [E.],  pep-per-el. 

Pequod  [I.],  pe-kwod. 

X  eroic  [S.J,  pa-ro-te. 

Pigot  [E.],  pig-o t. 

Pinta  [S.],  pen-ta. 

Pitcairn  [E.],  pit-karn. 

Pizarro  [S.],  pe-tlialir-rO. 

Pocahontas  [I.],  pok-a-hon-t&s. 

Poictiers  [F.J,  pwah-te-h. 

Point  au  Trembles  [F.],  pwan  to  tratambl. 
Pontchartrain  [F.],  pOn-shahr-tran. 
Poutrincourt  [F.],  poo-tran-koor. 
Powhatan  [I.],  pow-hat-an. 

Presque  Isle  [F.J.  presk  el. 

Prevost  [E.],  prev-5st. 

Prideaux  [F.l,  pre-do. 

Pulaski  [Pol  ],  poo-lahs-kT. 

Quantrell  [E.",  kwahn-trel. 

Queretaro  [S.],  ka-ra-tali-rO. 

Rahl  [Gr.],  ralil. 

Releigh  [E.J,  raw-11. 

Rate  li  tie  [E.j,  rdt-kllf. 

Rawdon  [E.],  raw-dun. 

Raymbault  [F.J,  ram-bd. 

Revere  [E.J,  re-ver. 

Riall  [E.],  rl-al. 

Ribault  [F.],  re-bo. 

Roberval  [F.J,  rOb-er-vakl. 

Rochambeau  [F.],  rO-sham-bd, 

Rochelle  [F.],  rO-shel. 

Roderigo  Triana  [S.],  rOd-re-gO  trfi-ab-nS.. 
Rosecrans  [G.j,  rds-e  krahns. 


Ryswick  [G.],  res-wlk. 

Saltillo  [S.],  sahl-tel-yO. 

Samosset  [I.],  sftm-O-set. 

Santa  Maria  [S.],  sahn-ta  mah-re-4. 
Sassacus  [I.],  s&s-sak-us. 

Sayle  [E.J,  sal. 

Schuyler  [E.J,  skl-ler. 

Selish  [I.],  se-llsh. 

Seminoles  [1.],  sem-i-nOlz. 

Sheaflfe  [G.j,  shfif-l'e. 

Shoshonees  [I.],  shO-sho-ngs. 

Sicklemore  [E.J,  sik-el-mOr. 

Sloughter  [E.J,  slo-ter. 

Squanto  [1.],  skwahn-tO. 

St.  Croix  [F.J,  sant-kroi. 

Steuben  [G.],  stu-ben. 

Stirling  [E.J,  stur-llng. 

St.  Leger  [F.J,  san  la-zha. 

Stoughton  [E.J,  sto-tun. 

St.  Pierre  [F.],  san  pg-ar. 

Stuyvesant  [G.J,  sti-ves  ant. 

Subercase  [F.],  se-bgr-kahs. 

Talladega  [I.],  tahl-la-de-ga. 

Tamaulipas  [S.J,  tahm-aw-le-p3,s. 
Tanacharisson  [L.J,  tan-a-k&r-xs-sun. 
Tecumtha  [I.J,  te-kum-tha. 

Theresa  [G.J,  tgr-es-a. 

Thorfinn  Karlsefne  [N.J,  tor-fin  kahrk 
sef-ne. 

Thorstein  Erickson  [N.J,  tor-stln  Sr-lk-sun. 
Tituba  [I.J,  tl-too-ba. 

Tohopeka  [I.J,  tO-hO-pe-ka. 

Tomo-Chichi  [I.J,  to-mO-cbe-chl 
Van  Rensselaer  [E.J,  van  rens-se-lahr. 
Van  Twiller  [G.J,  van  twel-ler. 

Vasco  de  Gama  [P.J,  vahs-ko  da  gab-mil 
Vasco  N unez  de  Ral boa  |_S.],  vahs-ko  uooi 
yeth  da  babl-bo-a. 

Vaudreuil  [F.J,  vo-dru-el. 

Vaughan  [E.J,  vawn. 

Vergennes  [F.J,  ver-zlien. 

Verhulst  [G.J,  var  hoolst. 

Verrazzani  [It.],  ver-rat-tsah-ni. 

Waimnan  [E.],  wan-man. 

Walloons  [G.J,  wahl-loonz. 

Wampanoags  [I.J,  wahm-pan-o-agt 
Warwick  [E.J,  wahr-rlck. 

Waymouth  [E.J,  wa-mutb. 

Welde  [E.J,  wel-de. 

Weitzei  [G.],  wlt-zel. 

Whalley  [E.j,  bwabl-ll. 

Whinyates  [E.J,  h win-vata. 

Whitefield  [E.J,  hwit-fgld. 

Wingina  [I.J,  wxn-ge-na. 

Worcester  [E.J,  woos-tgr 
Wouter  [G.J,  woo-ter. 

Xeres  [S.J,  ha-reth. 

Yamacraws  [I.J,  yahm-a-kraws. 

Yeamans  [E.J,  ye-m&nz. 

Yeardley  [E.J,  yurd-11. 

Yougbiogheny  [I.],  yoh-hC-gd**L 
Yuset  [Moorish],  yoo-sel’. 

Zenger  [G.J,  zfen-ger. 


POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  ACCORD¬ 
ING  TO  THE  CENSUS  OF  1890,  WITH 
COMPARATIVE  TABLES. 


Presidents  of  the  United  States— 1789-1892. 


839 


840 


POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  1890, 


STATES  AND  TERRITORIES. 

POPULATION. 

INCREASE  FROM  1880 
TO  1890. 

1890 

1880 

1870 

NUMBER. 

PERCENT¬ 

AGE. 

United  States . 

62,622,250 

60,155,783 

38,558,371 

12,466,467 

24.86 

North  Atlantic  division  . 

17,401,545 

14,507,407 

12,298,730 

2,894,138 

19.95 

Maine . 

661,086 

648,936 

626,915 

12,150 

1.87 

New  Hampshire  . 

376,530 

346,991 

318,300 

29,539 

8.51 

Vermont . 

332,422 

332,286 

330,551 

136 

0.04 

Massachusetts . 

2,238,943 

1,783,085 

1,457,351 

455,858 

25.57 

Rhode  Island . 

345,506 

276,531 

217,353 

68,975 

24.94 

Connecticut . 

746,258 

622,700 

537,454 

123,558 

19.84 

New- York . 

5,997,853 

6,082,871 

4,382,759 

914,982 

18.00 

New  Jersey . 

1,444,933 

1,131,116 

906,096 

313,817 

27.74 

Pennsylvania . 

5,258,014 

4,282,891 

3,521,951 

975,123 

22JT7 

South  Atlantic  division  . 

8,857,920 

7,597,197 

5,853,610 

1,260,723 

16.59 

Delaware . 

168,493 

146,608 

125,015 

21,885 

14.93 

Maryland . . . 

1,042,390 

934,943 

780,894 

107,447 

11.49 

District  of  Columbia . 

230,392 

177,624 

131,700 

52,768 

29.71 

Virginia . 

1,655,980 

1,512,565 

1,225,163 

143,415 

9.48 

West  Virginia . . 

762,794 

618,457 

442,014 

144,337 

23.34 

North  Carolina .  . . 

1,617,947 

1,399,750 

1,071,361 

218,197 

15.59 

South  Carolina . 

1,151,149 

995,577 

705,606 

155,572 

15.63 

Georgia . 

1,837,353 

1,542,180 

1,184,109 

295,173 

19.14 

Florida . 

391,422 

269,493 

187,748 

121,929 

45.24 

Northern  Central  division .... 

22,362,279 

17,364,111 

12,981,111 

4,998,168 

28.78 

Ohio . 

3,672,316 

3,198,062 

2,665,260 

474,254 

14.83 

Indiana . 

2,192,404 

1,978,301 

1,680,637 

214,103 

10.82 

Illinois  . 

3,826,351 

3,077,871 

2,539,891 

748,480 

24.32 

Michigan . 

2,093,889 

1,636,937 

1,184,059 

456,952 

27.92 

Wisconsin . 

1,686,880 

1,315,497 

1,054,670 

371,383 

28.23 

Minnesota  . 

1,301,826 

780,773 

439,706 

621,053 

66.74 

Iowa  . 

1,911,896 

1,624,615 

1,194,020 

287,281 

17.68 

Missouri . 

2,679,184 

2,168,380 

1,721,295 

510,804 

23.56 

North  Dakota . 

182,719 

36,909 

5  145,810 

395.05 

South  Dakota . 

328,808 

98,268 

l  230,540 

234.60 

Nebraska . 

1,058,910 

452,402 

122,993 

606,508 

134.06 

Kansas . 

1,427,096 

996,096 

364,399 

431,000 

43.27 

Southern  Central  division .... 

10,972,893 

8,919,371 

*  6,434,410 

2,053,522 

23.02 

Kentucky . 

1,858,635 

1,648,690 

1,321,011 

209,945 

12.73 

Tennessee . 

1,767,518 

1,542,359 

1,258,520 

225,159 

14.60 

Alabama . 

1,513,017 

1,262,505 

996,992 

250,512 

19.84 

Mississippi . 

1,289,600 

1,131,597 

827,922 

158,003 

13.96 

Louisiana . 

1,118,587 

939,946 

726,915 

178,641 

19.01 

Texas  . 

2,235,523 

1,591,749 

818,579 

643,774 

40.44 

Indian  Territory* * * § . 

Oklahoma . 

t  61,834 

61,834 

Arkansas  . 

1,128J79 

802,525 

484,471 

325^654 

40.58 

Western  division . 

3,027,613 

1,767,697 

990,510 

1,259,916 

71.27 

Montana . 

132,159 

39,159 

20,595 

93,000 

237.49 

Wyoming . 

60,705 

20,789 

9,118 

39,916 

192.01 

Colorado  . 

412,198 

194,327 

39,864 

217,871 

112.12 

New  Mexico . 

153,593 

119,565 

91,874 

34,028 

28.46 

Arizona . 

69,620 

40,440 

9,658 

19,180 

47.43 

Utah  . 

207,905 

143,963 

86,786 

63,942 

44.42 

Nevada . 

45,761 

62,266 

42,491 

§  16,505 

§  26.51 

Idaho  . 

84,385 

32,610 

14,999 

51,775 

158.77 

Alaska  J . 

Washington . 

349,390 

75,116 

23,955 

274,274 

365.13 

Orevon  . 

313,767 

174,768 

90,923 

138,999 

79.53 

California . 

1,208,130 

864,694 

560,247 

343,436 

39.72 

*  The  number  of  white  persons  in  the  Indian  Territory  is  not  included  in  this  table,  as  the  cen¬ 
sus  of  Indians  and  other  persons  on  Indian  reservations,  which  was  made  a  subject  of  special 
investigation  by  Jaw,  has  not  yet  been  completed, 

t  Including  5,338  persons  in  Greer  County  (in  Indian  Territory) ,  claimed  by  Texas. 

t  The  number  of  white  persons  in  Alaska  is  not  included  in  this  table,  as  the  census  of  Alaska, 
which  was  made  a  subject  of  special  investigation  by  law,  has  not  yet  been  completed. 

§  Decrease. 


POPULATION  OF  CITIES. 


841 


The  following  tables  give  the  population  of  important  towns  and  cities  in  1880  and  the  popula¬ 
tion  of  the  same  in  1890. 


ALABAMA  — 

1880 

1890 

1880 

1890 

Birmingham . 

too  . 

. .  26,241 

ILLINOIS  — 

Huntsville . 

4,977  . 

4,635 

Alton . 

8,975 

10,184 

Mobile . 

29,132  . 

31,822 

11 

19  534. 

Montgomery . 

16;713  . 

. .  21,790 

Batavia . 

2,639 

3,6i3 

Selma . 

7,529  . 

7,626 

Belleville . 

.  . .  10,683 

15,360 

ARIZONA —  (Prescott) 

Belvidere . 

2,951 

3,863 

Tucson  . 

7,007  . 

5,095 

Bloomington . 

. . .  17,180 

* 

22,242 

ARKANSAS  — 

Cairo . 

9,011 

10,044 

Helena . 

3,624  . 

5,185 

Canton  . 

3,762 

5,589 

Little  Rock . 

13,138  . 

. .  26,500 

Centralia  . 

3,621 

4,762 

Texarkana  . 

3,223  . 

3,486 

Champaign . 

5,103 

5,827 

CALIFORNIA  — 

Charleston . 

2,867 

4,135 

Alameda . 

5,708  . 

Chicago 

fiO.8,185 

1  OQQ  188 

Eureka . 

4,834 

Collinsville  .... 

2,887 

3 

Fresno . 

1,112  . 

. .  10,796 

Clinton . 

2,709 

2,596 

Los  Angeles . 

11,183  . 

. .  50,394 

Danville . 

7,733 

11,528 

Marysville . 

4,321  . 

3,936 

Decatur . 

9,547 

16,841 

Napa  City . 

4,387 

Dixon  . . 

n  149 

Oakland ' . 

34,555  . 

. .  48,590 

East  St.  Louis . 

9,185 

15,156 

Petaluma . 

3,686 

Edwardsville . 

2,887 

3,579 

Sacramento . 

21,420  . 

. .  26,272 

Elgin . 

8,787 

17,425 

San  Diego . 

2,637  . 

16,153 

Effingham  . 

3,065 

3,260 

San  Francisco . 

233,959  . 

. .  297,990 

Freeport . 

8,516 

10,159 

San  Jos6 . 

12,567  . 

. .  18,027 

Galena . 

6,541 

6,406 

Santa  Rosa . 

3,616  . 

5,216 

Galesburg . 

. . .  11,437 

16,212 

Stockton . 

10,282  . 

14,376 

Jacksonville . 

10,927 

12,357 

Vallejo  . 

5,987  . 

5,904 

Jersey  ville . 

2,894 

.... 

3,204 

COLORADO— 

Joliet . 

. . .  11,657 

27,407 

Colorado  Springs . 

4,226  . 

. .  11,200 

Kankakee . 

5,651 

7,300 

Denver . 

35,629  . 

. .  106,670 

Kewanee . 

2,704 

4,554 

Leadville . 

14,820  . 

. .  11,159 

La  Salle . 

7,847 

11,610 

Pueblo  . 

3,217  . 

. .  28,128 

Lincoln . 

5,639 

6,125 

CONNECTICUT  — 

Litchheld . 

5,798 

Bridgeport . 

27,643  . 

..  48,856 

Mattoon . 

5,737 

6,829 

Bristol . 

5,347  . 

7,374 

Moline . 

7,800 

11,995 

Danbury . 

11,666  . 

. .  19,385 

Monmouth . 

5,000 

.... 

5,837 

Greenwich  — . 

7,892  . 

..  10,120 

Morrison . 

1,981 

.... 

2,500 

Groton . 

5,128  . 

6,511 

Nashville . 

2,222 

2,083 

liurllord . 

42,015  . 

. .  53,182 

Olney  . 

3,512 

3,828 

Manchester . 

6,462  . 

8,217 

Ottawa . 

7,834 

9,971 

Meriden . 

15,540  . 

. .  21,230 

Paris . 

4,373 

5,049 

Middletown . 

6,826  . 

9,012 

Pana  . 

3,009 

5,067 

Naugatuck . 

4,274  . 

6.219 

Peoria . 

. . .  29,259 

40,758 

New  Britain . 

11,800  . 

19,010 

Pontiac . 

2,242 

.... 

3,200 

New  Haven . 

62.8S2  . 

. .  85,981 

Ouincy . 

. . .  27,268 

31,478 

New  London . 

10,537  . 

..  13,759 

Rockford  . 

. . .  13,129 

23,589 

Norwalk . 

5,308  . 

7,739 

Rock  Island . 

. . .  11,659 

13,596 

Norwich . 

15,112  . 

. .  16,192 

Shelby  ville . 

2,939 

3,162 

Plainfield . 

4,021  . 

4,519 

Sandwich . 

2,352 

2,505 

Portland . 

4,157  . 

4,682 

Springfield . 

. . .  19,743 

24,852 

Putnam . 

5,827  . 

6,511 

Sterling . 

.... 

5,822 

Southington . 

5,411  . 

5,499 

Streator . 

5,157 

9,671 

Stafford  . 

4,455 

W aukegan  . 

4,012 

5,345 

Stamford . 

11,297  . 

. .  13,685 

INDIANA— 

Thompson . 

5,051  . 

5,593 

Auderson . 

4,126 

10,759 

Vernon . 

6,915  . 

8,807 

Aurora  . 

4,435 

3,928 

Wallingford . 

4,686  . 

6,538 

Brazil . 

3,441 

5.902 

Waterbury . 

17,806  . 

. .  28,591 

Columbus . 

4,813 

6,705 

DELAWARE  —  (Dover) 

Crawfordsville  . . . . 

5,251 

6,086 

Wilmington . 

42,478  . 

. .  61,437 

Elkhart . 

6,953 

11,489 

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA  — 

Evansville . 

50,674 

Washington . 

147,293  . 

. .  229,796 

Fort  Wayne . 

. . .  26,880 

35,349 

FLORIDA- 

Frankfort  . 

2,803 

5,918 

Jacksonville . 

7,650  . 

. .  17,139 

Franklin . 

3,116 

3,783 

Key  West  . 

6,890  . 

. .  16,058 

Goshen . 

4,123 

6,027 

Pensacola . 

6,845  . 

..  11,751 

Greensburg . 

3,138 

3,581 

Tallahassee . 

2,933 

Huntington . 

3,174 

.... 

7,300 

GEORGIA— 

Indianapolis . 

. . .  75,056 

107,445 

Athens . 

6,099  . 

8,627 

Jeffersonville . 

9,357 

11,274 

Atlanta . 

37,409  . 

. .  65,515 

Kokomo . 

4,042 

8,224 

Augusta . 

21,891  . 

. .  33,150 

Lafayette . 

. . .  14,860 

.... 

16,283 

Brunswick  . 

2,891  . 

8,403 

La  Porte . 

7,122 

Columbus . 

10,123  . 

. .  18,650 

Lawrenceburg . 

4,668 

4,280 

Dalton . 

. 

3,030 

Logansport . 

.  .  .  11,198 

.... 

13,798 

Macon . 

12,479  . 

. .  22,698 

Madison . 

8,945 

8,923 

Milledgeville . 

3,306 

Michigan  City . 

7,366 

10,704 

Rome . 

3,877  . 

6,950 

Mishawaka  . 

2,640 

.... 

3,369 

Savannah . 

30,709  . 

..  41,762 

Mount  Vernon . 

.  .  .  . 

4,710 

842 


POPULATION  OF  CITIES, 


1880 

1890 

1880 

1890 

Muncie . 

.  12,883 

Bangor . 

16,856  . . 

.  19,090 

New  Albany . 

.  21,000 

Bath . 

7,874  . . 

8,713 

Peru . 

6,730 

Belfast . 

5,308  . . 

5,235 

Plymouth . 

2,723 

Biddeford . 

12,651  . . 

.  14,418 

Princeton . 

6,494 

Brunswick  . 

5,384  . . 

6,998 

Richmond . 

. .  12,472  . . 

.  161849 

Calais . 

6,173  . . 

7,227 

Seymour . 

4,250  . . 

5,307 

Camden . 

4,386  . . 

4,621 

South  Beud . 

.  21,786 

Cape  Elizabeth . 

5,302  . . 

5,209 

Terre  Haute . 

26,042  . . 

.  31,000 

Deering . 

4,324  . . 

5,337 

Valparaiso . 

4,461  . . 

5,083 

Eastport . 

4,006  . . 

4,899 

Vincennes . 

7,680  . . 

8,815 

Ellsworth . 

5,052  . . 

4,784 

Wabash . 

3,800  . . 

5,196 

Gardiner . 

4,439  . . 

5,484 

Washington . 

4,323  . . 

6,052 

Lewiston . 

19,083  . . 

.  21,668 

Warsaw . 

3,123  . . 

3,559 

Portland . 

33,810  . . 

.  36,608 

IOWA  — 

Rockland . 

7,599  . . 

8,137 

Boone  . 

3,330  . . 

6,518 

Saco . 

6,389  . . 

6,075 

Burlington . 

. .  19,450  . . 

.  26,000 

Water  ville . 

4,672  . . 

7,091 

Cedar  Falls  . 

3,020  . . 

3,598 

MARYLAND  — 

Cedar  Rapids . 

10,104  . . 

.  17,977 

Annapolis . 

6,642  . . 

7,625 

Charles  City . 

2,421  . . 

2,798 

Baltimore  . 

332,313  . . 

.  433,547 

Clinton . 

9,052  . . 

.  14,000 

Cumberland . 

10,693  . . 

10,030 

Council  Bluffs . 

. .  18,063  . . 

.  21,388 

Frederick . 

8,659  . . 

9,621 

Creston . 

5,081  . . 

7,119 

Hagerstown . 

6,627  . . 

.  11,698 

Davenport . 

. .  21,831  . . 

.  25,161 

Havre  de  Grace . 

2,816  . . 

3,219 

lies  homes . 

. .  22,408  . . 

.  60,067 

Salisbury . 

2,581  . . 

2,905 

Dubuque . 

. .  22,254  . . 

.  30,147 

MASSACHUSETTS  — 

Fairfield . 

3,086  . . 

3,379 

Abington . 

3,697  . . 

4,244 

Fort  Madison . 

4,679  . . 

7,906 

Adams . 

5,591  . . 

9,217 

Grinnell . 

2,415  . . 

3,327 

Amesbury . 

3,355  . . 

9,797 

Iowa  City . 

7,123  . . 

5,628 

Amherst  . 

4,298  .  . 

4,501 

Keokuk . 

. .  12,117  . . 

.  14,075 

Andover . 

5,169  . . 

6,127 

Lyons  . 

4,095  . . 

5,791 

Arlington . 

4,100  .  . 

5,625 

Marshalltown . 

6,240  . . 

9,308 

Athol . . 

4,307  . . 

6,318 

Mason  City . 

2,510  . . 

4,002 

Attleborough . 

11,111  . . 

7,57t 

Mount  Pleasant. . . . 

4,410  .  . 

4,918 

Barnstable . 

4,242  . . 

4,022 

Muscatine . 

8,295  . . 

.  11,432 

Beverly . 

8,456  . . 

.  10,795 

Newton . 

2,607  . . 

2,563 

Blackstone . 

4,907  . . 

6,137 

Oskaloosa . 

4,598  . . 

7,300 

Boston . 

362,839  . . 

.  446,507 

Ottumwa . 

9,004  .  . 

14,500 

Braintree . 

4,848 

Sioux  City . 

7,366  . . 

.  37,862 

Brockton  . 

13,608  . . 

.  27,278 

Waterloo . 

5,630  . . 

6,679 

Bridgewater . 

3,652 

KANSAS  — 

Brookline . . 

8,057  . . 

.  12,076 

Atchison . 

. .  15,105  . . 

.  14,222 

Cambridge . 

52,669  . . 

.  69,837 

Emporia . 

4,631  .  . 

7,550 

Canton  . 

4,516  . . 

4,521 

Fort  Scott . 

5,372  . . 

11,837 

Chelsea . 

21,782  . . 

.  27,850 

Independence . 

3,128  .  . 

3,121 

Chicopee . 

11,286  . . 

.  14,007 

Junction  City . 

2,684  . . 

4,477 

Clinton  . 

8,029  . . 

.  10,379 

Lawrence . 

8,510  .  . 

9,975 

Danvers . 

6,598  . . 

7,446 

Leavenworth . 

. .  16,546  . . 

.  21,613 

Dedham . 

6,233  . . 

7,116 

Manhattan . 

2,105  . . 

2,972 

Deerfield  . 

. .  ,  , 

2,905 

Newton . 

2,601  . . 

5,602 

Easthampton . 

4,206  . . 

4,381 

Olathe . 

2,285  . . 

3,290 

Everett . 

4,159  . . 

.  11,040 

Osage  City . 

2,098  . . 

3,222 

Fall  River . 

48,961  . . 

.  74,351 

Oswego . 

2,351  . . 

2,522 

Fitchburg . 

12,429  . . 

.  22,007 

Ottawa . . 

4,032-  . . 

6,271 

Framington . 

6,235  . . 

9,636 

Parsons  . 

4,199  . . 

6,736 

Franklin . 

4,051  . . 

4,824 

Salina . 

3,111  . . 

6,031 

Gardner . 

4,988  . . 

8,386 

Topeka . 

. .  15,452  . . 

31,809 

Gloucester . 

19,329  . . 

.  21,262 

Wichita  . 

4,911  . . 

24,000 

Grafton . 

4,030  . . 

4,989 

KENTUCKY— 

Great  Barrington  .... 

4,663  . . 

4,607 

Bowling  Green  .... 

5,114  .. 

7,722 

Haverhill . 

18,472  . . 

.  27,322 

Covington . 

. .  29,720  . . 

.  37,375 

Hingham . 

4,485  . . 

4,517 

Danville . 

3,074  . . 

3,765 

Holyoke  . 

21,915  . . 

.  35,528 

Frankfort . 

8,500 

Hopkinton . 

4,601  . . 

4,078 

Henderson . 

5,365  . . 

9,500 

Hudson . 

3,739  . . 

4,666 

Hopkinsville . 

4,229  . . 

6,457 

Hyde  Park . 

7,088  . . 

10,200 

Lexington . 

. .  16,656  . . 

.  22,355 

Lawrence . 

39,151  . . 

44,559 

Louisville . 

. .  123,758  . . 

.  161,005 

Lee . 

3,939  . . 

3,778 

Maysville . 

5,220  . . 

6,350 

Leominster . 

5,772  . . 

7,266 

Newport . 

. .  20,433  . . 

24,938 

Lexington . 

3,197 

Owensboro . 

6,231  . . 

9,918 

Lowell . 

59,475  . . 

77,605 

Paducah . 

8,036  . . 

.  13,024 

Lynn . 

38,274  . . 

.  55,684 

Taris . 

3,204  . . 

5,505 

Malden . 

12,017  . . 

.  22,984 

Richmond . 

2,909  . . 

4,737 

Marblehead . 

7,467  . . 

8,200 

LOUISIANA  — 

Marlborough . 

10,127  . . 

.  13,788 

Baton  Rouge . 

10,397 

Medford . 

7,573  . . 

.  10,052 

New  Orleans . 

. .  216,090  . . 

.  241,995 

Melrose . 

4,560  . . 

8,500 

Shreveport . 

8,009  . . 

.  11,482 

Methuen . 

4,392  . . 

4,807 

MAINE  — 

Middleborough . 

6,237  . . 

6,052 

Auburn . 

9,555  .  . 

11,228 

Milford . 

9,310  . . 

8,769 

Augusta  . 

.  10,521 

Millbury . 

4,741  . . 

.  4,427 

POPULATION  OF  CITIES. 


8-13 


Milton . 

Montague . 

Nantucket . 

Natick . 

NeecLham . 

New  Bedford . 

Newburyport  .... 

Newton . 

North  Adams 
Northampton 

Northb  ridge . 

North  Brookfield 

Orange . 

Palmer . 

Peabody . 

Pittsfield . 

Plymouth . 

Provincetown 

Quincy . 

Beading . 

Randolph . 

Revere  . 

Rockland. . . . 

Salem . 

Salisbury . 

Saugus  . 

Somerville . 

Southbridge . 

South  Hadley 

Spencer  . 

Springfield . 

Stoneham . 

Stoughton . 

Taunton . 

Wakefield . 

Waltham . 

Ware . 

Warren . 

Watertown . 

Webster . 

Westborough . 

Westfield . 

West  Springfield . 

Winchester . 

Weymouth . 

Williamstown 

Winchendon . 

Woburn . 

Worcester . 

MICHIGAN  — 

Adrian . 

Allegan . 

Alpena  . 

Ann  Arbor . 

Battle  Creek . 

Bay  City . 

Cadillac . 

Cheboygan . 

Cold  water . 

Detroit . 

East  Saginaw 

Flint . 

Grand  Haven 
Grand  Rapids. . . . 

Greenville . 

Hastings . 

Hillsdale . 

Ionia . 

Ishpeming . 

Jackson  . 

Kalamazoo . 

Laming . 

Ludington . 

Manistee . 

Marquette . 

Marshall . 

Menominee . 

Monroe . 

Muskegon . 

Niles . 

Pontiac . 


1880 

1890 

. 

4,278 

4,875  . . 

6,292 

. 

3,268 

8,479  . . 

9,116 

5,252  . . 

3,034 

26,845  . . 

.  40,705 

13,538  . . 

.  13,914 

16,995  . . 

.  24,357 

10,191  . . 

16,067 

12,172  . . 

.  14,961 

4,053  . . 

4,603 

4,459  . . 

3,859 

. . 

4,563 

5,504  ... 

6,898 

9,028  . . 

.  10,123 

13,364  . . 

17,252 

7.093  . . 

7,292 

4,346  . . 

4,642 

10,570  . . 

.  16,711 

. 

4,081 

4,027  . . 

3,943 

. . 

5,664 

4,553  . . 

6,206 

27,563  . . 

.  30,735 

4,079  . . 

1,306 

3,671 

24,933  . . 

.  40,117 

6,464  . . 

7,744 

3,538  . . 

4,253 

7,466  . . 

8,730 

33,340  . . 

.  44,164 

4,890  . . 

6,140 

4,875  . . 

4,850 

21,213  . . 

.  25,389 

5,547  . . 

6,970 

11,712  .. 

.  18,522 

4,817  . . 

7,329 

• . 

4,678 

5,426  . . 

7,058 

6,696  . . 

7,030 

5,214  . . 

5,229 

7,587  . . 

9,798 

4,149  . . 

5,075 

. 

4,853 

10,570  . . 

.  10,843 

3,394  . . 

4,226 

3,722  . . 

4,388 

10,931  . . 

.  13,491 

58,291  . . 

.  84,536 

7,849  . . 

9,239 

2,305  . . 

2,663 

6,153  . . 

.  11,228 

8,061  . . 

9,509 

7,063  . . 

.  13,090 

20,693  . . 

.  27,826 

. 

4,455 

2,269  . . 

6,244 

4,681  . . 

5,462 

116,340  . . 

.  205,669 

19,016  . . 

.  46,137 

8,409  . . 

9,845 

4,862  . . 

4,988 

32,016  . . 

.  64,147 

3,144  . . 

3,048 

2,531  . . 

2,951 

3,920 

4,190  .. 

6,039  . . 

.  11,184 

16,105  . . 

.  20,779 

8,057  . . 

.  17,857 

8,319  . . 

12,630 

4,190  . . 

7,499 

6,930  . . 

.  12,799 

4,690  . . 

9,096 

.... 

3,957 

3,288  . . 

.  10,606 

4,930  . . 

5,246 

11,262  .. 

.  22,668 

4,197  . . 

4,195 

4,509  . . 

,  6,243 

Port  Huron . 

Saginaw . 

Three  Rivers . 

West  Bay  City . 

Wyandotte . 

Ypsilanti . 

MINNESOTA  — 

Austin . 

Duluth . 

Faribault . 

Hastings . 

Mankato . 

Minneapolis . 

New  Ulm  . 

Red  Wing . 

Rochester . 

Saint  Paul . 

Saint  Peter . 

Stillwater . . 

Winona . 

MISSISSIPPI  — 

Columbus . 

Jackson . 

Meridian . 

Natchez  . . 

Vicksburg . 

Yazoo  City . . . 

MISSOURI  — 

Booneville . 

Brookfield . . 

Cape  Girardeau . 

Carthage . . 

Carrollton  . 

Clinton . . 

Fulton  City . 

Hannibal . 

Holden . 

Independence . 

Jefferson  City . 

Joplin . 

Kausas  City . . 

Lexington . 

Louisiana . . 

Marshall  . 

Macon  City . . 

Moberly . 

Maryville . 

Mexico . 

Saint  Charles . 

Saint  J  oseph . 

Saint  Louis . 

Sedalia . 

Springfield . 

Warrensburg . 

NEBRASKA  — 

Columbus . 

Fremont . 

Hastings . 

Lincoln . 

Nebraska  City . 

Omaha . . 

Plattsmouth . 

NEVADA— 

Carson  City . . 

Virginia  City . 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE  — 

Claremont . 

Concord . . 

Dover . . 

Keene . 

Manchester . 

Nashua . 

Portsmouth . 

Rochester . 

Somersworth . . 

NEW  JERSEY  — 

Atlantic . 

Bayonne  . . 

Bordentown . . 

Bridgeton . 

Burlington  . 


1880 

1890 

8,883 

13,519 

10,525  .... 

46,215 

2,525  .... 

3,122 

6,397  .... 

12,910 

3,631  .... 

3,798 

4,984  .... 

6,128 

2,305  .... 

3,901 

5,415  .... 

32,725 

5,425  .... 

6,524 

3,809  .... 

3,691 

5,550  .... 

8,805 

46,887  .... 

164,738 

2,471  .... 

3,741 

5,876  .... 

6,277 

5,103  .... 

5,321 

41,473  .... 

133,156 

3,436  .... 

3,671 

9,055  .... 

11,239 

10,208  .... 

18,208 

3,955  .... 

4,552 

6,204  .... 

6,041 

4,008  .... 

10,889 

7,058  .... 

10,132 

11,814  .... 

13,298 

2,542  .... 

5,247 

3,854  .... 

4,132 

2,264  .... 

4,534 

3,889  .... 

4,288 

4,167  .... 

7,962 

2,313  .... 

3,858 

2,868  .... 

4,689 

2,409  .... 

4,289 

11,074  .... 

12,816 

2,014  .... 

2,515 

3,146  .... 

6,373 

5,271  .... 

6,732 

7,038  .... 

9,190 

55,785  .... 

132,416 

3,996  .... 

4,538 

4,325  .... 

5,071 

2,701  .... 

4,258 

3,046  .... 

3,350 

6,070  .... 

8,213 

3,485  .... 

4.017 

3,835  .... 

4,789 

5,014  .... 

6,500 

32,431  .... 

52,811 

350,518  .... 

460,357 

9,561  .... 

14,511 

6,522 

21,842 

4,049  .... 

4,682 

2,131  .... 

3,118 

3,013  .... 

6,654 

2,817  .... 

13,793 

13,003  .... 

55,491 

4,183  .... 

11,472 

30,518  .... 

139,526 

4,175  .... 

8,403 

4,229  .... 

4,080 

10,917  .... 

6,377 

4,704  .... 

5,553 

13,843  .... 

16,948 

11,687  .... 

12,779 

6,784  .... 

7,439 

32,630  .... 

43,983 

13,397  .... 

19,266 

9,690  .... 

9,811 

6,784  .... 

7,113 

6,586  .... 

6,447 

5,477  .... 

13,038 

9,372  .... 

18,996 

4,258  .... 

5,045 

8,722  .... 

11,471 

6,090  .... 

8,198 

52 


844 


POPULATION  OF  CITIEIES, 


1880 

Camden .  41,659 

Elizabeth .  28,229 

Gloucester  City .  5,347 

Hackensack .  4,248 

Harrison .  6,898 

Hoboken .  30,999 

Jersey  City .  120,722 

Lambertville .  4,183 

Millville .  7,660 

Morristown .  6,418 

Newark .  136,508 

New  Brunswick .  17,166 

Orange .  13,207 

Passaic .  6,532 

Patersou .  51,031 

Perth  Amboy .  4,808 

Phillipsburg .  7,181 

Plaintield .  8,125 

Kakway .  6,455 

Salem  .  5,036 

Trenton .  29,910 

Yinelaud .  2,519 

Washington .  2,142 

NEW  MEXICO  — 

Santa  Fe .  6,635 

NEW  YORK  — 

Albany .  90,758 

Amsterdam .  9,466 

Auburn .  21,924 

Batavia .  4,845 

Binghamton .  17,317 

Brooklyn .  566,663 

Buffalo .  155,134 

Canandaigua .  5,726 

Catskill .  4,320 

Cohoes .  19,416 

College  Point .  4,192 

Corning .  4,802 

Cortland .  4,050 

Dunkirk .  7,248 

Elmira . . .  20,541 

Fredonia . • 

Fulton . 

Geneva . . .  6,878 

#  Glens  Falls .  4,900 

Gloversvillo .  7,133 

Greenbush .  3,295 

green  Island .  4,160 

oosick  Falls .  4,530 

Hornellsville. .  8,195 

Hudson .  8,670 

Ithaca .  9,105 

Jamestown .  9,357 

Johnstown .  5,013 

Kingston .  18,344 

Lansingburg .  7,432 

Little  Falls .  6,910 

Lockport .  13,522 

Long  Island  City .  17,129 

Malone . 4,193 

Middletown .  8,494 

New  Brighton  .  12,679 

Newburgh .  18,049 

New  York . 1,206,299 

Ogdensburg .  10,341 

Oswego... .  21,116 

Owego .  5,525 

Peekskill.. . . ..  6,893 

Port  Henry .  2,494 

Port  Jervis .  8,678 

Poughkeepsie .  20,207 

Rochester .  89,366 

Rome .  12,194 

Saratoga  Springs .  8,421 

Schenectady .  13,655 

Sing  Sing .  6,578 

Syracuse . . .  51,792 

Tarrytown .  2,684 

Trov . 56,747 

Utica . :T..  33,914 

Waterto  wn .  10,697 


1890 

1880 

1890 

58,274 

West  Troy . 

8,820 

.'...  12,942 

37,670 

Whitehall . 

4,270 

5,346 

6,563 

Yhmkers . . 

18,892 

. . . .  31,949 

6,000 

8,528 

NORTH  CAROLINA— 
Asheville . . 

2,616 

. . . .  10,433 

43,561  . 

Charlotte . . 

7,094 

.  . . .  11,555 

163,987 

Fayetteville . 

3,485 

4,220 

4,138 

Greensborough . 

3,124 

3,317 

9,957 

ItaleigH  . 

9,265 

. . . .  12,798 

8,500 

Salisbury  . 

2,723 

4,436 

181,518 

Wilmington . 

17,350 

. . . .  20,008 

18,459 

Winston . 

2,854 

7,988 

18,774 

13,027 

NORTH  DAKOTA— 
Bismarck . 

1,758 

2,260 

7  8,3j8 
9,476 
8,622 

Fargo . . 

2,693 

6,613 

Grand  Forks . 

1,705 

4,963 

11,250 

7,095 

5,512 

58,488 

4,068 

2,830 

OHIO  — 

Akron . 

16,512 

. . . .  27,702 

Alliance . 

4,636 

7,598 

Ashland . 

3,004 

3,563 

Ashtabula . 

4,445 

8,316 

Bellaire . 

8,025 

9,901 

Cambridge . . 

2,883 

4,345 

6,713 

Canton . 

12,258 

....  26,327 

Cliilicothe . 

10,938 

....  11,256 

94,640 

17,264 

25,887 

7,200 

36,093 

804,377 

Cincinnati . 

255,139 

....  296,309 

Circleville . 

6,046 

6,675 

Cleveland . 

160,146 

....  261,546 

Columbus . 

51,647 

....  90,398 

Coshocton . 

3,044 

3,725 

Dayton . 

38,678 

. . . .  68,568 

254^457 

5,847 

4,915 

22,432 

Defiance . 

5,907 

7,386 

Delaware . 

6,894 

8,202 

East  Liverpool . 

5,668 

....  10,947 

Elyria . 

4,777 

5,530 

5,500 

Findlay . 

4,633 

....  16,000 

8^520 

8,561 

9,402 

28,070 

3,390 

4,208 

6,500 

5,600 

Fremont . 

8,446 

7,140 

Gallipolis . 

4,400 

4,550 

Greenville  . 

3,535 

5,539 

Hamilton . 

12,122 

....  17,519 

Ironton . 

8,857 

....  10,922 

Lancaster . 

6,803 

8,297 

Lebanon  . 

3,174 

Lima . 

7,567 

....  15,970 

13,796 

7,287 

4,403 

3,684 

London . 

3,067 

3,292 

Mansfield . 

9,859 

....  13,542 

Marietta . 

6,444 

8,308 

Marion . 

3,899 

8,308 

10,948 

9,885 

11,557 

15,991 

Massillon . 

6,836 

....  10,058 

Middletown . 

4,538 

7,673 

6,016 

Mount  Vernon . 

5,249 

Napoleon . 

3,032 

2,764 

10,851 

Nelsonville . 

3,095 

4,547 

21,181 

10,523 

9,000 

16,003 

Newark . 

9,600 

....  14,369 

Norwalk . 

5,704 

7,268 

Oberlin . 

3,242 

4,330 

Piqua . 

6,031 

9,069 

30^396 

8,774 

Portsmouth . 

11,321 

....  12,387 

Sandusky  . 

15,838 

....  19,234 

1L918 

Sidney . 

3,823 

4,903 

19,000 

Springfield . 

20,730 

....  32,135 

23,263 

Steubenville . 

12,093 

....  13,363 

,513,501 

Tiffin . 

7,879 

....  10,772 

11,667 

Toledo . 

50,137 

....  82,652 

21,826 

Trov . 

3,803 

4,590 

5,147 

Urbana . 

6,252 

6,498 

10.020 

2,436 

7,217 

Van  Wert . 

4,079 

5,548 

Warren . 

4,428 

6,086 

Wapakoneta . 

2,765 

3,616 

22,836 

Washington . 

3,798 

6,793 

138,327 

Wooster . 

6,840 

6,050 

14,980 

13,124 

Xenia . 

7,026 

8,145 

Youngstown . 

15,435 

....  33,199 

18,392 

Zanesville . 

18,113 

....  21,117 

10,072 

87,877 

OREGON  — 

Astoria . 

2,803 

7,071 

3,901 

East  Portland . 

2,934 

....  10,481 

60,699 

Eugene . 

1,117 

3,958 

44,001 

Portland . 

17,577 

....  47,294 

14,740 

Salem . 

2,538 

4,515 

POPULATION  OF  CITIES.  .  845 


1880 

1890 

1880 

--- 

1890 

PENNSYLVANIA- 

(  Harrisburg 

Providence . 

104,857 

132,043 

Allegheny . 

....  78,682  . . 

.  104,967 

Westerly . 

6,104 

6,333 

Allentown . 

....  18,063  . . 

.  25,183 

Woonsocket . 

16,050 

20,769 

Altoona . 

....  19,710  .. 

.  30,269 

SOUTH  CAROLINA— 

Archbald . 

3,049  . . 

4,028 

Charleston . 

49,984 

54,692 

Ashland . 

....  6,052  . . 

Columbia . 

10,036 

14  508 

Ashley  . 

2^799  . . 

3,192 

Greenville . 

6,160 

8*340 

Beaver  Falls . 

6,104  . . 

9,734 

Spartanburg . 

3,253 

6,532 

Bethlehem . 

6,193  . . 

6,750 

SOUTH  DAKOTA  — 

Bloomsburg . 

3,702  . . 

4,659 

Deadwood  . 

3,777 

2,366 

Bradford . 

_  9,197  . . 

10,478 

3  200 

Bristol . 

6^273  . . 

6,537 

Yankton  . 

3,431 

4,700 

Butler  . 

3,163  . . 

8,715 

TENNESSEE  — 

Carbondale  . 

7,714  . . 

10,826 

Chattanooga . 

12,892 

29,109 

Carlisle . 

6,209  .  . 

8,031 

Clarksville . 

3,880 

8,053 

Catasauqua . 

3,065  . . 

3,703 

Jackson . 

5,377 

10,056 

Chambersburg . . . 

6,877  . . 

8,006 

Knoxville . 

9,693 

22,447 

Chester . 

14,997  . . 

.  20,167 

Memphis . 

33,592 

64,586 

Coatesvllle . 

2,766  ... 

3,680 

Nashville . 

43,350 

76,309 

Columbia . 

8,312  . . 

.  10,597 

TEXAS— 

Conshohocken  . . . . 

4,561  . . 

5,469 

Austin . 

10,013 

15,325 

Corry . 

5,277  . . 

5,671 

Brenham . 

4,101 

4,683 

Danville . 

8,346  . . 

9,073 

Corsicana . 

3,373 

8,278 

DuBois . 

2,718  . . 

6,137 

Dallas . 

10,358 

38,140 

Dunmore . 

5,151  . . 

8,288 

Fort  Worth  . 

6,663 

20,725 

Easton . 

....  11,924  .. 

.  14,185 

Gainesville . 

2,667 

6,563 

Erie . 

....  27,737  . . 

39,699 

Galveston . 

22,248 

29,118 

Franklin . . . . . 

5,010  . . 

6,220 

Houston . 

16,513 

27,598 

Gettysburg . 

2,814  . . 

3,180 

Huntsville . 

2,536 

2,271 

Gilberton . 

3,098  . . 

3,668 

Laredo  . 

3,521 

11,313 

Greenville . 

3,007  . . 

3,637 

Marshall . 

5,624 

7,196 

Hazleton . 

6,935  . . 

.  11,681 

Paris . 

3,980 

8,258 

Huntingdon . 

4,125  . . 

6,062 

San  Antonio . 

20,550 

38,681 

Johnstown . 

8,380  . . 

.  23,653 

Sherman . 

6,093 

7,338 

Kittanning . 

2,624  . . 

3,095 

Waco . 

7,295 

14,485 

Lancaster . 

....  25,769  . . 

.  32,090 

UTAH  — 

Lebanon  . 

8,778  . . 

14,754 

Logan  . 

3,396 

4,624 

Lewisburg . 

3,080  .. 

3,205 

Ogden . 

6,069 

. 

18,269 

Lewiston . 

3,288 

Provo  City . 

3,432 

5,153 

Lock  Haven  , . . . . 

7,350 

Salt  Lake  City . 

20,768 

44,771 

McKeesnort . 

8.212  . . 

.  20,711 

VERMONT— (Montpelier  ) 

Mahanoy  City  . . . . 

”.181  .. 

.  11,291 

Brattleboro . 

5,880 

6,859 

Marietta . 

ESI?  . . 

2,385 

Burlington . 

11,365 

14,566 

Mauch  Chunk .... 

_  3,752  . . 

4,098 

Rutland . 

12,149 

11,770 

Meadville . 

8.8^  . . 

9,502 

VIRGINIA  — 

Mecbanicsburg  . . . 

3,018  .. 

3,690 

Alexandria . 

13,659 

. 

14,318 

Miuersville . 

3,249  . . 

3,502 

Danville . 

7,526 

10,285 

New  Ca.at.1a. . . 

_  8,418  . . 

11,581 

Fredericksburg . 

5,010 

4,517 

New  Brighton . 

31653  . . 

5^603 

Hampton  _ K. . 

2^684 

6,538 

Norristown  . 

....  13,063  . . 

.  19,750 

Lynchburg . 

15,959 

19,779 

Oil  City . 

7,315  .. 

10,943 

Manchester . 

5,729 

9,229 

Philadelphia . 

....  847,170  . . 

.  1,046,252 

Norfolk  . 

21,966 

34,986 

Phoenix  ville . 

6,682  . . 

8,508 

Petersburg . 

21,656 

23,317 

Pittsburg . 

....  156,389  . . 

.  238,473 

Portsmouth . 

11,390 

. 

12,345 

Pittston . 

7,472  . . 

10,295 

Richmond . 

63,600 

80,838 

Pottstown . 

5,305  . . 

.  13,201 

Staunton  . 

6,664 

6,921 

Pottsville . 

13,253  . . 

.  14,194 

Winchester . 

4,958 

. 

4,957 

Reading . 

....  43,278  . . 

58.926 

WASHINGTON  — 

Rochester . 

2,552  .. 

3,635 

Colfax . 

444 

. 

2,253 

4,149 

6,950 

Ellonsburg . 

2,758 

45,850 

83^450 

Fair  Haven . 

4^273 

Shamokin . 

8,184  .. 

.  14^339 

Olymnia . 

1,232 

. 

4', 696 

fiharrm 

5,684  . . 

7,447 

Port  Townsend . 

917 

4,498 

3,466  . . 

4^897 

Seattle  . 

3,533 

43^914 

Shenandoah . 

....  10,147  .  . 

.  13^445 

Snohomish . 

149 

2^003 

South  Bethlehem 

4,925  . . 

.  10,386 

Spokane  Falls . 

350 

22,626 

South  Easton . 

4,534  . . 

5,616 

Tacoma . 

1,098 

. 

35,858 

Sunbury . 

4,077  . . 

5,892 

Vancouver . 

1,722 

2,849 

Tamaqua . 

5,730  .  . 

4,632 

Walla  Walla  . 

3,588 

. 

7,239 

9,046  . . 

8,010 

Whatcom . 

3,677 

To  wanda . 

3,814  .. 

4J65 

WEST  VIRGINIA— 

Warren . 

2,810  .. 

5,288 

Charleston . 

4,192 

7,257 

Washington . 

4,292  . . 

7,045 

Martinsburg . 

6,335 

. 

7,207 

West  Chester . 

7,046  .. 

7,965 

Parkersburg . 

6,582 

. 

9,389 

Wilkesbarre . 

....  23,339  . . 

.  37,557 

Wheeling . 

30,737 

35,052 

Williamsport . 

....  18,934  . . 

.  27,107 

WISCONSIN  — 

York . 

....  13,940  .  . 

.  20,849 

Appleton  . 

8,005 

. 

11,825 

RHODE  ISLAND  — 

Baraboo . . 

3,266 

4{602 

6,028  .  . 

5,475 

Beloit  . 

4,790 

6,276 

Newport  . 

....  15,693  .  . 

.  19^449 

Eau  Claire . 

10,119 

. 

17,438 

Pawtucket . 

....  19,030  . . 

.  27,502 

Fond  du  Lac . 

13,094 

• 

11,942 

846 


POPULATION  OF  CITIES. 


1880 

1890 

Green  Bay . 

8,922 

Hudson . 

2,882 

Janesville . 

.  9,018 

....  10,631 

Kenosha  . 

6,529 

La  Crosse . 

....  25,053 

Mailison . 

13,392 

Manitowoc . 

7,525 

Milwaukee . 

....  204,150 

Monroe . 

3,865 

Neennli  . 

.  4,202 

5,076 

Oconto  . 

5,221 

Oshkosh . 

.  15,748 

. . . .  22,752 

Platteville . 

.  2,687 

2,740 

Portage . 

.  4,346 

6,130 

1889 

1890 

Prairie  du  Chien .... 

2,777  .... 

3,122 

Racine . 

16,031  .... 

21,022 

Ripon  . 

3,117  .... 

3,354 

Sheboygan  . . . 

7,314  .... 

16,341 

Sparta . 

2,387  .... 

2,795 

Steven’s  Point . 

4,449  .... 

7,888 

Superior . 

665  .... 

13,000 

Two  Rivers . 

2,052  .... 

2,870 

Watertown . 

7,883  .... 

8,870 

Waukesha . 

2,969  .... 

7,475 

Wausau . 

WYOMING  — 

4,277  .... 

9,251 

Clieyenne . 

3,456  .... 

11,693 

Laramie  City . 

2,696  .... 

6,395 

PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.... 

JOHN  ADAMS . 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON . 

JAMES  MADISON . 

JAMES  MONROE . 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS . 

ANDREW  JACKSON . 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN  ...... 

WILLIAM  H.  HARRISON... 

JOHN  TYLER . 

JAMES  KNOX  POLK . 

ZACHARY  TAYLOR . 

MILLARD  FILLMORE . 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE . 

JAMES  BUCHANAN . 

ABRAIIAM  LINCOLN . 

ANDREW  JOHNSON . 

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT . 

RUTHERFORD  B.  IIAYES. 
JAMES  A.  GARFIELD . 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHCR . 

GROVER  CLEVELAND . 

BENJAMIN  HARRISON . 


9. 1773. 
4, 1841. 


Born  in  Westmoreland  Co.,  Va .  .  Feb.  22,  1732. 

Died  in  Mount  Vernon .  Dec.  14,  1799. 

Inaugurated . April  30,  1789  1797. 

Born  in  Braintree  (now  Quincy),  Mass .  Oct.  19,  1735. 

Died  in  Quincy .  July  4,  1826. 

Inaugurated . March  4,  1797-1801. 

Born  inShadwell,  Albemarle  Co.,  Va . .  April  2,  1743. 

Died  in  Monticello,  Va . .  July  4,  1826. 

Inaugurated . '....March  4, 1801-1809. 

Born  in  King  George,  Va .  March  16,  1751. 

Died  in  Montpelier,  Va .  June  28,  1836 

Inaugurated . March  4,  1809-1817. 

Born  in  Westmoreland  Co.,  Va .  April  28, 1759. 

Died  in  New  York .  July  4, 1831. 

Inaugurated . March  4,  1817-1825. 

Born  in  Braintree,  Mass .  July  11,1767. 

Died  in  Washington,  D.  C .  .  Feb.  23,  1848. 

Inaugurated . March  4,  1825-1829. 

Bom  in  Waxhaw  Settlement,  N.  C .  March  15,  1767. 

Died  in  the  “  Hermitage,”  near  Nashville,  Tenn .  .  June  8,1845. 

Inaugurated.  . March  4,  1829-1837, 

Born  in  Kinderliook,  N.  Y .  Dec.  6,1782. 

Died  in  Kinderhook,  N.  Y . .  July  24, 1862. 

Inaugurated . March  4,  1837-1841. 

Born  in  Berkeley,  Va .  Feb. 

Died  in  Washington,  D.C .  April 

Inaugurated . March  4,  1841. 

Born  in  Charles  City  Co.,  Va. .  March  29, 1790. 

Died  in  Richmond,  Va .  Jan.  17, 1862. 

Inaugurated . April  4, 1841-1845. 

Born  in  Mecklenburg  Co.,  N.  C .  Nov.  2,  1795. 

Died  in  Nashville,  Tenn .  June  16,  1849. 

Inaagurated . March  4,  1845-1819. 

Born  in  Orange  Co.,  Va .  Sept. 

Died  in  Washington,  D.  C .  July 

Inaugurated . March  5,  1849-1851. 

Born  in  Locke,  CayugaCo.,  N.  Y .  Jan.  7,  1800. 

Died  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y .  .  March  8, 1874. 

Inaugurated . July  10, 1850-1853. 

Bom  in  Hillsborough,  N.  H .  Nov. 

Died  in  Concord,  N.  H .  Oct. 

Inaugurated . March  4,  1853-1857. 

Bora  in  Stony  Batter,  Franklin  Co.,  Pa .  April  22,1791. 

Died  in  Lancaster,  Pa .  June  1,  1868. 

Inaugurated . March  4, 1857-1861. 

Bom  in  Hardin  Co.  (now  Lame),  Ivy . .  Feb.  2, 1869. 

Died  in  Washington,  D.  C .  April  16,1865. 

Inaugurated . March  14,  1861-1865. 

Bora  in  Raleigh,  N.  C  . .  Dec. 

Died  in  Greenville,  Tenn .  July 

Inaugurated . April  15,  1865-1869. 

Bora  in  Point  Pleasant,  Ohio . 

Died  at  Mount  Gregor,  N.  Y . 

Inaugurated  . March  4,  1869-1877. 

Born  in  Delaware,  Ohio . 

Inaugurated . March  4.  1877-1881. 

Born  in  Orange,  Ohio  . 

Died  in  Elberon,  Long  Branch,  N.  J  . 

Inaugurated .  . . March  4,  1881. 

Bora  in  Fairfield,  Franklin  Co.,  Vt . 

Died  at  123  Lexington  Ave.,  N  Y.  City . 

Inaugurated . September  20,  1881-1885. 

Born  in  Caldwell,  N.  J . . .  March  18, 1837. 

Inaugurated . March  4,  1885-1889. 

Bora  in  North  Bend,  Ohio .  Aug.  20, 1833. 

Inaugurated . . . ...... . March  4. 1889. 


24.  1784. 
9,  i860. 


23,  1804. 
8, 1869. 


29, 1808. 
31,  1875. 


April  27,1822. 
July  23,  1885. 

Oct.  4,  1822. 


Nov. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 


19, 1831. 
19,  1881, 

6,  1830. 
18,  1886. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


AX 

ABENAKIS,  The, 

War  with,  148,  154. 

ABERCROMBIE,  GENERAL, 

Expedition  of  against  Ticonderoga,  871, 
ACADIA. 

Name  of,  75;  ruin  of,  261-264. 

ADAMS,  John, 

Predicts  American  Independence,  286;  nom¬ 
inates  Washington  for  general-in-chief,  301 ; 
member  of  committee  to  draft  Declaration, 
300;  commissioner  to  Paris,  354;  Vice-Presi¬ 
dent,  362 ;  sketch  of,  372 ;  administration  of, 
372-376 ;  death  of,  424. 

ADAMS,  John  Quincy. 

Secretary  of  State,  417 ;  elected  President,  423 ; 
sketch  of,  423;  administration  of,  423-426; 
death  of,  461. 

ADAMS,  Samuel, 

Speaks  out  for  liberty,  295. 

ADET,  M„ 

Evil  influence  of  in  United  States,  373. 
ADOLPHUS,  Gustayus, 

Plans  an  American  colony,  164. 
AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, 

Treaty  of,  158. 

ALABAMA, 

Admission  of,  420. 

ALABAMA,  The, 

Career  of,  533. 

ALABAMA  CLAIMS,  THE, 

Settlement  of,  556. 

ALASKA, 

Purchase  of,  547. 

ALGIERS, 

Tribute  paid  to,  370 ;  brought  to  terms,  416. 
ALGONQUINS,  The, 

Territorial  position  of,  42  and  Map  I. 

ALLEN,  Ethan, 

Expedition  of  against  Ticonderoga,  298. 
AMENDMENTS  TO  CONSTITUTION, 

Notice  of.  361 ;  passage  of  Fourteenth  and  Fif¬ 
teenth,  553. 

AMES,  Fisher, 

Letter  of,  701. 

AMHERST,  General, 

Commander-in-chief  in  America,  273. 

AMIDAS.  Philip, 

Vovage  of,  81. 

AMNESTY  PROCLAMATION,  THE, 

Account  of,  544. 

ANDERSON,  ROBERT. 

At  Fort  Sumter,  484. 

ANDre,  John, 

Connection  of  with  Arnold’s  treason,  344 ;  ex¬ 
ecution  of,  345. 

ANDROS,  Sir  Edmund, 

Career  of  in  America,  123, 146, 147, 174, 191, 197, 
200,  207. 

ANTI  ET  AM. 

Battle  of,  506. 

ANTI-FEDERALIST  PARTY,  THE, 

Rise  of,  359. 

ARCHDALE,  JOHN, 

Governor  of  South  Carolina,  234. 

ARCTIC  EXPLORATIONS, 

Account  of,  467. 

ARGALL,  Samuel, 

Expeditions  of,  108, 109. 

ARKANSAS, 

Organization  of,  420 ;  admission  of,  435. 

847 


ARMADA,  THE  INVINCIBLE, 

Mentioned,  83. 

ARNOLD,  Benedict, 

At  Ticonderoga,  299 ;  at  Quebec,  303 ;  heroism 
of  at  Saratoga,  323;  treason  of,  343;  In  Vir¬ 
ginia,  346. 

ARREARS  OF  PENSIONS  ACT, 

Account  of,  684. 

ARTHUR,  Chester  A., 

Vice-President,  643;  becomes  President,  652; 
administration  of,  662-671. 

ATLANTA, 

Capture  of,  526. 


BACON,  Nathaniel, 

Rebellion  of,  120. 

BALBOA, 

Discovery  of  the  Pacific  by,  57. 

BALTIMORE, 

Siege  of,  410 ;  attack  on  Union  soldiers  in,  485. 
BALTIMORE,  The  LORDS. 

Colonize  Maryland,  217. 

BANK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Organization  of,  366 ;  expiration  of  charter  of, 
415;  re-chartering  of  vetoed  by  Jackson,  427; 
new  charter  of  vetoed  by  Tyler,  441. 

BANKS,  N.  P., 

In  West  Virginia,  502 ;  in  command  of  the  Red 
River  expedition,  524. 

BARCLAY,  Robert, 

Governor  of  New  Jersey,  207. 

BARLOW.  Arthur, 

Voyage  of,  81. 

BAXTER.  George, 

Bearer  of  charter  of  Rhode  Island,  107, 
BAYARD,  Thomas  F., 

Secretary  of  State,  673. 

BEECHER,  HENRY  WARD, 

Notice  and  death  of,  681. 

BELL,  Professor  a.  G., 

Inventor  of  telephone,  625. 

BELLOMONT,  Earl  of. 

Governor  of  New  York,  179. 

BENNINGTON, 

Battle  of,  322. 

BENTON,  Thomas  H„ 

Procures  the  expunging  of  resolutions  of  cen¬ 
sure  against  Jackson,  432. 

BERKELEY,  Sir  William, 

Governor  of  Virginia,  116;  vengeance  of,  121.; 
proprietor  of  New  Jersey,  203. 

BLACK  FRIDAY, 

Story  of,  553. 

BLACK  HAWK  WAR,  THE, 

Account  of,  429. 

BLAINE,  James  G-, 

Candidate  for  the  presidency.  669 ;  Secretary  cf 
State,  648  ;  a  second  time,  697  ;  favors  Pan- 
BLOCKADE  [American  Congress,  725. 

The  question  of  in  Europe,  384,  385. 
BOBADILLA, 

Mentioned,  56. 

BONAPARTE,  NAPOLEON, 

Policy  of  toward  the  United  States,  374;  sella 
Louisiana,  378:  measures  of  against  Great 
Britain,  383;  issues  Milan  Decree,  386;  In¬ 
vasion  of  Russia  by,  393. 

BONAPARTE,  LOUIS  NAPOLEOK, 

Intrigue  of  respecting  Mexico,  545. 


848 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


BOONE,  DANIEL, 

Colonizes  Kentucky,  36.  . 

BOOTH,  John  Wilkes, 

Assassination  of  Lincoln  by,  542. 

BOSTON, 

Founded,  127 ;  occupied  by  the  British  army, 
293 ;  massacre  at,  293 ;  siege  of,  298-307;  evac¬ 
uation  of,  307 ;  great  Are  in,  558. 

BOURNE,  Sylvester, 

Mentioned,  703. 

'  BRADDOCK,  EDWARD, 

Campaign  of,  258-261  ;  death  of,  261. 
BRADFORD,  WILLIAM, 

Governor  of  Massachusetts,  124. 

BRAGG,  Braxton, 

At  Murfreesborougb,  500 ;  at  Chickamauga,  514 ; 
at  Lookout  and  Missionary  Ridge,  514,  515. 
BRANDYWINE, 

Battle  of,  324. 

BRECKINRIDGE,  JOHN  C., 

Vice-President,  474 ;  in  command  in  the  Shen¬ 
andoah  Valley,  536. 

BROOKLYN  BRIDGE,  THE, 

Building  of,  661-602. 

BROOKS,  John  A., 

Candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  694. 
BROWN,  John, 

Insurrection  led  by,  478. 

BRYANT,  William  Cullen, 

Death  of,  639. 

BUCHANAN,  James, 

Part  of  in  Ostend  Manifesto,  472 ;  President, 
474;  sketch  of,  474 ;  administration  of,  474-482. 
BUENA  VISTA, 

Battle  of,  453. 

BULL  RUN, 

Battle  of,  491 ;  second  battle  of,  505. 

BUNKER  HILL, 

Fortification  of  by  Americans,  299 ;  battle  of, 
300. 

BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT,  THE, 

History  of,  443. 

BURGESSES,  House  of, 

Establishment  of,  110 ;  scene  in,  289. 
BURGOYNE,  General, 

Invasion  of,  321 ;  at  Bemis’s  Heights,  323 ; 
capitulation  of,  324. 

BURNSIDE,  Ambrose  E., 

In  command  of  army,  509;  at  Fredericksburg, 
509  ;  death  of,  678. 

BURR,  Aaron, 

Elected  Vice-President,  376;  kills  Hamilton, 
382  ;  conspiracy  of,  383. 

BUTLER,  B.  F., 

At  New  Orleans,  498 ;  at  Fort  Fisher,  532 ;  at 
Bermuda  Hundred,  536. 


O 

CABINET.  The, 

Organization  of,  364. 

CABLE,  The  Atlantic, 

Laying  of,  476,  545. 

CABOT,  John, 

Voyage  of,  76. 

CABOT,  Sebastian, 

Voyage  and  explorations  of,  77. 

CALHOUN,  John  C., 

In  Congress,  391 ;  secretary  of  war,  417 ;  Vice- 
President,  423 ;  as  a  nullifler,  429 ;  death  of, 
467. 

CALIFORNIA, 

Discovery  of  gold  in,  459 ;  organization  of,  463 ; 
admission  of,  464. 

CALIFORNIANS,  The, 

Territorial  position  of,  44  and  Map  I. 
CALVERT,  SIR  GEORGE, 

Sketch  of,  217. 

CALVERT,  Sir  Cecil, 

Colonizes  Maryland,  218. 


CAMDEN, 

Battle  of,  341. 

CANADIAN  INSURRECTION,  THE, 

Account  of,  438. 

CANONCHET, 

Notice  of,  141 ;  execution  of,  14&. 

CANONICUS, 

Notice  of,  129. 

CAPE  BRETON, 

Conquest  of,  157,  158. 

CARTERET,  Sir  GEORGE, 

Proprietor  of  New  Jersey,  203. 

CARTIER,  James, 

Voyage  of,  71. 

CARVER,  John, 

Leader  of  the  Pilgrims,  91 ;  death  of,  123. 
CENSUS, 

Of  1790  ind  1800,375;  of  1810,390;  of  1840,439; 
of  1870,  555  ;  of  1880,  646  ;  of  1890,  732. 
CENTENNIAL  OF  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT, 
Account  of,  697-723. 

CENTENNIAL  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE, 
Account  of,  563-631. 

CERRO  GORDO, 

Battle  of,  455. 

CHAM  PE,  Sergeant  John, 

Attempt  of  to  capture  Arnold,  346. 

CHAMPION  HILLS, 

Battle  of,  512. 

CHAMPLAIN,  Samuel, 

Career  of  in  America,  75,  76. 

CHA  NCELLORSVILLE, 

Battle  of,  518. 

CHAPULTEPEC, 

Battle  of,  456. 

CHARLES  I., 

Relations  of  with  American  colonies.  See 

Massachusetts  and  Virginia. 

CHARLES  II., 

Relations  of  with  American  colonies.  See 
Massachusetts  and  Virginia. 

CHARLESTON, 

Founding  of,  231 ;  taken  bv  the  British,  340; 
evacuation  of,  351;  siege  of,  51»:  capture  of. 
529;  earthquake  of,  688. 

CHARTER  OF  NEW  ENGLAND, 

Account  of,  126. 

CHARTER  OAK,  THE, 

Story  of,  147,  191. 

CHASE,  Salmon  P., 

Secretary  of  the  treasury,  484 ;  presides  at  th« 
impeachment  trial  of  Johnson,  551 :  death  of 
562. 

CHEROKEES,  THE. 

Territorial  position  of,  43  and  Map  I.;  wa« 
with,  27'6  ;  difficulties  with,  430. 

CHESAPEAKE,  Bay  OF, 

Exploration  of  by  John  Smith,  103. 
CHESAPEAKE,  THE, 

Affair  of.  385. 

CHICAGO, 

Burning  of,  557. 

CHICKAMAUGA, 

Battle  of,  514. 

CHICORA,  Old  name  of  Carolina,  62. 

CHILI,  Dangerous  complication  of  with  the 
CHINESE  EMBASSY,  [U.  S.,  736. 

Establishment  of  at  Washington,  639. 
CHIPPEWA, 

Battle  of,  407. 

CHURUBUSCO, 

Battle  of,  456. 

CIVIL  RIGHTS  BILL,  THE, 

Passage  of,  548. 

CIVIL  WAR,  The, 

Causes  of,  486-489 ;  history  cf,  490-b40. 
CITIZENSHIP, 

English  views  of,  384. 

CLARKE,  John, 

Colonizes  Rhode  Island,  194 ;  services  c t,  19& 
CLARKE,  William, 

Exploring  expedition  of,  382. 


* 


INDEX. 


849 


i 


CLAYBORNE,  William, 

Career  of  in  Maryland,  216-223. 

CLAY,  Henry, 

In  Congress,  391 ;  Influence  of,  421 ;  se¬ 
cures  passage  of  Omnibus  Bill,  465;  death  of, 
468. 

CLEVELAND,  GROVER, 

Elected  President,  669 ;  sketch  of,  672 ;  admin¬ 
istration  of,  672-695;  renominated  for  the 
presidency,  693. 

CLINTON,  George, 

Vice-President,  382. 

CLINTON.  Sir  Henry, 

Attempt  of  to  save  Burgoyne,  323 ;  commander- 
in-chief  of  British  army,  330. 

CODDINGTON,  WILLIAM, 

Sets  up  Israel  in  Rhode  Island,  195. 

COLFAX,  Schuyler, 

Vice-President,  551. 

COLIGNI, 

Mentioned,  73. 

COLLEGES, 

Number  and  Character  of  before  Revolution, 
282. 

COLONIES,  The  American, 

Reflections  on  character  of,  245 ;  number  and 
extent  of,  280 ;  population  of,  280 ;  tendency 
toward  unity,  280 ;  education  in,  282 ;  printing 
and  book’s  in,  282 ;  post-oflflces  and  roads  in, 
283;  industries  of,  284 ;  reflections  on,  284 ;  dis¬ 
pute  of  with  England,  285-296;  independence 
of,  309,  355. 

COLONIZATION  SOCIETY,  The, 

Organization  of,  416. 

COLORADO, 

Admission  of,  561. 

COLUMBIA,  District  of, 

Organization  of.  416. 

COLUMBUS,  Christopher, 

Sketch  of,  55 ;  discovery  of  America  by,  55 ; 
misfortunes  of,  56. 

COMANCHES,  THE, 

Territorial  position  of,  44  and  Map  I. 
CONCORD, 

Founding  of,  130 ;  battle  of,  298. 
CONFEDERATION.  THE, 

History  of,  356-358 ;  Articles  of,  Appendix  E. 
CONGRESS,  The  First  Colonial, 

Meeting  of,  291. 

CONGRESS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION, 

Assembling  of,  296. 

CONKLING,  ROSCOE,  685. 

CONNECTICUT, 

Colonization  of,  130 ;  history  of,  184-192. 
CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Analysis  of,  360 ;  adoption  ot  by  the  States,  361 ; 
Text  of.  Appendix  F. 

CONSTITUTION,  THE, 

Affair  of,  397. 

COOPER,  Sir  ASHLEY, 

Proprietor  of  Carolina,  225. 

CORDOVA, 

Explorations  of,  58. 

CORINTH, 

Battle  of,  499. 

CORNBURY,  Lord, 

Governor  of  New  York,  179. 

CORNWALLIS,  LORD, 

Pursues  Washington  across  New  Jersey,  314; 
considers  the  war  ended,  315 ;  returns  to  the 
work,  317  ;  at  Princeton,  318 ;  at  Brandywine, 
325;  in  Carolina,  374 ;  in  Virginia,  352;  surren¬ 
der  of,  353. 

CORTEREAL,  GASPAR, 

Voyages  of,  69. 

CORTEZ,  Fernando, 

Conquest  of  Mexico  by,  58-61. 

COTTON  GIN,  THE, 

As  a  factor  of  the  Civil  War,  487. 

CRANFIELD.  EDWARD, 

Governor  of  New  Hampshire,  145 ;  career  of  in 
the  province,  200. 


CREDIT  MOBILIER,  THE, 

Uproar  concerning,  560.  • 

CREEKS,  The, 

War  with,  403 ;  difficulties  with,  424. 
CROMWELL,  Oliver, 

Relations  of  with  Virginia,  115-118;  favors 
New  England,  135. 

CROWN  POINT, 

Expediton  of  Johnson  against,  265. 

CUBA, 

Difficulties  concerning,  466. 


ID 

DAKOTAS,  The, 

Territorial  position  of,  43  and  Map  L 
DALE,  Sir  Thomas, 

Governor  of  Virginia,  107. 

DARE,  Virginia, 

Birth  mentioned,  83. 

DARRAH,  Lydia, 

Story  of,  327. 

DAVIS,  Jefferson, 

President  of  the  Confederacy,  481 ;  sketch  of, 
492;  flight  of,  538 ;  capture  and  trial  of,  540. 
DAYE,  Stephen, 

First  printer  in  America,  132. 

DEARBORN,  Henry, 

Commander-in-chief  of  American  army,  393, 
DE  AYLLON, 

Discovery  of  Carolina  by,  62. 

DECATUR,  Commodore, 

In  the  Mediterranean,  415. 

DE  GAMA, 

Circumnavigation  of  Africa  by,  78. 

DE  GOURGES, 

Settles  writh  the  Spaniards,  74. 

De  KALB,  Baron, 

Fights  for  Liberty,  320;  killed,  342. 
DELAWARE, 

Colonization  of,  165 ;  secession  of  from  Penn, 
sylvania,  213. 

De  LEON,  Ponce, 

Discovery  of  Florida  by,  57. 

DEMAGOGUES, 

Influence  of,  489. 

DEMOCRATIC  PARTY,  THE, 

Comes  into  power,  376 ;  notice  of,  428. 

DE  MONTS, 

In  America,  75. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 

Instituted,  695. 

DEPENDENT  PENSION  BILL, 

Account  of,  684. 

DEPEW,  Chauncey  M., 

Delivers  centennial  oration,  717. 

De  SOTO,  Ferdinand, 

Explorations,  64-67;  discovery  of  Mississippi,  65; 
DETROIT, 

Capture  of  by  the  British,  395. 

DONIPHAN,  Colonel, 

Campaign  of,  453. 

DORR  INSURRECTION,  THE, 

Account  of,  442. 

DOUGLAS,  Stephen  A., 

Favors  popular  sovereignty,  472. 

DRAFT,  The, 

Ordered  by  Congress,  522. 

DRAKE,  Sir  Francis, 

Career  of,  80;  carries  off  Raleigh’s  colony,  82. 
DRED  SCOTT  DECISION,  THE, 

History  of,  474. 


m 

EAST'  INDIA  COMPANY,  THE  DUTCH, 

Mentioned,  92. 

EDISON,  Thomas  A., 

Inventor  of  telephone,  phonograph,  and  elec¬ 
tric  light,  655,  656,  659. 


850 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNrTE D  STATES. 


EDUCATION, 

Favored  by  the  Puritans,  159  ;  character  and 
extent  of  in  the  colonies,  282;  necessary  to 
perpetuity  of  American  institutions,  642. 
EGAN,  PATRICK, 

American  Minister  to  Chili,  737. 
ELECTIONS  BILL  OF  18S0, 

Discussion  of  in  Congress,  730. 

ELECTRIC  LIGHT,  The, 

Introduction  of,  657-660. 

ELIZABETH,  Quefn,  Death  of.  84. 
EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION,  The, 
Issued  by  Lincoln,  511;  text  of.  Appendix  II. 
EMBARGO  ACT,  Thf, 

Passage  of,  385;  ridicule  of,  386. 
ERICKSON,  Lief, 

Discovery  of  America  by,  51. 

ERICKSON,  Thoewaid  and  Thorstein, 
Mentioned,  51, 52. 

ERICSSON,  John, 

Invention  of  Monitor  bv,  497. 

ESPEG  1,  Founder  of  Santa  F<i,  68. 
ESQUIMAUX,  The, 

Territorial  position  of,  42.  and  Map  I. 
EUTAW  SPRINGS,  Battle  of,  351. 

IF1 

FAIR  OAK  4,  Battle  of,  503. 

FARRAGUT,  ADMIRAL,  .  _  t 

On  the  Mississippi,  498 ;  capture  of  Mobile  by. 
531. 

FEDERALIST  PARTY,  THE, 

Rise  of,  359 ;  overthrow  of,  375. 

FENDALL,  JOSIAS, 

Governor  of  Maryland,  223. 

FIELD,  CYRUS  W., 

Laying  of  Atlantic  cable  by,  476,  545. 
FIFTY-FIRST  CONGRESS, 

Work  of,  727. 

FILLMORE,  MILLARD, 

Vice-President,  462  ;  became  President,  465 ; 
wise  measures  recommended  by,  466. 
FINANCIAL  CRISP, 

Of  1819,  419 ;  of  1837,  437 ;  of  1873,  560. 

FISK,  Clinton  B., 

Candidate  for  the  Presidency,  694. 

FIVE  FORKS, 

Battle  of,  538 
FLETCHER,  BENJAMIN, 

Governor  of  New  York,  178. 

FLORIDA, 

Colonization  of,  68 ;  cession  of,  419. 

FORREST,  N.  B„ 

Raid  of  through  Tennessee  and  Kentucky, 
523. 

FORT  DONELSON, 

Capture  of,  496. 

FORT  Du  QUESNE.  See  F(/rt  Pitt. 

FORT  FISHER, 

Capture  of,  532. 

FORT  JACKSON, 

Capture  of,  498. 

FORT  LE  BfEUF, 

Affairs  at,  253. 

FORT  MCHENRY, 

Defense  of,  411. 

FORT  MEIGS, 

Siege  of,  401. 

FORT'  MIFFLIN, 

Defense  of,  326. 

FORT  MOULTRIE, 

Attack  on,  307, 

FORT  ORANGE  (NASSAU), 

Building  of,  94,  162. 

FORT  NASSAU, 

Built,  203, 

FORT  NECESSITY, 

Built  and  defended  by  Washington,  255, 256. 
FORT  PITT, 

Built,  254;  captured  by  French.  254 ;  retaken. 
272. 


FOHTS 

A  list  of  at  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  1814 

396. 

FORT  ST.  PHILIP, 

Capture  of,  498. 

FORT  SUMTER, 

Bombardment  of,  484. 

FORT  WILLIAM  HENRY. 

Sie  of,  269. 

FRANCE, 

Possessions  of  in  America,  2?n;  incites  the  col¬ 
onies,  285 ;  alliance  with,  328-330 ;  difflcultiea 
with,  373. 

FRANKLIN,  BENJAMIN, 

Plans  Union  for  America,  257 ;  editor  of  New 
England  Cnurant,  282;  favors  liberty,  289;  at 
the  court  of  Louis  XVI.,  329 ;  sketch  of,  329. 
FREDERICKSBURG, 

Battle  of,  509. 

FREE  COINAGE  OF  SILVER. 

Question  of,  before  Congress,  730. 

FREE  TRADE, 

Doctrine  ot.  Explained,  663-064 
FREMONT,  JOHN  C„ 

Explorations  of,  452. 

FRENCH,  THE, 

Explorations  of  in  America,  70-76  ;  218,249; 
trading-posts  of,  249 ;  claim  the  Ohio  Valley, 
251. 

FROBISHER,  MARTIN, 

Voyages  of,  79. 

FRCLIC,  THE, 

Affair  of,  397. 

FULTON,  Robert, 

Invents  steam-boat  and  torpedo,  386, 887. 


G- 

GADSDEN  PURCHASE,  THE,  470. 

GAGE,  General, 

Occupies  Boston,  293 ;  career  of,  297-301. 
GARFIELD,  JAMES  A., 

Elected  President,  643 ;  sketch  of,  647 ;  admin¬ 
istration  of,  647-649;  assassination  and  death 
of,  650,  651. 

GATES,  Horatio, 

In  command  of  the  Army  of  the  North,  833  ;lo 
the  cabal  against  Washington,  328. 

GATES,  Sir  Thomas, 

Governor  of  Virginia,  106. 

GENET,  Citizen, 

Career  of  in  the  United  States,  368. 

GEORGE  III., 

Character  of,  286. 

GEORGIA, 

Colonization  of,  238;  history  of,  238-246. 
Gerry,  elbridge. 

Embassy  of  to  France,  873;  Vice-President,  394 
GETTYSBURG. 

Battle  of,  520. 

GHENT, 

Treaty  of,  414. 

GILBERT,  SIR  HUMPHREY, 

Career  of,  80. 

GIST,  Christopher, 

Expedition  of  to  the  Ohio,  251. 

GOLD, 

Discovery  of  in  California,  459. 

GORGES,  Ferdinand, 

Proprietor  of  New  Hampshire,  198. 

GOSNOLD,  Bartholomew, 

New  route  of  to  America,  84. 

GOVERNMENT  OF  UNITED  STATES, 

Account  of  institution  of,  356-364  ;  701-709, 
GRANT  Ulysses  S., 

At  Do  riel-on,  496 ;  at  Pittsburg  Landing,  497 ; 
at  Vicksburg,  512;  commander-in-chief,  525; 
in  the  Wilderness,  535 ;  besieges  Petersburg, 
536 ;  in  pursuit  of  Lee,  538-540  ;  President,  551; 
sketch  of,  552 ;  administration  of,  552-632 ;  tour 
of.  645. 


INDEX. 


851 


GRAY,  Elisha  P., 

Inventor  of  telephone,  655. 

GREAT  BRITAIN, 

Colonizes  America,  76-91, 95-245 ;  grants  of  ter¬ 
ritory  by,  see  Map  III ;  extent  of  possessions 
(1655),  see  Map  IV ;  oppresses  the  colonies, 
285-296;  treaty  with,  854;  troubles  with,  869; 
doctrine  of  respecting  neutrals,  384. 

GREELEY,  HORACE, 

Notice  of,  558. 

GREENE,  Nathaniel, 

Saves  the  army  at  Brandywine,  825 ;  splendid 
campaigns  of  in  the  Carolina^,  847-851. 
GRENVILLE,  Sir  Richard, 

In  command  of  Raleigh's  fleet.  82. 

GRIJALVA, 

Explorations  of,  58. 

GUERRIERE,  The, 

Affair  of,  397. 

GUILFORD  COURT-HOUSE, 

Battle  of,  349. 


ZE3T 

HALF-MOON,  THE, 

Voyages  of,  93-94. 

HALIFAX  FISHERY  AWARD, 

History  of,  638,  639. 

HAMILTON,  Alexander, 

Builder  of  Fort  Washington,  814;  defender  of 
the  Constitution,  360;  sec’yof  the  treasury,  364; 
first  major-gen.  of  the  army,  8*8;  killed  by 
Burr.  382. 

HANCOCK,  W infield  S., 

Notice  and  death  of,  678. 

HARMAR,  General, 

Expedition  of,  366. 

HARPER’S  FERRY, 

Destruction  of  arsenal  at,  485. 

HARRISON,  Benjamin, 

Elected  President.  694 ;  sketch  of,  696-697 ;  ad¬ 
ministration  of,  696 ;  at  centennial  celebration, 
711-715. 

HARRISON.  William  Henry, 

Governor  of  Indiana,  390;  at  Tippecanoe,  391 ; 
in  command  in  the  West,  400 ;  President,  439 
sketch  of,  440;  administration  of,  440 ;  death  of, 
441. 

HARTFORD  CONVENTION,  412. 

HARVARD  COLLEGE,  132. 

HAYES,  Rutherford  B., 

Elected  President,  633;  sketch  of,  683 ;  admin- 
istra  'on  of,  643-646. 

HAYNE,  Senator,  Debate  with  Webster,  429. 
HAY’l  I,  Claims  recognition,  417. 

HELPER,  Hinton  Rowan, 

Promotes  inter-continental  communication, 
HENDRICKS,  Thomas  A..  [725. 

Elected  Vice-President,  669;  death  of,  678. 
HENRY,  Patrick, 

Mak  ’'s  so  e  remarks  In  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
289;  leads  the  people,  803;  opposes  the  Consti¬ 
tution,  362. 

HERJULFSON, 

Me  ti  ned,  61. 

HESSIANS,  The, 

Hire,-  to  fight  America,  308;  overpowered  at 
Trenton,  316. 

HOBKIRK’SHILL, 

Battle  of,  350. 

HOOD,  J.  B., 

Driven  from  Atlanta,  526 :  defeated  at  Nash¬ 
ville,  527. 

HOOKER,  Joseph, 

At  Lookout  Mountain,  515 ;  in  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  518;  at  Cbancellorsville, 
518 ,  death  of,  678. 

HORNET,  The, 

Affair  oi,  405, 

HOUSTON,  Sam, 

Sketch  of,  477. 


HOWE,  General, 

In  command  at  Boston,  306 ;  negotiates  «tta 
Washington,  310 ;  sends  a  fleet  up  the  Hudson, 


HUDSON,  Sir  Henry, 

Efforts  to  reach  the  Indies,  92;  explorations  la 
America,  92 ;  death  of,  94 ;  character  Of,  160. 
HUGUENOTS,  THE, 

Mentioned.  67 ;  in  Florida,  67 ;  destruction  at, 
68 ;  persecution  of  in  France,  232. 

HULL,  William, 

Disastrous  campaign  of,  894. 

HUMBOLDT, 

Cited,  54. 


HURON -IROQUOIS,  The, 

Territorial  position  of,  43  and  Ma/O  L 
HUTCHINSON,  ANNE, 

Heresy  of,  131 ;  au  exile  to  Rhode  bland.  Hit 

death  of,  166. 


X 

ICELANDERS.  The, 

I  ’Iscovery  of  America  by,  51. 

IDAHO,  Admission  of,  732. 

ILLINOIS. 

Organization  and  admission  of,  426. 
IMPORTATION  ACT,  THE, 

Passage  of,  287. 

IMPRESSMENT, 

Right  of  claimed  by  Great  Britain,  893. 
INDEPENDENCE, 

Declaration  of,  309  and  Appendix  D;  achieve 
ment  of,  355 ;  centennial  of,  563-631 ;  epoch  of 
discussc ',  698-7C1. 

INDIANA. 

Organisation  of,  378 ;  admission  of,  416. 
INDIANS,  THE, 

Name  of,  41 ;  origin  of,  41 ;  ethnology  of,  42; 
families  of,  42 ;  Imraci  eristics  of,  44, 45;  family 
organization  of,  45 ;  civil  government  among, 
46 ;  religion  of,  40  ;  arts  of,  47 ;  language  of, 
47 ;  writing  of,  48 :  personal  appearance  of,  49; 
marners  and  customs  of,  49. 

INDIAN  TERRITORY.  THE, 

Organization  of,  430. 

INTERIOR,  Department  of. 

Establishment  of,  462. 

INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS, 

Question  of,  418. 

INTERNAL  REVENUE,  THE, 

Account  of,  541. 

INTERSTATE  COMMERCE  BILL, 

Account  of.  685  686. 

IROQUOIS.  The 

Territorial  position  of,  43  and  Map  I;  traits 
with,  175. 

IRVING.  Washington, 

Relation  of  to  American  Literature,  477, 
ISABFXLA,  Favor  of  to  Columbus,  55. 

ITALY, 

Dangerous  complication  with,  735. 

ITATA,  The,  Affair  of ,  737. 

J 


JACKSON,  ANDREW, 

In  command  against  the  Creeks,  403;  at  New 
Orleans,  412;  against  the  Seminoles,419;  elected 
President,  426 ,  sketch  of,  426 ;  administration 
of,  426-436 ;  censured  by  Congress,  432 ;  Fare¬ 
well  Address  of,  4^5 ;  death  of,  461. 

JACKSON,  STONEWALL, 

At  Cedar  Moun.ain,  505;  at  Fredericksburg, 
509  ;  at  Cbancellorsville,  518 ;  death  of,  518. 
JAMES  II., 

Relations  i  with  American  colonies.  See 
Massachusetts  and  Virginia. 

JAMESTOWN, 

Founding  of,  87 ;  affairs  at,  95-118. 

JAPAN, 

Opening  of  intercourse  with,  47flt 


852 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


JAVA,  THE, 

Affair  of,  397. 

JAY  COOKE  AND  COMPANY, 

Failure  of,  560. 

JAY,  John, 

Defends  the  Constitution,  359 :  appointed  chief- 
justice,  364 ,  negotiates  treaty,  369. 
JEFFERSON,  Thomas, 

Author  of  the  Declaration,  309 ,  drafts  ordi¬ 
nance  for  the  North-western  Territory,  359; 
opposes  the  Constitution,  362;  Secretary  of 
State,  364 ;  Vice-Presideut,  371 ;  elected  Presi¬ 
dent,  376 ;  sketch  of,  376 ;  administration  of, 
376-388  ;  death  of,  424. 

JESUITS.  The, 

Discoveries  and  explorations  of,  248,  249. 
JOHNSON,  Andrew, 

Elected  Vice-President,  441;  becomes  Presi¬ 
dent,  544;  sketch  of,  544;  administration  of, 
544-551 ;  impeachment  of,  550. 

JOHNSTON,  Joseph  e.. 

At  Manassas,  491;  wounded,  503;  generalship 
of,  530;  surrender  of,  530;  death  of,  734. 


TZ. 

KANSAS, 

Troubles  in,  473. 

kansas-nebraska  bill,  the. 

Account  of,  473. 

KEARNEY,  PHILIP, 

Expedition  of  to  California,  452 :  killed  at  Chan- 
‘  tilly,  506. 

KEARSARGE,  THE, 

Destruction  of  the  Alabama  by,  534. 
KENESAW  MOUNTAIN, 

Battle  of,  525. 

KENTUCKY, 

Colonization  of,  367 ;  admission  of,  367. 

KIDD,  William, 

Career  of,  179. 

KIEFT,  Sir  William, 

Governor  of  New  Netherland,  165. 
KILPATRICK,  H.  J„ 

Fight  of  with  Hampton,  529. 

KLAMATIS, 

Territorial  position  of,  44  and  Map  L 
KOSSUTH,  Louis, 

Visit  of  to  the  United  States,  467. 

KOSZTA,  Martin, 

Affair  of,  471. 


Ij 


LABOR  TROUBLES, 

Account  of,  634-636  ;  679-683-4. 

LA  FAYETTE,  MARQUIS  DE, 

Gives  himself  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  820 cam¬ 
paign  of  in  Virginia,  352;  visit  of  to  America, 
42. 

LANE,  Ralph, 

Governor  of  Raleigh,  82. 

La  ROCHE,  Marquis  of. 

Plans  a  colony,  74. 

LA  SALLE,  ROBERT  DE, 

Explorations  of,  248. 

LAUDONNIERRE, 

In  Florida,  74. 

LAWRENCE,  CAPTAIN, 

Death  of,  406. 

LEE,  Charles, 

Conduct  of  as  a  general,  815;  disobedience  of 
at  Monmouth,  331 ;  dismissal  of  from  service, 
331. 

LEE,  Richard  Henry, 

Resolutions  of  Independence  offered  by,  309. 


LEE,  Robert  E., 

In  W.  Virginia,  490;  commander-in-chief  of 
the  Confederates,  503;  invades  Maryland,  506; 
at  Antietam,  506 ;  at  Fredericksburg,  509 :  at 
Chancellorsville,  518;  invades  Pennsylvania, 
519;  at  Gettysburg,  520;  in  the  Wilderness, 
535 ;  retreat  of  from  Richmond,  538 ;  surrender 
of,  540 ;  death  of,  562. 

LEISLER,  Jacob, 

Leader  of  insurrection  in  New  York,  1761, 
LEOPARD,  The, 

Affair  of,  385. 

LEWIS,  Captain, 

Exploring  expedition  of,  882. 

LEWISTOWN, 

Founding  of,  163. 

LEXINGTON, 

Battle  of,  298. 

LIFE-SAVING  SERVICE, 

Establishment  of,  640. 

LINCOLN,  Abraham, 

Elected  President,  479;  sketch  of,  482;  admin¬ 
istration  of,  482-543 ;  issues  Emancipation  Proc¬ 
lamation,  511 ;  re-elected,  541 ;  assassination 
of,  542 ;  character  of,  542,  543. 

LITTLE  BELT,  THE, 

Affair  of,  391. 

LIVINGSTON,  EDWARD, 

Agent  to  purchase  Louisiana,  378, 

LOCKE,  John, 

Prepares  the  Grand  Model,  225. 

LOGAN,  John  A., 

Notice  and  death  of,  679. 

LONDON  COMPANY, 

Organization  of,  85 ;  grant  to,  85  and  Mdjp  III  I 
charter  of,  86 ;  fleet  sent  to  America  by,  80. 
LONG  ISLAND, 

Battle  of,  311. 

LONGSTREET,  GENERAL, 

See  Lee's  campaigns. 

LOOKOUT  MOUNTAIN. 

Storming  of,  515. 

LOUDOUN,  LORD, 

Career  of  in  America,  267-270. 

LOUISBURG, 

Siege  of,  157,  158. 

LOUISIANA, 

Purchase  of,  378;  boundary  of,  878;  discord 

LUNDY’S  LANE, 

Battle  of,  408, 

LYON,  Nathaniel, 

In  Missouri,  492. 


IMI  ' 

MacDONOUGH,  Commodore, 

At  Plattsbuig,  409. 

MADISON,  James, 

Favors  Constitution,  362;  elected  President, 
388;  sketch  of.  3**;  administration  of,  388-416; 
unwarlike  disposition  of,  392  ;  death  of,  435. 
MAFIA  SOCIETY, 

Work  of  at  New  Orleans,  734. 

MAGELLAN,  FERDINAND, 

Circumnavigation  of  globe  by,  61. 

MAINE, 

Colonization  of,  136 ;  admission  of,  421. 
MALIETOA, 

King  of  Samoa,  723,  724. 

MALVERN  HILL, 

Battle  of,  504. 

MANASSAS, 

Battle  of,  491. 

MANDEVILLE,  SIR  JOHN, 

On  the  figure  of  the  earth,  54,  and  Appci* 
(l  ice  ^4 

MANHATTAN  ISLAND, 

Purchase  of,  162. 

MARION,  Francis, 

*  Career  of,  341,  342, 350. 


INDEX. 


853 


MARSHALL,  John, 

Embassy  of  to  France,  878:  In  the  chief- 

justiceship,  379. 

MARYLAND, 

Colonization  of,  216 ;  history  of,  216-224. 
MASON,  J.  M., 

Embassador  of  the  Confederacy,  494 ;  capture 
of,  494 ;  liberation  of,  495. 

MASONIAN  DIFFICULTIES,  The, 

Concerning  New  Hampshire,  198-202. 
MATAAFA,  Leader  in  Samoa,  723,  724. 
MATHER,  Cotton, 

Responsible  for  witchcraft  atrocities,  151-153. 
MATT  A,  M.  A., 

Chilian  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  739. 
MAY  Cornelius, 

Governor  of  New  Netherland,  1G2. 
MCCLELLAN,  GEORGE  B., 

Campaign  of  in  West  Virginia,  490:  in  com¬ 
mand  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  494 ;  penin¬ 
sular  campaign  of,  502-505 :  at  Antietam,  506 ; 
superseded,  509 ;  candidate  for  the  presidency, 
541 ;  death  of,  678. 

MEADE,  George  G., 

At  Fredericksburg,  509;  in  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  520;  at  Gettysburg, 
520;  in  the  Wilderness,  535;  death  of,  562, 
678. 

MEIGS,  Colonel, 

Exploit  of  at  Sag  Harbor,  819. 

MELENDEZ,  Pedro, 

Career  of  in  Florida,  67. 

MERRIMAC,  The, 

Fight  of  with  the  Monitor,  498. 
MIANTONOMOH, 

Relations  of  with  Roger  Williams,  194. 
MICHIGAN, 

Organization  of,  382 ;  admission  of,  435. 

MILL  SPRING, 

Battle  of,  496. 

MINNESOTA, 

Admission  of,  477. 

MINUIT,  Peter, 

Governor  of  New  Netherland,  162. 
MISSIONARY  RIDGE, 

Storming  of,  516. 

MISSISSIPPI, 

Organization  and  admission  of,  418. 

MISSOURI, 

Organization  of,  420 ;  admission  of,  421. 
MISSOURI  COMPROMISE,  The, 

History  of,  421. 

MOBILIANS,  THE, 

Territor  1  position  of,  43  and  Map  L 
MODOCS,  The, 

War  with,  559. 

MONITOR,  The, 

Fight  of  with  the  Merrimac,  498. 

MONMOUTH, 

Battle  of,  331. 

MONROE,  James, 

Agent  to  purchase  Louisiana,  878;  elected 
President,  416;  sketch  of,  416;  administration 
of,  416-42.,, ;  death  of,  435. 

MONROE  DOCTRINE,  THE, 

Proclamation  of,  422, 

MONTANA, 

Admission  of,  695. 

MONTEREY, 

Storming  of,  451. 

MONTEZUMA, 

Account  of,  58-61. 

MONTGOMERY,  RICHARD, 

Expedition  of  against  Canada,  803;  death  of, 
804 ;  sketch  of,  305. 

MONTREAL, 

Name  of,  72;  expedition  against,  156. 
MORGAN,  Daniel, 

At  Bemis’s  Heights,  323 ;  at  the  Cowpens, 
347* 

MORGAN,  John, 

Raid  of  into  Indiana  and  Ohio,  517. 


MORGAN,  William, 

Disappearance  of,  425. 

MORMONS,  THE, 

Account  of,  444 ;  rebellion  of.  475. 

MORRIS,  Robert, 

Devotes  his  fortune  to  liberty,  816 :  appointed 
secretary  of  finance,  346 :  brought  to  rats. 

358. 

MORRIS,  T.  A., 

Campaign  of  in  West  Virginia,  490t 
MORSE,  S.  F.  B., 

Invention  of  telegraph  by,  446. 

MORTON,  Oliver  P., 

Sketch  of,  640;  death  of,  644. 

MOSCOSO, 

i  ,:ces...,r  of  De  Soto,  66. 
MURFREESBOROUGH, 

Battle  of,  500. 


0KT 


NARVAEZ,  Pamphilo  de, 

Army  sent  by  to  Mexico,  60;  governor  of 

Florida,  63. 

NASHVILLE, 

Siege  of,  526. 

ATIONAL  DEBT,  THB, 

Extent  of,  545. 

NEGRO  PLOT,  THE, 

In  New  York,  182. 

NEW  AMSTERDAM, 

Founding  of,  94 ;  history  of,  160-171. 

NEW  ENGLAND, 

Colonization  of,  91, 123, 184, 193, 198;  education 
in,  282. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE, 

Colonization  of,  198 ;  history  of,  198-208. 

NEW  HAVEN, 

Founding  of,  188. 

NEW  JERSEY, 

Colo  .zation  of,  203 ;  history  of,  203-308 ;  dl« 
visi  n  of,  205. 

NEW  NETHERLAND, 

Name  of,  94 ;  history  of,  160-171 ;  conquest  of, 
171. 

NEW  ORLEANS, 

Battle  of,  413. 

NEWPORT,  Christopher, 

Sent  out  by  London  Company,  86. 

NEW  SWEDEN, 

History  of,  165-169 ;  extent  of,  Map  IV. 

NEW  YORK. 

Colonization  of,  160 ;  history  of,  160-183. 

NEW  YORK  CITY, 

Settlement  of,  160 ;  under  the  Dutch,  160-171 ; 
under  the  English,  171-183;  British  forces 
before,  310;  captured  by  British,  313;  evacu¬ 
ation  of,  355;  Centennial  celebration  at,  697- 
723. 

NEZ  PERCE  INDIANS,  The, 

War  with,  636. 

NICOLLS,  Richard, 

Governor  of  New  York,  172. 

NORSEMEN,  The, 

Discovery  of  America  by,  51 ;  character  of,  52 
traces  of  in  Rhode  Island,  195. 

NORTH  CAROLINA, 

Colonization  of,  224 ;  history  of,  224-229. 
NORTH  DAKOTA, 

Admission  of,  695. 

RTH-EASTERN  BOUNDARY, 

Settlement  of,  441. 

NORTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILROAD,  THE, 

Account  of,  560. 

NORTH-WESTERN  TERRITORY, 

Organization  of,  359 ;  division  of,  877. 
NULLIFICATION, 

Account  of,  428;  a  cause  of  tbe  Civil  War, 
488. 


854 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES . 


O 

OGLETHORPE,  JAMES, 

Sketch  of,  238 ;  career  of  in  Georgia,  239-244. 
OHIO, 

Organization  and  admission  of,  378. 

OHIO  COMPANY,  THE, 

Grant  to,  250. 

OMNIBUS  BILL,  The, 

History  of,  464. 

OPECHANCANOUGH, 

Notices  of,  100,  113. 

ORDERS  IN  COUNCIL,  THE. 

Issued,  386 ;  promised  repeal  of,  389. 
OREGON  BOUNDARY  QUESTION,  The, 
Settlement  of,  458. 

OSTEND  MANIFESTO,  THE, 

History  of,  472. 


IP 

PACIFIC  RAILROAD,  The, 

Project  of,  469;  completion  of,  553. 

PALO  ALTO, 

Battle  of,  450. 

PAN-AMERICAN  CONGRESS, 

Account  of,  725. 

PAPER  MONEY, 

First  used  in  America,  149. 

PARRIS,  Samuel, 

Responsible  for  witchcraft  atrocities,  150-153. 
PATROONS,  the  Dutch, 

Colonize  New  Netherland,  163,  164. 

PAUL  JONES, 

Great  naval  battle  of,  338. 

PEACOCK,  The, 

Affair  of,  405. 

PENN,  WILLIAM, 

In  New  Jersey,  205 ;  proprietor  of  Pennsylvania, 
209 ;  sketch  of,  210 ;  career  of,  210-215. 
PENNSYLVANIA, 

Colonization  of,  209  ;  history  of,  209-215. 
PENSION  LEGISLATION, 

Account  of,  684. 

PEPPEREL,  Sir  William, 

Expedition  of  against  Louisburg,  157. 
PEQUODS,  The, 

War  with,  185-188. 

PERRY,  Oliver  H., 

Victory  of  on  Lake  Erie,  401. 

PETERSBURG, 

Siege  of,  536,  538. 

PHILADELPHIA, 

Founding  of,  212 ;  capture  of  by  the  British, 
325. 

PHILIP,  King  of  the  Narragansetts, 

War  with,  139-144. 

PHIPPS,  Sir  William, 

Connection  of  with  Salem  witchcraft,  151. 
PHONOGRAPH,  The, 

Invention  of,  656,  657. 

PICKETT,  General, 

Charge  of  at  Gettysburg,  522. 

PIERCE,  Franklin, 

Elected  President,  469 ;  sketch  of,  469 ;  admin¬ 
istration  of,  469-474. 

PILGRIMS,  The, 

See  Puritans. 

PINCKNEY,  C.  C., 

Embassy  of  to  France,  373. 

PITT,  William, 

Premier  of  England,  270 ;  defends  America, 
292. 

PITTSBURG  LANDING^ 

Battle  of,  497. 

PLYMOUTH, 

Founding  of,  91 . 

PLYMOUTH  COMPANY,  THE, 

Organization  of,  85 ;  grant  to,  85  and  Map  III. 
PLYMOUTH  COUNCIL,  THE, 

Organization  of,  85 ;  grant  to,  88  and  Map  III. 


POCAHONTAS, 

Story  of,  101-109. 

POLK,  James  K., 

Elected  President,  446 ;  sketch  of,  447 ;  admin¬ 
istration  of,  447-462. 

POLK,  Leonidas, 

Campaign  of  in  Kentucky,  493. 

PONTIAC, 

Conspiracy  of,  277-279. 

POPE,  John,  Campaign  of  in  Virginia,  505. 
PORT  BILL,  The  Boston,  Passage  of,  295. 
PORTER,  Admiral, 

Bombards  Vicksburg,  512;  at  Fort  Fisher,  532. 
PORTER,  Albert  G.. 

American  Minister  to  Italy,  736. 

PORT  ROYAL  (ANNAPOLIS), 

Founded,  75 ;  siege  of,  155. 

PORTUGUESE,  THE, 

Discoveries  of  in  America,  69. 

POSTAL  MONEY-ORDER  SYSTEM,  THE, 
Establishment  of,  546. 

POWHATAN, 

Relations  of  with  the  colony  at  Jamestown, 
96-112. 

PREBLE,  Commodore, 

In  the  Mediterranean,  380. 

PRESCOTT,  General, 

Capture  of,  320. 

PRESIDENT,  THE, 

Affair  of,  391. 

PRINCETON, 

Battle  of,  318. 

PRING,  Martin, 

Voyage  of,  84. 

PRINTING-PRESS,  THE, 

In  Cambridge,  132 ;  work  of  in  the  colonies, 
282. 

PROHIBITION. 

An  issue  in  politics,  694. 

PROTECTION, 

Doctrine  of  explained,  663-667,  693. 

PULASKI,  Count, 

Honored  for  services  at  Brandywine,  325. 
PURITANS,  The, 

Rise  of,  88 ;  at  Leyden,  89 ;  purposes  of,  89 ; 
voyage  of  to  America,  90 ;  compact  of,  91  and 
Appendix  B;  colonization  of  Massachusetts 
by,  91 ;  character  of,  159. 

PUTNAM,  Israel, 

Exploit  of,  334. 


Q 

QUAKERS,  The, 

Arrival  of  at  Boston,  136;  persecutions  of,  136, 
137 ;  in  New  Jersey,  206 ;  colonization  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania  by,  209-215. 

QUEBEC, 

Founding  of,  76 ;  expedition  of  Walker  against, 
155 ;  capture  of  by  Wolfe,  276 ;  expedition  of 
Arnold  against,  303. 


IR. 

RAILROADS, 

Extent  in  the  United  States,  556. 
RAILROAD  STRIKE.  The, 

History  of,  634-636. 

RALEIGH.  Sir  Walter, 

Attempts  to  colonize  America,  81 ;  founds  city 
of  Raleigh.  83. 

RECONSTRUCTION  OF  SOUTHERN  STATES 
Difficulties  concerning,  547,  549,  554. 

RED  RIVER  EXPEDITION,  The, 

Account  of,  524. 

REED,  Thomas  B..  Policy  of,  as  Speaker,  729. 
RES  AC  A  I)E  LA  PALMA, 

Battle  of.  450. 

RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS, 
History  of,  637-641. 


LiVLLX. 


855 


REVERE,  Patti, 

Ride  of,  297. 

REVOLUTION,  The, 

Causes  of,  285-296 ;  history  of,  297-356. 

RHODE  ISLAND, 

Colonization  of,  193;  history  of,  193-198;  lib¬ 
eral  institutions  of,  194 ;  traces  of  Norsemen  in, 
195 ;  domestic  difficulties  in,  442. 

RIBAULT,  JOHN, 

Voyages  of,  73. 

RICHMOND, 

Capital  of  the  Confederacy,  485;  evacuated, 
538. 

ROANOKE  ISLAND, 

Attempt  to  colonize,  81. 

ROBINSON,  John, 

Leader  of  the  Pilgrims,  89 ;  counsels  of,  125. 
ROEBLING,  J.  A.  AND  W.  A., 

Architects  of  Brooklyn  Bridge,  661, 662. 
ROGERS,  Major  Robert, 

Expedition  of,  277. 

ROLFE,  John, 

Account  of,  108. 

ROSECRANS,  W.  S., 

At  Murfreesborough,  500;  at  Chlckamauga, 

RYSWICK, 

Treaty  of,  150. 


S 

SAG  HARBOR, 

Capture  of,  319. 

SALEM, 

Founded,  126 ;  witchcraft  at,  150-153. 

SAMOA, 

Account  of  difficulties  concerning,  723-724. 
SAMOSET, 

Visit  of  to  Plymouth,  123. 

SANDER’S  CREEK, 

Battle  of,  342. 

SANDYS,  Sir  Edwyn, 

Governor  of  Virginia,  111. 

SANTA  ANNA, 

At  Buena  Vista,  453;  at  Cerro  Gordo,  455; 
drives  from  Mexico,  457. 

8ANTO  DOMINGO, 

Project  to  annex,  555. 

SAVANNAH, 

Founding  of,  239 ;  conquest  of,  333 ;  capture  of 
by  Sherman,  527. 

SAYLE,  William, 

Governor  of  South  Carolina,  230. 

SCHOFIELD,  John  M-, 

Commands  centennial  procession,  718. 
SCHUYLER.  General, 

In  command  of  the  Northern  army,  321. 
SCOTT,  Winfield, 

At  Lundy’s  Lane,  408 ;  plans  the  invasion  of 
Mexico,  450  ;  at  Vera  Cruz,  454 ;  at  Cerro  Gor¬ 
do,  455 ;  enters  Mexico,  457 ;  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Union  army,  485. 

SEA-KING.  The, 

Character  of,  52. 

SECESSION, 

Account  of,  480,  485. 

SELISH,  The, 

Territorial  position  of,  44  and  Map  I. 
SEMINOLES,  THE, 

War  with,  418,  431. 

SEVEN  DAYS’  BATTLES,  THE, 

Account  of,  504. 

SEWARD,  William  H., 

Secretary  of  State,  484;  diplomacy  of  495;  at¬ 
tempted  assassination  of,  542 ;  death  of,  5b2. 
SEYMOUR,  Horatio, 

Notice  and  death  of,  678. 

SHERIDAN,  Philip  H., 

In  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  587 ;  in  pursuit  of 
Lee,  539;  in  command  of  army,  671;  deaf.*-  «.i , 
733 


SHERMAN,  W.  T., 

At  Chickasaw  Bayou,  500;  campaign  of  from 
Chattanooga  to  Atlanta,  525,  526  ;  march  to  the 
sea,  527 ;  from  Savannah  to  Raleigh,  528-530 ; 
publishes  his  Memoirs,  o7t;  death  of,  733. 
SHIRLEY,  Sir  William, 

Governor  of  Massachusets,  264. 

SHOSHONES,  THE, 

Territorial  position  of,  44  and  Map  L 
SIGEL,  Franz, 

In  Missouri,  493. 

SILVER, 

Remonetization  of,  636. 

SIOUX  INDIANS,  THE, 

War  with,  629,  630. 

SIX  NATIONS,  THE, 

Treaty  with,  181. 

SLAVERY, 

Introduction  of,  110;  exclusion  of  from  Georgia, 
240 ;  prohibition  of  in  North-western  Territory, 
359 ;  a  cause  of  the  Civil  War,  487 ;  abolished 
by  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  511 ;  Con¬ 
gressional  abolition  of,  544. 

SLIDELL,  John, 

Embassador  of  the  Confederacy,  494 ;  capture 
of,  494 ;  liberation  of,  495. 

SLOUGHTER,  William, 

Governor  of  New  York,  177. 

SMITH,  JOHN, 

Voyages  of  in  New  England,  87 ;  captured,  88 ; 
troubles  of  at  Jamestown,  96 ;  explores  the 
James,  96 ;  sketch  of,  97 ;  captivity  of,  99  ;  ex¬ 
ploration  of  Chesapeake  by,  102 ;  president  of 
Virginia,  104;  wounded,  105;  returns  to  En¬ 
gland,  105. 

SMITHSON,  James, 

Notice  of  460. 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,  The, 
Establishment  of,  460. 

SMYTH,  Alexander, 

In  command  on  the  Niagara  frontier,  899. 
SONS  OF  LIBERTY, 

Organization  of,  292. 

SOT  H  EL,  Seth, 

Career  of  in  the  Carolinas,  227,  233. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

Colonization  of,  230 ;  history  of,  230-237. 
SOUTH  DAKOTA, 

Admission  of,  695. 

SPAIN, 

Discovers  and  colonizes  America,  54-69;  pos¬ 
sessions  of  in  1665,  see  Map  IV ;  treaty  with, 
419. 

SPECIE  CIRCULAR,  The, 

Issued  to  Jackson,  437;  repeal  of,  441. 
SPRINGFIELD, 

Battle  of,  493. 

SQUANTO, 

The  Interpreter,  124. 

STAMP  ACT, 

Passage  of,  289;  provisions  of,  289;  repeal  of, 
292. 

STANDISH,  Miles, 

General  of  New  England,  123  ;  mentioned,  125. 
STANTON,  Edwin  M., 

Secretary  of  War,  484 ;  death  of,  561. 

STAR  ROUTE  CONSPIRACY,  THE, 

Account  of,  753,  754. 

STATE  RIGHTS,  THE  DOCTRINE  OF, 

Advocated  in  South  Carolina,  429 ;  a  cause  of 
the  Civil  War,  486 ;  as  affecting  the  future,  642. 
ST.  AUGUSTINE, 

Founding  of,  C8. 

ST.  CLAIR,  ARTHUR, 

At  Ticonderoga,  321 ;  governor  of  North-west¬ 
ern  Territory,  359;  expedition  of,  366. 
STEAM-BOAT,  THE, 

Invention  of,  386. 

STEPHENS,  Alexander  H., 

Opposes  secession,  480 ;  Vice-President  of  the 
Confederacy,  481 ;  author  of  War  Between  the 
States.  674. 


DOES  NOT  CIRCULATE 


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